Kevin Martin is a retired Canadian curler. He began curling when he was six. He took up the sport because his father was the Vice President of his local curling club. In 1985, his Alberta team won the 1985 Canadian Junior Championship, their first year together as a team. He accompanied the Canadian team as an alternate at the 1985 World Junior Curling Championships. They won and qualified for the following season’s 1986 World Juniors.
5 years later he formed a new team and won his first Provincial Championship which qualified him and his team for the 1991 Labatt Brier. They also participated in the 1991 Canada Safeway World Curling Championships in Winnipeg. He earned a spot at the 1992 Winter Olympics after his 1991 Brier victory. In 1992, he won his second Provincial Championship. His first World Curling Tour event was the 1993 Players Championship. His first WCT event came the following season at the 1993 Kelowna Cashspiel and later that season he won the 1994 Players Championship.
He didn’t win the provincial title again until 1995. He won another one in 1996. In 2000, he won his sixth provincial title. His team went to the 2001 Canadian Olympic Curling Trials and finished first after the round-robin with a 7 to 2 win-loss record. While representing Canada in the 2002 Winter Olympics, he won his third international silver. He played his third Canadian Olympic trial in 2005. He didn’t win another provincial title until 2006. Martin’s team later won the 2006 Canada Cup of Curling.
In April 2006, he announced the breakup of his long-time Olympic silver medalist team. His new team won the 2007 Alberta Provincials and won their second straight provincials in 2008, sending them to the 2008 Tim Hortons Brier where he won his third Brier title. He also finally won his first World Championship at the 2008 World Men’s Curling Championship where he won gold. The Canadian Curling Association selected his team to be Canada’s representative on “Team North America” at the 2008 Continental Cup of Curling.
His team played at the 2009 Canadian Olympic Curling Trials and earned the right to represent Canada for the second time at the Olympics winning gold. His first event in the 2011-2012 World Curling Tour was the Point Optical Curling Classic and he finished as a runner-up. His team competed in the Canada Cup of Curling and secured a close win. He attempted to qualify for his fourth Olympics appearance through the 2013 Canadian Olympic curling trials however, his team lost. As a result, he was hired by NBC Sports to work as a Curling Analyst during the 2014 Winter Olympics and he filled this role again in the 2018 Winter Olympics.
During the 2014 season, he announced that he was going to retire from curling. After his retirement, he became a Curling Analyst for Sportsnet. Following the next season, it was announced that he had been inducted into the Canadian Curling Hall of Fame and he was inducted into the World Curling Hall of Fame at the 2018 World Men’s Curling Championships.
During his playing career, he greatly influenced the evolution of the sport of curling into a competitive sport. His boycott of the Canadian Curling Association for his refusal to allow the developments in the World Curling Tour to be mirrored in the Brier catalyzed not only the transformation of the Brier but, also the growth of the Grand Slam. In doing so, it has allowed the sport of curling to become a legitimate spectator sport.