His management firm represents athletes
Olympic champion Ryan Fry has announced a step back from the sport of curling.
Posting on social media, Fry inferred his departure from Ontario champions Team McEwen and the commitment expected of a high-performance competitor in Canada. The 44-year-old did suggest he “may even stay in game shape just in case some top team needs a trained assassin to fill in occasionally.”
“What a ride it has been,” Fry’s post began. “An athlete never fully knows when it’s time to quit because the true meaning of being an athlete is to never give up. I love curling with all my heart; it saved me so many times.
“It taught me that anything is possible if you work your hardest at something and that success is measured by effort. Winning was never the most important thing to me; my motivation came from challenging myself to be better than what I gave myself credit for.”
Fry won a Brier championship title, a world silver medal and 2014 Olympic gold with Brad Jacobs’ Northern Ontario team. He competed in a total of 14 Briers since 2007 and represented a variety of teams and provinces in the process.
“I have made many mistakes along the way, but I learned through them what it takes to be proud, to forgive myself, and to strive to be my best possible version,” Fry continued. “I want to thank every single person who came into my life because of this sport.
“The love, the hate, the support—it all shaped and prepared me for what comes next. To ALL my teammates throughout the years, thank you. You were the friends I searched for, the brothers I never had, and the teachers I definitely needed. You all had a significant impact on my life.”
Fry’s posting was dotted with images from his various teams, which were skipped by names such as Jacobs, Toronto’s John Epping, Newfoundland and Labrador’s Brad Gushue and Manitoba’s Jeff Stoughton.
“I plan to continue striving for excellence in the sport and hope to do my part to leave it in a better place than when I started,” said Fry.
The Winnipeg-born curler has already started in this regard, having coached the Rachel Homan team to the 2023 Ontario title and on to the Scotties Tournament of Hearts in Kamloops.
After thanking his parents—Fry’s Brier champion father Barry passed away in 2021—he also thanked his wife “and best friend” saying “curling gave me you, and I’m never giving you back.”
Fry and Jessica Szabo met at a curling skins game tournament in Banff, when Szabo was working for event owner and broadcaster TSN.
The two have co-founded a Toronto-based sport management firm which represents curling teams—including Canada’s Team Homan, Scotland’s Team Bruce Mouat and Sweden’s Team Anna Hasselborg—as well as athletes in judo and equestrian.