About this episode

Kerry Burtnyk shares his journey in curling, including his championship wins and personal challenges.

Kerry Burtnyk was a gambler. He pioneered an aggressive style of play that puzzled and panicked his opponents. Inspired by the Kenny Rogers song, the young team from Winnipeg attempted a freeze on their first stone of the 1981 Brier. A week later Burtnyk, barely 22 years old, became the youngest skip to win the Canadian Men's Championship. Kerry and third Mark Olson, second Jim Spencer and lead Ron Kammerlock, with a combined age of 88 years, remain the youngest team to win the Brier. In 1995, Burtnyk returned to Halifax and outlasted Werenich, Folk, Martin, Hackner and Heidt to win his second Brier. Kerry, along with third Jeff Ryan, second Rob Meakin and lead Keith Fenton, went undefeated at the World Championship in Brandon, Manitoba. Kerry shares stories from the early days at the Assiniboine Memorial through the bonspiels, the Briers, the boycott, and reflects on his incredible year of curling and cancer in 2001.

People in this episode

Host: Kevin Palmer

Guest: Kerry Burtnyk

Topics covered

• curling
• sports history
• championships
• personal stories
• team dynamics

Keywords

• Kerry Burtnyk
• curling
• Brier
• championship
• sports
• team
• stories

Mentioned in this episode

Organizations: Assiniboine Memorial

More episodes of Curling Legends Podcast

• Episode 101 - Team Bruce Roberts · April 4, 2026 · 1h 35m
• Special Episode - Colleen Jones · January 28, 2026 · 1h 12m
• Episode 99 - John Kawaja · December 31, 2025 · 1h 56m
• Episode 98 - Bob Nichols · June 30, 2025 · 2h 8m
• Episode 97 - Beau Welling · June 23, 2025 · 55 min
• Episode 96 - Ken Horton, Part 2 · May 29, 2025 · 1h 21m

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