Canadian gold medallists Kaitlyn Lawes and John Morris hope their victory in mixed doubles curling will attract a new generation to the faster-paced, more athletic variation of the beloved Canadian sport.

The pair defeated the defending world champions from Switzerland to win the first-ever Olympic gold in mixed doubles curling on Tuesday. They say they鈥檝e been caught up in a whirlwind of media requests and mandatory doping checks ever since, but they鈥檙e embracing the attention in hopes that it helps them grow their sport at home and abroad.

鈥淗opefully we can inspire some new curlers,鈥� Lawes told CTV鈥檚 Genevieve Beauchemin in Pyeongchang. She predicts mixed curling will 鈥渂low up鈥� in the years ahead, particularly among younger people.

鈥淚nternationally it鈥檚 already a huge success, and in Canada I think there鈥檚 a lot of traditional curling fans, but now we鈥檙e breaking the mould and we鈥檙e bringing in a lot more youthful audience,鈥� she said.

Several curling club owners in Canada told The Canadian Press they鈥檙e already seeing more interest in the game mixed doubles variation of the game.

Morris suggests that mixed doubles is a more accessible version of curling, because it only requires two members to make up a team instead of the traditional four, and because a game doesn鈥檛 last as long. He also said it鈥檚 more athletically demanding.

鈥淭here鈥檚 so many positive factors,鈥� he said. 鈥淚f we鈥檙e going to see an influx of new young curlers in our country, it鈥檚 going to be because of mixed doubles.鈥�

Among the more unexpected individuals to embrace the sport on Tuesday was Mr. T, who wrote several tweets praising the Canadians鈥� performance.