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Winter Olympics: All you need to know about curling
The Independent
The Olympics has brought us plenty of icons over the years, from Jesse Owens to Usain Bolt, Michael Phelps and even Eddie the Eagle – and now, there’s another in the form of US curling star Matt Hamilton.
He’s caused quite the stir at the Winter Olympics in Beijing this year, rocking up on the ice with a signature mullet and killer moustache.
The 32-year-old is also getting noticed for his flamboyant dress sense, which has seen him win over plenty of new fans online.
Not only has he been skating about on a pair of incredible Paul Rodriguez Nike SB Dunks, he’s also been spotted wearing Rick & Morty socks.
An Olympic hero is bornRichard Heathcote/Getty Images
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Even more impressive is the fact that Hamilton is growing his luscious locks for charity.
The athlete is raising money for a brain cancer research charity and has already received thousands on his way to his target of $10,000 (£7,387).
Drippy looks, a killer 'tache and his skills playing one of quirkiest sports of all time have all the ingredients to create an icon of the Beijing games and people are very much on board with it - including one of the biggest stars on the planet.
Matt Hamilton, USA Men's Curling team, mustache, mullet, wearing Paul Rodriguez kicks with Rick &Morty socks may be the most American athlete representing us. GO Team USA! #TeamUSA #Curlingpic.twitter.com/T7ttzVdcVl— Drawde Nikyob (@Drawde Nikyob) 1644495370
Even the Rock is a fan of Matt's, after commenting on his “focus, flexibility & hair”.
Took me a sec to figure this out \nI did not know that the thing being pushed on the ice - which for years I\u2019ve been referring to as \u201cthe gimmick they push\u201d is actually called THE ROCK. Very cool.\nBut nowhere near as cool as @MattJamilton\u2019s focus, flexibility & hair. LFG!! https://twitter.com/nbcolympics/status/1494018498154086407\u00a0\u2026— Dwayne Johnson (@Dwayne Johnson) 1645045685
matt hamilton from the US curling team is beer, in human formpic.twitter.com/dlQf4cMSNe— Bigger and Heavier Timby (@Bigger and Heavier Timby) 1644480061
Matt Hamilton is the hero we need in these trying timespic.twitter.com/4KDS4AowJP— ricky cilantro (@ricky cilantro) 1644787495
Matt Hamilton (@MattJamilton) hair appreciation tweet! pic.twitter.com/L1uylcnqT0— Olympics (@Olympics) 1644900871
I wish I had 1/10th of the sex appeal of US Men\u2019s Curling god Matt Hamiltonpic.twitter.com/MAv0FagGOg— Steeg (@Steeg) 1644783987
Happy Valentine\u2019s Day for all @MattJamilton fans!pic.twitter.com/fkWgh6Mc3x— Southern California Curling Center (@Southern California Curling Center) 1644873656
Hamilton seems to know just as much about trainers, as he does about curling too.
He converted a pair of Nikes from the collection of skateboarding champion Rodriguez into curling shoes by attaching a gripper on one sole and a slider on the other.
He even took to a Reddit thread to talk about his unique shoes, saying: “For anyone wondering, they are indeed the ‘what the p-rod’s’ and I did have them altered for curling.
“Teflon on the left shoe for sliding, a soft rubber attached to the right for grip, and a toe-dip (tough toe) on my right shoe to reduce drag while sliding.”
Despite his killer look, Hamilton couldn’t help the USA team to a medal, after being beaten in the semi-final by Team GB on Thursday.
Team GB are now guaranteed at least a silver medal after knocking out the defending champions.
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