‘This sport has given me more than I could have ever imagined,’ says the Sault’s three-time Brier champion, who plans on finishing out this season
While the decision wasn’t easy, he’s at peace with it.
Local curler E.J. Harnden announced via social media today that’s he’s planning on this being his last full season of competitive curling.
“This sport has given me more than I could have ever imagined,” Harnden said in the post. “From the first stone I threw to competing at the highest level, curling has shaped who I am. Every time I stepped onto the ice, I gave everything I had — for my team, for the moment, and for the love of the game.”
Harnden thanked his family “for the unwavering support, sacrifices, and belief as I pursued a sport I truly loved.”
Harnden’s career has seen him win an Olympic gold medal in 2014 with Team Jacobs while also competing in the men’s World Curling Championship on four occasions (2013 with Team Jacobs, 2022 as an alternate with Team Gushue, and the 2023 and 2024 tournaments as a member of the Gushue rink).
The veteran curler also made 16 appearances in the Brier, which crowns the Canadian men’s curling champions each year.
Harnden is currently a member of Matt Dunstone’s Manitoba-based rink, a team he joined in December 2024. In joining the Dunstone rink, Harnden was once again teaming up with his brother Ryan after the two were longtime teammates with Brad Jacobs prior to the Jacobs rink breaking up in the spring of 2022.
Prior to joining Team Dunstone, Harnden was a member of Brad Gushue’s team, a team he joined after Jacobs stepped away from curling full time. Harnden and the Gushue rink parted ways in October 2024, just prior to E.J. joining the Dunstone rink.