Martin faces final frontier in Vancouver

Last Updated: Monday, February 15, 2010 | 9:45 AM ET

By Jesse Campigotto, CBC Sports

Kevin Martin hopes the third time is a charm in his long quest for Olympic gold. (Nathan Denette/Canadian Press)

Kevin Martin is at a crossroads.

Strange thing to say about a guy who's won just about every curling championship there is.

The 43-year-old from Edmonton owns four Brier titles, including the last two, emblematic of national supremacy. He captured the world championship in 2008. His 14 Grand Slam crowns are the most of all time. He's won two of the last three Canadian curling trials.

But there's something missing: an Olympic gold medal. Martin finished fourth in 1992 when curling was a demonstration sport in Albertville, then came maddeningly close in 2002 in Salt Lake City. Needing only to execute a last-rock draw to win gold, Martin missed, handing the gold to Norway's Pal Trulsen.

That failure riled critics, who like to say that Martin doesn't play his best at the big international competitions. In fairness to them, Martin is just 1-for-4 in world championships and, if you want to go way back, he settled for second place at the 1986 junior worlds.

There's only one way to quiet the naysayers, and that's why the Vancouver Games are a potentially life-altering moment for Martin.

"He likes to say his career will be defined by Grand Slam titles, but people will always remember an Olympic champion in Canada," said CBC curling analyst Mike Harris, a silver medallist at the 1998 Nagano Games.

"And if he doesn't win, that's how he'll be remembered."

'Most prepared curler'

Vancouver is the Old Bear's best, if not last, chance at Olympic gold. His teammates — John Morris, Marc Kennedy and Ben Hebert — are all young, strong and athletic. Martin, though entering middle age, remains spry.

"He's the most prepared curler we've ever seen," Harris said. "He throws more rocks than anybody, he works harder than anybody else, and he's just better. He's more talented."

Still, when you're 43, there's no telling how many more kicks at the can you'll get.

Martin told CBCSports.ca before the Olympics that his team, which enjoys a "special chemistry," will continue playing together after Vancouver. But the skip isn't certain he'll still be around to take a run at the Games in 2014.

"I'll ask my wife and my hip," said Martin, citing an ailment (the hip, not the wife) common to anyone who curls as much as he does.

Murdoch in Martin's head?

If these are indeed Martin's final Olympics, a happy sendoff is no guarantee. Several tough competitors await — none more worrisome than reigning world champion David Murdoch of Great Britain.

The 31-year-old Scotsman beat Martin three straight times at last year's worlds in Moncton, including a 7-6 decision in the final to rob the Canadian of a second consecutive title.

Murdoch also defeated Martin at this season's Skins Game, another high-profile event on Canada ice.

"He's got to be in Kevin's head a little bit now," Harris said. "If it's a Canada-Britain final, you've got to think Murdoch's got a chance."

There are more potential landmines. Norway's Thomas Ulsrud, a three-time world bronze medallist, is ranked third on the money list of the World Curling Tour — rarefied air for a European skip.

Ulsrud will test Martin right away when they meet in the opening draw on Tuesday morning at the Vancouver Olympic Centre.

'Big trouble'

Also in the hunt for a medal are Swiss veteran Ralph Stoeckli (a 2006 Olympian and a former runner-up at the worlds), talented Swedish youngster Niklas Edin (at the tender age of 24, he won the European championship in December) and emerging Chinese skip Fengchun Wang, who beat Martin at the 2008 worlds en route to a fourth-place finish.

Germany's Andy Kapp has appeared in more world championships than you can count on both hands. American John Shuster, a regular at the elite Grand Slam tournaments, could be bolstered by the late addition of hot-shot youngster Chris Plys, the 2008 world junior champ. Denmark's Ulrik Schmidt boasts almost as much international experience as Kapp, and even Frenchman Thomas Dufour can pull off an upset if his opponent isn't careful.

Martin knows a lot has changed since his first Olympic appearance in 1992, when his sport was a demonstration event.

"The quality of the play has just improved so much," he said.

"If you're just a half a step off, you're in big trouble."