John Shuster and the U.S. Curling Team Win First Gold Medal

Source: New York Times

GANGNEUNG, South Korea — John Shuster, the face of American curling for the past four Winter Olympics — and all the good and bad those experiences have entailed — had a gold medal draped around his neck for the first time in his life on Saturday.

Moments before, he and his teammates had done what jubilant curlers do: They raised their brooms aloft in screaming excitement over an improbable victory. Yet at that moment, it was hard to believe how close his dream had come to crumbling apart.

Last Sunday, after a loss to Norway, the Americans were on the brink of elimination, again.

After that game, with family headed to a hotel and his wife’s encouraging words ringing in his head, he found a grassy spot outside the venue, sat down and came to a realization.

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Read more: https://www.nytimes.com/2018/02/23/sports/olympics/curling-gold-medal-final.html