About this episode

John Kawaja shares his journey in competitive curling, including championships and personal anecdotes.

John Kawaja was obsessed. His competitive drive led to a Brier Championship as second for Ed Werenich in 1983 when John was just 21 years old. Joined by third Paul Savage and lead Neil Harrison, the "Dream Team" went on to win the men's World Championship, then known as the Air Canada Silver Broom. In 1990, now third for Werenich and with the front end of Ian Tetley and Pat Perroud, John won a second Brier and World Championship. Following a semifinal loss in the 1997 Canada Olympic Trials, at an age (36) when many curlers reach their peak, he walked away. John shares stories from the bonspiels, the Briers, the Battles of the Sexes and battles with European teams, while helping uncover the genius of Ed Werenich.

People in this episode

Host: Kevin Palmer

Guest: John Kawaja

Topics covered

• curling
• Brier Championship
• World Championship
• competitive sports
• personal stories
• Olympic Trials

Keywords

• curling
• Brier Championship
• World Championship
• Ed Werenich
• Olympic Trials
• competitive drive
• bonspiels

More episodes of Curling Legends Podcast

• Episode 101 - Team Bruce Roberts · April 4, 2026 · 1h 35m
• Episode 100 - Kerry Burtnyk · February 8, 2026 · 2h 52m
• Special Episode - Colleen Jones · January 28, 2026 · 1h 12m
• 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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