Canada's Gushue tops Denmark in round-robin opener

BEIJING — There was no wide-eyed glance around the venue, no expression of wonderment at the Olympic rings.

Canada's Brad Gushue walked with purpose upon arrival at the Ice Cube on Wednesday, offered a firm nod to some familiar faces in the stands and got down to work.

A champion at the 2006 Turin Games, Gushue returns to the Olympics in Beijing with a steely determination to get back to the top of the podium.

"That's why he's our skip," said vice Mark Nichols. "He's got the bigger goal in mind."

Gushue, Nichols, Brett Gallant and Geoff Walker opened round-robin play in the evening with a 10-5 victory over Denmark's Mikkel Krause.

After mixed doubles opened the Olympic schedule, the spotlight has shifted to traditional four-player team curling.

Gushue's rink and the Canadian women's team skipped by Jennifer Jones had one-hour practice sessions earlier in the day for the first time since their arrival in China.

Canada is expected to be a contender in each 10-team competition.

Great Britain's Bruce Mouat, Sweden's Niklas Edin, Switzerland's Peter de Cruz and defending champion John Shuster of the United States are some of the big names in the men's draw.

“We used to think if we just turned up and played OK then we'd make the playoffs," Gushue said. "But now every game is tough."

The women's field is arguably even stronger.

In addition to Jones and South Korea's Kim EunJung, defending champ Anna Hasselborg of Sweden, Switzerland's Silvana Tirinzoni, Great Britain's Eve Muirhead and Japan's Fujisawa Satsuki are some of the teams with podium potential.

"It's a tremendous field," Jones said. "All the top teams from around the world are here.

"We know that we're going to have to play our very best to make it into the