Prior to attending the Tim Horton’s Brier in 1995 as an alternate, Richard Hart had had no curling experience at any major tournaments, although he had been involved in the sport since the age of 14. Nevertheless he was playing third when his rink (team) won the Olympic qualifying event and earned itself the right to represent Canada at the 1998 Winter Olympics. Under skip (captain) Mike Harris, with whom Hart had been affiliated with since the early 1990s, they brought home a silver medal from the tournament, losing only in the final game against Switzerland. After a few quiet years he left Harris’ team in 2000 with Collin Mitchell and the duo joined Team Glenn Howard, a rink that Hart is still affiliated with as of 2010. His success has picked up since leaving the Harris rink and he took Canadian national championships in 2002 and 2004 with Howard. The rink had its greatest victory at the 2007 World Championships in Edmonton, Alberta, where it took home the gold medal. His nickname, “The Hart Surgeon”, comes from his ability to make difficult shots under pressure. When not curling he works as a project manager with Hart-Well Electric in Pickering, Ontario.
Canada