Joel RETORNAZ

LINGUISTICS
Moved to China in 2013 to learn a fifth language. He learned Mandarin in seven months. “It’s kind of easy for me to learn languages. Nowadays it’s not the second language that makes you special, it’s the third that gives you the added value.” (Athlete, 5 Jan 2022)

DAVID AND GOLIATH
Qualifying for the Torino 2006 Olympic Winter Games as hosts, the predominantly amateur Italian team, skipped by Retornaz, were predicted to finish the tournament winless or possibly snatch a win against New Zealand. They surprised everyone with a 4-5 record, defeating New Zealand, Germany, United States (bronze), and eventually gold medallists, Canada.

"Beating Canada at the 2006 Olympics still remains one of the biggest achievements of my whole career. It was the weekend, so the arena was packed with Italian fans that at the time were just going crazy for curling. The game started well for us and we were fighting like lions. We managed to win in the extra end. No words to describe what happened when my last stone stopped. The crowd just went nuts." (olympic.org, 5 Apr 2019; worldcurling.org, 24 Jan 2018; washingtonpost.com, 21 Feb 2006)

STRUGGLE TO KEEP UP
Lack of funding and professionalism in Italy results in the team struggling to play high-quality competition regularly. Travels to Switzerland for European Tour events and competes in North American events sporadically.

"We don’t get much support from our federation, we lack funding. We have to train back home so we don’t get enough these kinds of close games against tough teams. We’re confident, but if you have more of these games in your pocket, you can react better when difficulties come up. You can't live on curling; however, it is a hobby that requires professional commitment." (shorelinebeacon.com, 5 Apr 2019; giornaletrentino.it, 15 Dec 2013)

© Data by Sports Data Warehouse

“Some people still talk about the win over Canada in Torino (2006). It’s more like the mental progression I’ve made through the years, rather than certain games or championships. I got mentally tougher and tougher.” (Athlete, 5 Jan 2022)