By Dorian Geiger

An exclusive interview with Canadian gold medal Olympian Joan McCusker.
Joan McCusker is possibly best known for her role as the second on the late Sandra Schmirler’s dynamic Canadian Olympic gold medal curling team of 1998 and their dominance of the Scott Tournament of Hearts in the early-mid ‘90s. McCusker has also racked up three Worlds Women’s Curling Championships.
After cancer robbed teammate and skip Schmirler’s life in 2000, the team remained close but did not continue to compete at the high level they once did. McCusker has remained involved with curling and athletics and works as a curling commentator for CBC.
Recently in June 2009, McCusker became involved with the Ministry of Saskatchewan Parks and Tourism and has helped coordinate and promote the Saskatchewan portion of the 2010 Olympic torch relay.
Here’s what McCusker told The Badger about what it’s like to be a Canadian gold medal Olympian and the life and times of Schmirler the curler.
The Badger: What was it like to stand on the gold medal podium at the 1998 Winter Olympic Games in Nagano, Japan?
Joan McCusker: It becomes a very surreal moment. When you’re a high performance athlete you do not go to outcome, you never go to plan on whether you’re going to win or whether you’re going to lose.
So you really try hard to stay in the moment all that you can and when you get that medal and it’s gets put around your neck that’s within in the moment – and it becomes a real surprise almost like – oh my god what have we done – and look where we are – and is this really happening to me? It’s every emotion that you feel when you win a gold medal – pride and joy and elation. But you’re also feeling all the more negative emotions and you’re so emotional you could pee. You’re half a world away from your family and you’ve sacrificed so much time with them whether you have little kids or whether you’re still young and have parents.
All these kind of things hit you at once – this very pinnacle – while the Canadian flag is being raised and you’re singing ‘Oh Canada.’ It’s a moment I will never ever forget because it isn’t what you expect – it’s something completely different.
The Badger: Sandra Schmirler approaches near-god like status among Saskatchewan curling fanatics. What kind of a person was she?
McCusker: The great story with Sandra is how absolutely down to earth and ordinary this woman was and I’d like to think all of us were that way. We were drawn together because we were small town, rural Saskatchewan girls raised to love curling, to love your family to love your community and to do your best and have a lot of fun.
People put her (Schmirler) on a pedastel and made her a hero but she was a very, very real ordinary gal that had a wicked sense of humour, her favourite quotes about her were ‘sweat,’ and she loved junk food. She really was ordinary and made the most of every opportunity given to her.
The Badger: What was Schmirler like on the ice?
McCusker: She was unbelievably competitive – really, really hated to lose. She was very intense and you have to think that all of us brought something to the table and I think we were all good for each other. I needed more intensity and more focus which I got from Sandra and Jan (Betker) and I think they needed a little more levity (Mccusker laughs).
The Badger: I understand that you, along with Schmirler and teammates Jan Betker and Marcia Gudereit, all had children together following your gold medal victory. Are you still close with Schmirler and your former teammates’ families?
McCusker: The team all had kids together so we were busy. When we weren’t Team Canada it seemed like a good time to have babies. So we all have children that are about the same age.
I have the oldest that’s seventeen, the rest are thirteen or just turning thirteen – Sandra’s daughter will turn thirteen later this year. All of our twelve and thirteen year olds play together on Sundays. They take turns skipping and playing third. My daughter, Sandra’s daughter, Jan’s son and Marcy’s son play on this mixed team. This has been their second year together – they love it and they’re actually pretty darn good. So you can imagine we get together on Sunday afternoons and go upstairs and laugh and cheer. It’s really fun.