"Old Bear" Martin claws back pride

By Jeffrey Jones

VANCOUVER (Reuters) - Canada, heralded now as "one of the best teams in the history of curling," swept aside Norway to take men's gold, topping off an unprecedented Olympic unbeaten streak in the competition.

They also salvaged the country's pride into the bargain after the Canadian women lost the night before.

The Canadians led by Kevin Martin, who came to Vancouver as the favored team and played like men on a mission throughout the tournament, beat the Norwegians 6-3 and always looked comfortable.

It was a sweet win for Martin, curling's 43-year-old "Old Bear," who narrowly lost the gold in Salt Lake City to a different Norwegian team.

"It's an amazing feeling and it will only get better and better as the day goes on and as it sinks in," Martin said after the victory.

When the sold-out crowd sensed Martin had sealed the deal by the last end, they broke into Canada's national anthem, a practice initiated earlier in the competition during a game when Britain was threatening to beat the home team.

No other curling team has swept an Olympic tournament since the sport regained medal status in 1998. Virtually all other competitors had said the Canadians, who also include Ben Hebert, Marc Kennedy and John Morris, were the ones to beat.

"We probably played one of the best teams in the history of curling here today," said Norwegian coach Pal Trulsen, who was the skip to whom Martin lost in 2002.