Hurry Hard: The Russ Howard Story
Russ Howard is one ofCanada’s curling legends. At the top of the game in the most dominant country in the sport, he is one of the world’s greatest curlers. In more than 30 years of competitive curling, he has won two Canadian championships, two World championships and has set records as a skip in the Brier—the annual national men’s championship—for appearances, games played and wins.Yet something magical happened to Russ Howard at the age of 49, a time when most curlers are either past their prime or long gone from the game. He became an Olympian. The team of Brad Gushue, a player half Howard’s age and with teammates equally as young, asked the veteran to join the squad as a spare for the Olympic Trials. In a tale of serendipity, Howard would actually go on to play every game for the team, culminating in an Olympic gold medal—the first ever forCanadain men’s curling. Russ Howard, who started the Olympic Games asCanada’s oldest representative at age 49 and turned 50 during the competition, had achieved yet another milestone in his celebrated career.Along with the magic, Howard has had his share of controversy in the sport. Over his long career, Howard has often been at the centre of heated battles with curling’s ruling body, from having headsets to communicate on the ice, to the fight for the right to wear sponsorship logos in national competitions. Through it all, he has been a star player and a builder of the game.Hurry Hardis the personal story of a Canadian sports legend, known for his triumphs and defeats on and off the ice; his battles with the Canadian Curling Association; his contributions to making the game more exciting offensively; the amazing gold-medal achievement; and, of course, his trademark yelling…Hurry Haaaaaard!