John Shuster

John Shuster (/ˈʃuːstər/; born November 3, 1982) is an American curler from Duluth, Minnesota.[1] He led team USA to gold at the 2018 Winter Olympics, the first American team to ever win gold in curling. He also won a bronze medal at the 2006 Winter Olympics in Turin.[2] He has played in four straight Winter Olympics (2006, 2010, 2014, 2018) and eight World Curling Championships (2003, 2005, 2006, 2009, 2015, 2016, 2017, 2019).

John Shuster
Curler
Born	November 3, 1982 Chisholm, Minnesota
Team
Curling club	Duluth CC, Duluth, MN
Skip	John Shuster
Third	Chris Plys
Second	Matt Hamilton
Lead	John Landsteiner
Alternate	Jared Zezel
Mixed doubles partner	Cory Christensen
Career
Member Association	United States
World Championship appearances	8 (2003, 2005, 2006, 2009, 2015, 2016, 2017, 2019)
World Mixed Doubles Championship appearances	1 (2019)
Olympic appearances	4 (2006, 2010, 2014, 2018)
Medal record Representing  United States Men's curling Winter Olympics 2018 Pyeongchang Team 2006 Turin Team World Curling Championships 2016 Basel Winter Universiade 2007 Turin US Men's Championship 2003 Utica 2005 Madison 2006 Bemidji 2015 Kalamazoo 2017 Everett 2019 Kalamazoo 2020 Cheney 2016 Jacksonville 2012 Philadelphia 2013 Green Bay US Olympic Trials 2005 Madison 2009 Broomfield 2013 Fargo 2017 Omaha Mixed doubles curling World Mixed Doubles Curling Championship 2019 Stavanger US Olympic Trials 2017 Blaine United States Mixed Doubles Curling Championship 2019 Seattle 2020 Bemidji

Curling career

Pete Fenson rink and 2006 Winter Olympics

Shuster began his international career playing lead for Pete Fenson's team. He played in his first world competition at the 2003 Ford World Men's Curling Championship, where the U.S. finished eighth. The team returned to Worlds at the 2005 Ford World Men's Curling Championship, where they lost in a tiebreaker game, after posing an 8–3 round-robin record. The Fenson team won the 2005 United States Olympic Curling Trials and went on to play at the 2006 Winter Olympics, where they won a bronze medal (the first-ever Olympic medal in curling for the U.S.). After the season, Shuster left to form his own team.

2007–2014

Shuster played in his first Worlds as a skip at the 2009 Ford World Men's Curling Championship in Moncton, New Brunswick, finishing with a 7–4 record and losing in a tiebreaker match against Norway to finish fifth. His team won the 2009 United States Olympic Curling Trials and represented the United States at the 2010 Olympic Games in Vancouver. However, after Shuster missed several crucial last-rock shots in three of the United States' first four matches U.S. coaches took the unusual step of replacing him with alternate Chris Plys.[3]

After skipping the 2010 Olympic team to a last place finish, Shuster joined Craig Brown as his third. For the 2010–11 season, Shuster formed his own team again, this time with Zach Jacobson, Jared Zezel, and John Landsteiner. He then replaced Jacobson with longtime teammate Jeff Isaacson at third in the 2012–13 season. Shuster won his second World Curling Tour event as skip at the 2012 St. Paul Cash Spiel, defeating Todd Birr in the final.

After back-to-back bronze medal finishes at the 2012 and 2013 United States Men's Curling Championships, Shuster and his team were selected to participate at the 2013 United States Olympic Curling Trials by the United States Curling Association's High Performance Program committee.[4] Shuster and his team finished first in the round-robin, and played Pete Fenson in the three-game final round, winning after the third game. Thus, Shuster's team represented the United States at the qualifying event for the Olympics and succeeded in securing the final spot at the Olympics for the United States. He again represented the United States at the Winter Olympics in Sochi, marking his third consecutive appearance at the Olympics. However, Shuster's team again got off to a slow start and was unable to recover, finishing in ninth place with a 2–7 win-loss record.

U.S. rejection and 2018 Winter Olympics

Following the U.S. team's Olympic struggles, the United States Curling Association held an athlete combine to determine which curlers to include in their High Performance Program (HPP), aimed at having better success at the next Olympics. Shuster and teammate Landsteiner were two of the athletes dropped from the HPP. In response, Shuster created a new team nicknamed "The Rejects" with Landsteiner at lead, fellow combine reject Matt Hamilton at second, and Tyler George at third, who hadn't attended the combine due to his work.[5] They maintained this line-up for four seasons and found great success. At the National Championships in 2015 they defeated both HPP teams to win the gold medal.[6] Representing the United States at the 2015 World Championship in Halifax, Nova Scotia, Team Shuster missed out on the playoffs when they lost a tiebreaker to Finland's Aku Kauste. As a result of its success, Team Shuster was added to the High Performance Program for 2016.[5]

Shuster came up just short of defending his national title in 2016, losing to Brady Clark in the final. Despite finishing in second, Team Shuster earned enough points throughout the season to secure their return trip to the World Championship.[7] In Basel, Switzerland they defeated Japan's Yusuke Morozumi in the bronze medal match, earning the first World Men's medal for the United States since 2007.[8][9] For the 2016–17 season they added Joe Polo, a former teammate of Shuster and George, as alternate and won the 2017 National Championship. At the 2017 World Championship, their third Worlds in a row, they lost in the bronze medal game against Team Switzerland, skipped by Peter de Cruz.[10]

At the 2017 United States Olympic Curling Trials, Shuster and his team beat Heath McCormick's team in a best-of-three final series, setting up Shuster's fourth straight Olympics appearance.[5] In the 2018 Winter Olympics in PyeongChang, the U.S. team lost four of its first six matches and needed to win all of its three remaining matches to qualify for the playoffs, but all of its remaining opponents (Canada, Switzerland, and Great Britain) were currently among the top four teams. Nevertheless, the U.S. team won all three matches to finish the round-robin in third place with a record of 5–4. In the semifinals they defeated Canada's Kevin Koe, a two-time world champion, to reach the gold-medal match versus Niklas Edin's team representing Sweden. The gold-medal game was close through seven ends, with the score tied 5–5, but the United States scored five in the eighth end to set up a 10–7 victory.[5][11][12] This was the first Olympic gold medal in curling for the United States.

Post-Olympics

Tyler George left the team after the 2017–18 season and was replaced by Chris Plys. The team represented the United States at the second leg of the 2018–19 Curling World Cup in Omaha, Nebraska, where they beat Niklas Edin in the final in a re-match of the Olympic gold medal match. The team won the 2019 United States Men's Curling Championship and represented the United States at the 2019 World Men's Curling Championship, where they were knocked out in the quarterfinals. Shuster's team was also chosen to represent the United States for the final leg of the Curling World Cup, called the Grand Final, in Beijing. They finished in 6th place.

Shuster defended his United States title at the 2020 United States Men's Championship, defeating Rich Ruohonen in the final to finish the tournament undefeated.[13] The national title would have earned Team Shuster a spot at the final Grand Slam of the season, the Champions Cup,[14] as well as the chance to represent the United States at the 2020 World Men's Curling Championship, but both events were cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic.[15] Their Champions Cup qualification will instead carry over to the 2021 Champions Cup.[16]

Mixed doubles

Shuster competes in mixed doubles curling with Cory Christensen. The pair finished in second place at the 2017 United States Mixed Doubles Curling Olympic Trials and earned a national championship in 2019.[17] At the 2019 World Championship Shuster and Christensen finished the round robin tied for first in their group with a record of 6–1.[18] They later lost to Canada in the semifinals but defeated the Australian team of Dean Hewitt and Tahli Gill for the bronze medal.[19]

Personal life

Shuster is married to Sara Shuster, and has two children. He is employed as a "Team USA Sales Associate" for Dick's Sporting Goods.[20] He lives in Superior, Wisconsin.[21]

Grand Slam record

Key
C	Champion
F	Lost in Final
SF	Lost in Semifinal
QF	Lost in Quarterfinals
R16	Lost in the round of 16
Q	Did not advance to playoffs
T2	Played in Tier 2 event
DNP	Did not participate in event
N/A	Not a Grand Slam event that season

Event	2003–04	2004–05	2005–06	2009–10	2014–15	2015–16	2016–17	2017–18	2018–19	2019–20
Elite 10	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A	DNP	DNP	DNP	Q	DNP	N/A
Masters	Q	DNP	DNP	Q	DNP	DNP	Q	Q	QF	Q
Tour Challenge	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A	SF	Q	QF	QF	QF
The National	DNP	DNP	Q	Q	Q	Q	Q	DNP	DNP	DNP
Canadian Open	DNP	DNP	Q	Q	DNP	Q	QF	Q	DNP	DNP
Players'	DNP	QF	QF	DNP	DNP	Q	DNP	Q	DNP	N/A
Champions Cup	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A	Q	Q	DNP	DNP	N/A

Teams

Men's

Season	Skip	Third	Second	Lead	Events
2001–02	John Shuster	Jeremiah Dotlich	Jeff Thune	Jesse Gates	2002 USJCC
2002–03	Pete Fenson	Eric Fenson	Shawn Rojeski	John Shuster	2003 USMCC , 2003 WMCC (8th)
2003–04	Pete Fenson	Eric Fenson	Shawn Rojeski	John Shuster	2004 USMCC
	John Shuster	Jason Smith	Kevin Johnson	Shane McKinlay	2004 USJCC [22]
2004–05	Pete Fenson	Shawn Rojeski	Joe Polo	John Shuster	2005 USMCC/USOCT , 2005 WMCC (6th)
2005–06	Pete Fenson	Shawn Rojeski	Joe Polo	John Shuster	2006 USMCC , OG , 2006 WMCC (4th)
2006–07	Pete Fenson	Shawn Rojeski	Joe Polo	John Shuster
	John Shuster	Jeff Isaacson	Chris Plys	Shane McKinlay	2007 WUG
2007–08	John Shuster	Jeff Isaacson	Chris Plys	Shane McKinlay	2008 USMCC (6th)[23]
2008–09	John Shuster	Jason Smith	Jeff Isaacson	John Benton	2009 USMCC/USOCT , 2009 WMCC (5th)
2009–10	John Shuster	Jason Smith	Jeff Isaacson	John Benton	2010 OG (10th)
2010–11	Craig Brown	John Shuster	Greg Johnson	Derrick Casper	2011 USMCC (6th)
2011–12	John Shuster	Zach Jacobson	Jared Zezel	John Landsteiner	2012 USMCC
2012–13	John Shuster	Jeff Isaacson	Jared Zezel	John Landsteiner	2013 USMCC
2013–14	John Shuster	Jeff Isaacson	Jared Zezel	John Landsteiner	2013 USOCT , 2014 USMCC (5th), 2014 OG (9th)
2014–15	John Shuster	Tyler George	Matt Hamilton	John Landsteiner	2015 USMCC , 2015 WMCC (5th)
2015–16	John Shuster	Tyler George	Matt Hamilton	John Landsteiner	2016 USMCC , 2016 WMCC
2016–17	John Shuster	Tyler George	Matt Hamilton	John Landsteiner	2017 USMCC , 2017 WMCC (4th)
2017–18	John Shuster	Tyler George	Matt Hamilton	John Landsteiner	2017 USOCT , 2018 OG
2018–19	John Shuster	Chris Plys	Matt Hamilton	John Landsteiner	CWC/2 , 2019 USMCC , 2019 WMCC (5th), CWC/GF (6th)
2019–20	John Shuster	Chris Plys	Matt Hamilton	John Landsteiner	2020 USMCC
2020–21[24]	John Shuster	Chris Plys	Matt Hamilton	John Landsteiner

Mixed doubles

Season	Male	Female	Events
2015–16	John Shuster	Cory Christensen
2016–17	John Shuster	Cory Christensen	2017 USMDOT (2nd), 2017 USMDCC (TB)
2018–19	John Shuster	Cory Christensen	2019 USMDCC , 2019 WMDCC
2019–20	John Shuster	Cory Christensen	2020 USMDCC
2020–21[25]	John Shuster	Cory Christensen

References

1. John Shuster Team USA.
2. "Torino 2006 – Results, Curling" – cbc.ca (Retrieved on March 21, 2008)
3. Jones, Jennifer (February 12, 2010). "Skip's demotion is highly unusual". Yahoo! Sports.
4. "Field set for 2014 US Olympic Team Trials". USA Curling. 9 May 2013. Retrieved 15 August 2013.
5. Peters, Justin (February 22, 2018). "Somebody Needs to Make a Movie About John Shuster and His Ragtag Team of Curling Rejects". Slate Magazine. Retrieved February 22, 2018.
6. "2015 USA Men's National Championship – Playoffs". CurlingZone. Retrieved May 14, 2020.
7. Davis, Terry (February 13, 2016). "Team Clark sweeps up national title". USA Curling. Retrieved May 14, 2020.
8. "World Men's Curling Championship 2016: Tournament details". results.worldcurling.org. Retrieved 2019-05-15.
9. Bohnert, Shane (April 10, 2016). "U.S. Men's Curling Team Wins First World Medal In 9 Years". Team USA. Retrieved May 14, 2020.
10. "Ford World Men's Curling Championship 2017". World Curling Federation. Retrieved May 14, 2020.
11. Estes, Gentry (February 23, 2018). "Morning Coffee: To John Shuster of USA Curling: I'm sorry for doubting you". Louisville Courier-Journal. Retrieved February 23, 2018.
12. Hendricks, Maggie (February 28, 2018). "Olympic curler John Shuster on the mantra that brought his team back from brink of elimination". USA Today. Retrieved March 3, 2018.
13. Schneider, Angela (2020-02-15). "John Shuster caps unbeaten run through USA Curling Nationals with win over Rich Ruohonen in final". The Spokesman-Review. Retrieved 2020-02-19.
14. "Ruohonen Joins Shuster in Top Page Game". USA Curling. 2020-02-12. Retrieved 2020-02-13.
15. "Canadian curling continues to get hammered by novel coronavirus cancellations". The Star. Mar 14, 2020. Retrieved Apr 27, 2020.
16. "2020 Humpty's Champions Cup teams to keep spots for next season". Grand Slam of Curling. Mar 18, 2020. Retrieved Apr 27, 2020.
17. "Curling: Shuster, Christensen win national title". Duluth News Tribune. 2019-03-03. Retrieved 2019-03-07.
18. "World Mixed Doubles Curling Championship: Round-Robin". Retrieved 2019-05-06.
19. "Curling: Team USA wins mixed bronze". Duluth News Tribune. 2019-04-27. Retrieved 2019-05-06.
20. 2017 Ford Worlds Media Guide: Team USA
21. 2019 Continental Cup Media Guide: Team Shuster
22. "Minnesota teams golden at Junior Nationals". USA Curling. 2004-02-07. Retrieved 2020-02-21.
23. "Field announced for 2008 USA Curling National Championships in Hibbing". USA Curling. 2008-01-28. Retrieved 2020-02-21.
24. "Team Shuster Returns". USA Curling. May 13, 2020. Retrieved May 13, 2020.
25. "Mixed Doubles Teams Announced". USA Curling. May 20, 2020. Retrieved May 20, 2020.

External links

• John Shuster at International Olympic Committee
• John Shuster at Olympic Channel
• John Shuster at United States Olympic & Paralympic Committee
• John Shuster at Olympedia
• John Shuster at World Curling Federation
• John Shuster at CurlingZone
• NBC Sports, 2018 Olympics, Shuster and Team USA defeat Sweden to win