Brent Laing

Brent Laing
Fabien Perissinotto · CC BY-SA 4.0 · source
Name	Brent Laing
Birth date	11 November 1978
Birth place	Oakville, Ontario, Canada
Curling club	Barrie Curling Club
Member association	Ontario
World championships	2 (2008, 2019)
Olympic games	1 (2014)

Brent Laing is a Canadian curler and two-time World Men's Curling Championship gold medallist who has played for elite rinks in Ontario, Alberta, and Ontario and represented Canada at the Winter Olympic Games. He has won multiple Grand Slam of Curling events, provincial championships such as the Ontario Tankard, and has been a long-time teammate of prominent skips on the World Curling Tour. Laing is noted for his longevity across eras that included competitors from the Scotties Tournament of Hearts, Brier, and international rivals from Scotland, Sweden, and Switzerland.

Early life and junior career

Laing was born in Oakville, Ontario and developed in local clubs like the Oakville Curling Club and Barrie Curling Club, progressing through Ontario's junior pathway alongside peers who competed at the Canadian Junior Curling Championships, World Junior Curling Championships, and provincial junior finals. He played in robust junior fields that also produced competitors for the Brier and the Grand Slam of Curling, and he was contemporaneous with athletes who later featured in the Tim Hortons Brier and Canadian Olympic Curling Trials. Early coaches and mentors included experienced provincial and national figures from Curling Canada's coaching networks who guided players into the World Curling Tour and national development programs.

Professional curling career

Laing's professional career includes long stints with rinks skipped by leading names who competed on the World Curling Tour and at the Brier; he moved between teams based in Ontario and Alberta and faced opponents from Manitoba, Saskatchewan, and British Columbia. He won provincial championships that qualified his teams for the Tim Hortons Brier, captured titles on the Grand Slam of Curling circuit, and contributed to Canada’s appearances at the World Men's Curling Championship. Throughout his career he played under high-profile coaches and alongside teammates who had histories at the Winter Olympic Games, World Mixed Doubles Curling Championship, and national championship finals, engaging with rival rinks such as those led by Glenn Howard, Kevin Martin, Brad Gushue, and Brad Jacobs.

Grand Slam and major championships

Laing's résumé features multiple Grand Slam of Curling victories including events like the Canadian Open, Players' Championship, and the Masters, competing against other Grand Slam champions from teams skipped by Randy Ferbey, Kevin Koe, Mark Nichols, and Niklas Edin. His Grand Slam success contributed to high rankings on the World Curling Tour Order of Merit and appearances in major finals such as the Canada Cup of Curling and national championships like the Tim Hortons Brier. He has been recognized at events sanctioned by organizations including Curling Canada and the World Curling Federation for performance metrics such as shooting percentages and team statistics.

International and Olympic competition

Laing represented Canada at world championships, earning gold medals at the World Men's Curling Championship and contributing to Canadian medal counts at international competitions governed by the World Curling Federation. He was part of Olympic-qualifying campaigns directed at the Canadian Olympic Curling Trials and competed at the Winter Olympic Games where he faced Olympic medallists from nations such as Sweden, Norway, Switzerland, and Great Britain. His international résumé includes matches against world champion skips, participation in test events and invitational tournaments connected to the Olympic Games cycle, and selection processes administered by Curling Canada.

Playing style and positions

Primarily a second and third, Laing is noted for proficiency in takeouts, sweeping, and shot-making under pressure, skills emphasized by high-performance programs from Curling Canada and developed through competition on the World Curling Tour and at national events like the Brier and Grand Slam of Curling. His tactical understanding has been shaped by play with skips known for strategic innovation, and he has worked with coaches from national high-performance staffs and analytics teams that study opponents from Scotland, Sweden, and Norway. Laing's sweeping partnerships and shot-calling have been compared with those of other elite curlers who have excelled in team roles across the World Curling Tour and Olympic campaigns.

Personal life and honours

Laing has balanced elite curling with family and business commitments in Ontario; he is associated with community clubs such as the Barrie Curling Club and has been involved with provincial curling programs and charity events linked to organizations like Right To Play and sport-development initiatives in Canada. Over his career he has received honours from provincial sport bodies and recognition in curling halls of fame and lists of top performers compiled by media outlets that cover events including the Tim Hortons Brier, Grand Slam of Curling, and the World Men's Curling Championship. He has partnered on and contributed to initiatives that intersect with athlete development overseen by Curling Canada and has been part of teams inducted or acknowledged by provincial and national curling institutions.

Category:Canadian male curlers Category:People from Oakville, Ontario Category:World curling champions