Mens Curling Results: Mouat’s run-back shot sends GB to Olympic final

In the latest mens curling results, Great Britain beat Switzerland 8-5 in the Olympic men's semi-final to guarantee a medal and earn a place in Saturday’s final against Canada.

Mens Curling Results: a single shot reshaped the semi-final

The turning moment came in the seventh end when Bruce Mouat executed what reporters described as a “run back triple takeout, ” hitting one Swiss stone into a second so that the second scudded into a third. That shot erased what looked like a likely Swiss three-point end and forced the opposition to attempt a draw just to score one. Earlier, GB had stolen the sixth end when Switzerland’s vice skip missed a tricky hammer shot, and Britain then scored two in the next end to lead 6-5 going into the 10th. The game finished 8-5 in GB’s favour.

Late-week swing: from uncertainty at 9 a. m. to a place in the final

It was a dramatic 24 hours. At nine o’clock on Thursday morning the British men's team did not even know whether they would be in the Olympic semi-finals, and by nine o’clock on Thursday night they had earned their spot in the final. The Swiss side had been unbeaten in the round-robin stage, and the Swiss team has worked with coach Glenn Howard. The two skips, Bruce Mouat and Yannick Schwaller, have a long rivalry: Mouat led their head-to-head record 22-10 coming into the semi-final.

What the crowd and coaches saw

The match unfolded in front of a rowdy crowd that included a band of Scottish supporters — complete with bagpipes and even a kazoo — whose energy, the British coach Hammy McMillan said, could spur the team on. McMillan called the week "an emotional rollercoaster" and praised Mouat, with the team saying they had "100% confidence" that he could finish shots when it mattered. The Swiss had been favoured after an undefeated group stage, but Britain’s late-week resurgence — dubbed the Cortina Comeback — carried them through.

With the 8-5 victory Great Britain have guaranteed themselves at least a silver medal and will take on Canada in the gold-medal match on Saturday. The final is the next confirmed event on their schedule.