Monday, December 10, 2001
Don of a new day
Walchuk key ingredient to Martin's Olympic bid
By CON GRIWKOWSKY -- Edmonton Sun
REGINA -- When it was over, Don Walchuk was the happiest guy on the ice.
His fists were the last to pump in the air.
This one meant a lot for Walchuk, who first teamed up with skip Kevin Martin in 1996.
He'd been to two Olympic trials before and now he was finally representing his country in the big show.
"That was in the back of my mind,'' said Walchuk. "I'm just glad we won today because I'm not getting any younger. I'm just thrilled to death. I'm not sure it's sunk in yet. It will. We're going to Salt Lake and it's going to be great.''
Although Walchuk won a world championship as second for Pat Ryan in 1989, he'd like to be part of a rink that still needs to prove itself on the international stage.
"We've been there before and in our minds, we've failed,'' said Walchuk. "It would be nice to get that monkey off our back. We're going to be ready as we can be. It's up to us to go over there to get the job done.
"I'm fortunate. I've won a world championship, but I'd like to help the rest of the guys to get back to it. This is even bigger than a world championship. I'm sure we'll be up for the task. We've proven this week we can battle with the best.''
WALCHUK WAS ON FIRE
Walchuk was on fire, shooting an astounding 93% yesterday.
"I heard I played a good game with a percentage in the 90s, so I must have played a good game,'' said Walchuk. "It wasn't 100 though, so I must have missed one somewhere.''
Walchuk's game MVP role made the win that much sweeter. During the week, he had turned in a relatively sub-par performance.
Accustomed to being an automatic all-star, Walchuk finished fifth among the thirds during the week.
Yesterday's performance solidified Walchuk's reputation as one of the best money players and top curling gunslingers in the world.
"That's just the way it is in this thing,'' said Walchuk. "It doesn't matter who you're playing. When they're putting the heat on you, you have to respond. I had it in me today to do it.''
Cleaning up on a nervous outing by 24-year-old second Carter Rycroft, Walchuk made five sensational multi-rock takeouts to help preserve the win over a more experienced Kerry Burtnyk team.
'HE PLAYED BIGGER THAN BIG'
"He played bigger than big,'' said Martin. "He made a pile of doubles. The biggest one was in four across the top when he hung it for a biter. That ended up being a blank end when we were racked for three.''
Walchuk has been to the winner's podium before.
When there was a chance to shoot for the ultimate podium, Walchuk found it in himself to dig deep and play a major role in helping set up the win for Martin.
He's proven to be a money player in the past and he put a big exclamation point on it yesterday.
2002 Games Curling Coverage
