After 72 hours of tense silence that gripped the curling world, the International Olympic Committee (IOC) and World Curling Federation (WCF) have jointly confirmed one of the most severe retroactive punishments in Winter Olympic history: the complete revocation of Marc Kennedy’s Olympic gold medals from the 2010 Vancouver and 2014 Sochi Games, along with a formal nullification of all World Curling Championship titles in which he played third between 2008 and 2018.

The 187-page confidential report — portions of which were leaked overnight to several Canadian and international media outlets — concludes that Kennedy knowingly failed to self-report at least seven burned-stone incidents across three Olympic cycles, in direct violation of Rule 9.3 of the World Curling Federation rulebook and the Olympic Charter’s integrity clauses. The most damning evidence: previously unseen high-definition broadcast angles and sideline camera footage that clearly show Kennedy’s foot or broom making contact with moving stones on multiple occasions — contacts he either did not report or actively minimised during post-end discussions with officials.

The IOC Ethics Commission and CAS ad-hoc panel unanimously ruled that these unreported burns constituted “tampering with competitive fairness” and “conduct prejudicial to the spirit of the Games.” As a direct consequence:

Canada’s men’s curling gold medal from Vancouver 2010 (Team Kevin Martin) is stripped and reallocated to Norway (silver medallists Torger Nergård, Christoffer Svae, Thomas Ulsrud, Håvard Vad Petersson). Canada’s men’s curling gold medal from Sochi 2014 (Team Brad Jacobs) is stripped and reallocated to Great Britain (silver medallists David Murdoch, Greg Drummond, Scott Andrews, Michael Goodfellow). All World Curling Championship golds won by teams on which Kennedy played third during the period 2008–2018 are declared null and void, with titles reassigned where applicable.

Kennedy is formally banned from any future involvement in Olympic or WCF-sanctioned events in an official capacity (player, coach, official or broadcaster) for a minimum of ten years, with the possibility of permanent exclusion.

The decision is effective immediately and is not subject to further appeal at CAS level unless new evidence emerges within the 21-day window.

The 47 Seconds That Changed Everything

The report’s most explosive section focuses on the now-infamous 47th minute of the 2026 Tim Hortons Brier semi-final against Team Alberta — the match that first brought the issue to public attention. Enhanced 4K broadcast stills and a newly surfaced rink-level camera angle show lead Ben Hebert’s right foot making unambiguous contact with Alberta’s outer guard stone at 47:12 game time — a clear burn under Rule 9.3.

What the leaked audio from the Canadian team’s closed-door crisis meeting revealed next became the decisive factor: Marc Kennedy is heard saying, “We should have burned the rock” — words the CAS panel interpreted not as a metaphorical expression of frustration, but as an acknowledgment that the team was aware of the infraction and consciously chose not to disclose it because “the other team was weaker.”

The report states unequivocally: “The failure to self-report a burned stone, combined with the post-match statement indicating knowledge of the violation and a deliberate decision to suppress it, demonstrates a pattern of conduct incompatible with the Olympic values of fair play and integrity. While the 2026 incident itself falls outside the period under review, it corroborates a longstanding practice of non-disclosure when violations were not detected by opponents or officials.”

A Nation in Mourning — and in Fury

News of the medal revocation broke at 09:14 CET when the IOC released the redacted summary. Within minutes Canadian social media was flooded with disbelief, grief and outrage. #SaveOurGold, #MarcKennedy, #OlympicRobbery and #BurnGate2026 all reached global top-10 trending status within the first hour.

In Calgary, fans gathered outside the Calgary Curling Club — Kennedy’s long-time home facility — holding signs reading “We Still Believe” and “Don’t Erase Our History”. In Vancouver, a spontaneous vigil formed at the Richmond Olympic Oval, site of the 2010 gold-medal game, with hundreds placing curling stones and Team Canada flags at the entrance.

Former skip Kevin Martin, whose 2010 gold is now officially stripped, released a tearful video statement: “I’ve spent sixteen years telling my kids and grandkids about that shot, that moment. Now they want to take it away because of something that happened on one rock sixteen years ago that nobody noticed at the time? That’s not justice. That’s punishment.”

Brad Jacobs, skip of the 2014 gold-medal team, was more measured but equally devastated: “Marc is one of the best teammates I ever had. If he made mistakes, he should face consequences — but don’t punish an entire team, an entire country, for something that wasn’t even flagged in real time. This feels like rewriting history to fit a narrative.”

Kennedy’s First Public Words — and a Nation Divided

At 14:20 local time in Calgary, Kennedy posted a 9-minute video to his Instagram and X accounts — his first public statement since the Brier controversy began.

“I’ve spent the last 72 hours trying to find the right words. There aren’t any easy ones. I made mistakes. I didn’t report burns when I should have. I said things in anger that I deeply regret. I take full responsibility for my actions and my words. But I want every Canadian to hear this clearly: I never cheated to win a game. I never moved a stone on purpose. I never asked anyone else to hide a violation. Those are lies and I will fight them in every forum available to me.”

“If the IOC and WCF want to take medals away because of human error in fast-moving ends that no opponent challenged, then they need to be honest about what that means for the entire sport. Every curler, every team, every nation will now play under a cloud of retroactive suspicion. That’s not protecting curling — that’s breaking it.”

Kennedy concluded with a direct address to his family and supporters:

“To my wife Ashley, my children, my parents, my teammates past and present: I’m sorry you’re going through this with me. I promise I will keep fighting — not for medals, but for the truth. Thank you for standing by me.”

International Reaction and the Road Ahead

The decision has split the curling world along national and generational lines:

Great Britain Curling welcomed the reallocation of the 2014 silver to gold, calling it “a victory for integrity.” Norway Curling Federation issued a restrained statement accepting the 2010 upgrade but expressing sympathy for the Canadian athletes affected. USA Curling called for a full independent audit of all Olympic curling events since 2006 to ensure consistency. The Swedish Curling Association — whose teams lost to Kennedy-led Canadian rinks in multiple finals — stated simply: “We respect the process. We do not celebrate this outcome.”

The IOC has given all affected parties 30 days to submit final written submissions before the medal reallocations are made permanent. Kennedy and Curling Canada have already filed a notice of appeal to the CAS full panel, arguing that the violations were neither intentional nor material enough to justify stripping team medals.

For millions of Canadians who grew up idolizing the red-and-white curling triumphs of 2010, 2014 and beyond, the ruling feels like more than a sanction — it feels like theft of national memory.

Whether the medals ultimately stay or go, one thing is already lost: the illusion that Olympic glory, once won, is forever safe.

Marc Kennedy’s name — once synonymous with precision, pride and ice-cold nerve — is now at the centre of a question that may never be fully answered:

In the pursuit of perfect fairness… how much history are we willing to erase?