In very surprising curling news, Mackenzie Zacharias of Winnipeg, Manitoba plans to take a hiatus from high-level curling TSN On Monday. Last year, Zacharias was the second for Canadian Olympic champion Jennifer Jones. The team won the Manitoba Scotties Tournament of Hearts in East St. Paul, Manitoba, and then made it to the finals of the 2023 Scotties Tournament of Hearts in Kamloops, British Columbia before losing 10-4 to Team Canada’s Kerri Einarson in the championship final. In the final, Zacharias rolled an impressive 88%.
Zacharias attended the University of Manitoba’s Kinesiology program and has worked as a kickboxing fitness instructor. She reportedly wanted to focus on her career.
This is surprising because Zacharias has been recognized as one of Canada’s top young aspiring curlers and has an excellent resume to date. Her notable honors include winning the gold medal at the 2020 World Junior Curling Championship in Krasnoyarsk, Russia and winning the 2022 Manitoba Scotties Tournament of Hearts in Carberry, Manitoba. Zacharias then skipped Team Manitoba at the 2022 Scotties Tournament of Hearts in Thunder Bay, Ontario.
Currently, it looks like Mackenzie Zacharias’ sister Emily will continue with Team Jones in 2024-24. She is joined by Karlee Burgess and Lauren Lenentine.
Jones won the gold medal in women’s curling 2014 Winter Olympics in Sochi. Later this month she will team up with her husband Brent Laing of Meaford, Ontario to represent Canada at the 2023 World Curling Mixed Doubles Championships in Gangneung, South Korea.
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