It’s been an incredibly sad week for the curling world.
The news that Thomas Ulsrud has passed away has come as an awful shock, even though we’d known for a while that he was seriously ill.
You have to start off a tribute with his achievements in the game over a long period of time.
Thomas competed in 12 World Championships for Norway, winning one gold medal and three bronze.
And he also took silver in the 2010 Vancouver Olympics.
Those Games are my first big memory of Thomas.
I was a wide-eyed 17-year-old skip taking everything in.
We had a big meeting of all the teams and officials and this one man stood out from the crowd with the patterned trousers that would become his team’s trademark.
This was curling – which has never been a sport with a reputation for being at the cutting edge of fashion!
And he was giving it a fresh look and making non-curling fans take a bit of notice.
Ian Poulter in golf is probably the best comparison.
So saddened to hear about the passing of Thomas Ulsrud – I remember him as an incredibly talented athlete, fiercely competitive, but also kind, fun loving, often smiling and as genuine as they come – my condolences to his family, friends and teammates – we will miss you greatly.
— Brad Jacobs (@curlercups) May 26, 2022
The biggest thing for me though, was I found out then and over the years since, when I’ve played with him in Continental Cups, that he was such a nice, down to earth guy.
He became a huge icon in Norway, where winter sports are such a big deal.
I’m sure they’ll come up with appropriate tributes.
There are plenty of people in Perthshire who will miss him as well.
Thomas was a regular at the Perth Masters over the years and was really popular.
Everyone knew him and liked him.
Bringing fun to your sport and making people feel better after they’ve been in your company is a lovely way to be remembered.
Big congratulation to James Craik and his team on winning the World Juniors.
It really has been an incredible year for curling in this country.
It’s been an incredible year for curling in Angus as well – that’s James’s home patch, the same as Hailey in our team.
It was a tougher week for the women and unfortunately Scotland have been relegated into the B Championships for next year.
A single steal in End 8 decides the game and Scotland 🏴 are the 2022 World Junior Curling Champions! 🥇
Watch the #WJCC2022 live on the Curling Channel at https://t.co/fy3vfdBx89#curling pic.twitter.com/Vh6XWFEcno
— World Curling (@worldcurling) May 22, 2022
Team Craik’s success underlines how strong the men’s game is just now.
The challenge will now be transitioning them into life with the top teams, getting them into grand slams and hopefully to major championships.
I was still in the juniors when I was an Olympian and I know that all the losses I sustained at a young age were so beneficial in the long-term.
Curling can give you a long career – but only if you put down strong foundations.
The way in which some in the tennis world have reacted to Wimbledon’s ban on Russian competitors has been a bit depressing.
To hear people like Naomi Osaka moan about ranking points when the All England Club have taken a decision based on hundreds of people losing their lives in Ukraine is a terrible look.
Athletes can get consumed by their own sporting bubble and lose perspective.
I follow golf very closely and have no idea how many ranking points the winner of the @TheMasters gets.
Me and my friends love football and non of us know or care how many ranking points a team gets for winning the @FIFAWorldCup— Andy Murray (@andy_murray) May 25, 2022
And, as for the tournament itself, the last thing I was thinking about in a big event was how many ranking points I’d get.
We got to world number one after the Olympics and it was way down my wish list, I can assure you!
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