Kevin Martin (curler)

Kevin Martin
Curler
Kevin Martin at the 2009 Tim Hortons Brier
Born	(1966-07-31) July 31, 1966 (age 50) Killam, Alberta
Career
Brier appearances	12 (1991, 1992, 1995, 1996, 1997, 2000, 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009, 2011, 2013)
World Championship appearances	4 (1991, 1997, 2008, 2009)
Olympic appearances	2 (2002, 2010)
Top CTRS ranking	1st (2004–05, 2005–06, 2006–07, 2007–08, 2009–10, 2010–11)
Grand Slam victories	15 World Cup: 1 (Jan 2003) The National: 4 (Nov. 2004, Mar 2007, Dec 2007, Dec 2010) Canadian Open: 5 (2002, 2005, Jan 2007, Dec 2007, 2010) Players' Championships: 5 (2005, 2007, 2010, 2011, 2014)
Medal record Men's curling Representing  Canada Olympic Games 2010 Vancouver Men's 2002 Salt Lake City Men's World Curling Championships 2008 Grand Forks Men's 1991 Winnipeg Men's 2009 Moncton Men's World Junior Curling Championships 1986 Dartmouth Men's Representing  Alberta Tim Hortons Brier 1991 Hamilton Men's 1997 Calgary Men's 2008 Winnipeg Men's 2009 Calgary Men's 1996 Kamloops Men's 1992 Regina Men's 1995 Halifax Men's Canadian Olympic Curling Trials 2001 Regina Men's 2009 Edmonton Men's 1997 Brandon Men's 2013 Winnipeg Men's

Kevin Martin (born July 31, 1966), nicknamed "The Old Bear" and "K-Mart", is a retired Canadian curler from Edmonton. He is considered by many commentators and former and current curlers to be the greatest curler of all time.

Over his 30-year curling career, he has won four Briers, a gold medal at the 2010 Winter Olympics, and one world championship. He has been to a total of three Winter Olympics and four World Championships, and has won a total of two Olympic medals and three World Championship medals. He has won 15 Grand Slam titles on the World Curling Tour (the media count 18, including three Players' Championships won prior to its inclusion as a Grand Slam event), which includes a record eight Players' Championship titles. Over the course of his career, his teams have won around $2 million. He was the first skip to win a "career Grand Slam," winning a title in each Grand Slam event, after he won the Players' Championship Grand Slam event in April 2005. Martin also holds the record for the most Olympic victories, with 20 total wins at the Olympics.

During his career, Martin has also served as a major influence in the development of the sport of curling, establishing the competitive tier in the sport and setting the groundwork for the management of curling teams and the creation of high-level competitive curling events. He is also known for contributing to the growth of curling, long known as a recreational and participant-based sport, as a spectator sport. Martin retired from competitive curling in 2014.

Martin began curling when he was six years old. He took up the sport because his father was the vice president of his local curling club. Martin first came on the curling scene in 1985 when his Alberta team of Richard Feeney, Dan Petryk and Michael Berger won the Canadian Junior Championships in their first year together as a team. The rink (a group of players) finished the round robin in second place, with a win-loss record of 7–4, behind Prince Edward Island's Kent Scales. This forced them into a semifinal against the third place Quebec rink, skipped by Steve Gagnon. They beat Quebec 5–4, earning a spot in the final against Prince Edward Island which they won with a score of 6–3. After winning the championship, he accompanied the Canadian team as an alternate at the 1985 World Junior Curling Championships.