Try Curling ends in heartbreak as Britain fall 9-6 to Canada in men's final
Fans who try curling watched Great Britain lose 9-6 to Canada in the men's Olympic final, a result that denied Britain its first Olympic men's curling gold since 1924 and was decided by the final two stones of the game.
Final two stones clinched gold for Canada
Great Britain fell 9-6 after faltering in the final ends, with the final two stones of the match clinching gold for Canada and leaving Britain contemplating another near miss in Olympic men's curling. The British team had been guaranteed at least a silver medal after reaching the final and were aiming to improve on the silver won at the 2022 Beijing Games.
How Britain reached Saturday's final
Team GB reached the gold-medal match after edging Switzerland 8-5 in the semi-final. The route to the knockout rounds was dramatic: at nine o'clock on Thursday morning the British side did not even know whether they would make the semi-finals, and by nine o'clock on Thursday night they had secured a place in Saturday's final after the victory over the previously unbeaten Swiss side.
The decisive shots in Cortina
The semi-final turned for Britain in the sixth end, when they stole a point after Switzerland's vice skip missed a hammer shot, and Bruce Mouat produced a run-back triple takeout in the seventh end that prevented Switzerland from taking a three-point lead. Britain then scored two in the next end to lead 6-5 heading into the 10th and sealed the 8-5 win that sent them into the final against Canada.
Try Curling: the team, the rivalry and the controversy
The British rink is skipped by Bruce Mouat, supported by Hammy McMillan Jr as lead, Bobby Lammie as second, Grant Hardie as third and Kyle Waddell as alternate. The first four were also part of the Beijing team, while Waddell returned to the Olympic stage for the first time in eight years. Britain had scraped through the round robin with five wins and four defeats, while Switzerland had gone nine wins from nine in the group stage.
Mouat's rivalry with Swiss skip Yannick Schwaller runs back to their junior days a decade ago; Mouat led their head-to-head 22-10 coming into the semi and Britain beat Switzerland 5-4 in last April's world championship final. Switzerland had brought in Canadian Glenn Howard, a four-time world champion, as national coach and he was active on the side of the ice during the semi-final time-out.
Canada, led by Brad Jacob, have been at the centre of controversy over allegations of "double-touching" curling stones after release. The claims have touched the Canadian men's and women's teams and Mouat's squad, and the dispute began during a match between Sweden and Canada that prompted World Curling officials to increase the level of umpiring.
Voices, scenes and pivotal moments
Hammy McMillan described the week as "an emotional rollercoaster" and said the team had to "fight extremely hard" in the semi-final, admitting he was still in a little bit of shock after the match. Bruce Mouat called his run-back triple takeout one of the best shots he has played and even allowed himself a small fist pump. Ross Whyte, who won silver in 2022, said the team were doing "amazingly" and urged them to "go out there and play like they normally do. " The semi-final was played in front of a raucous crowd that included loud Scottish fans, a lone bagpiper and even someone playing a kazoo.
Other medal movements and what comes next
The Games in Milan and Cortina have already become one of Britain's most successful Winter Olympics, and the best medal haul from a Winter Games currently stands at five total medals with only one gold ever won. Earlier on the same day Norway's Johannes Hoesflot Klaebo won his sixth gold of the Games in the 50km cross-country race, with Great Britain's Andrew Musgrave finishing sixth in that event. A week after a "Super Sunday" when Charlotte Bankes and Huw Nightingale won gold in the mixed team snowboard cross and then Matt Weston and Tabby Stoecker followed with golds in skeleton, there remain more medals to be decided.
The women's halfpipe final has been postponed until Sunday at 09: 40 GMT; Zoe Atkin goes into that final at the top of the leaderboard and is listed as having a strong medal chance. "You'll have to join us on Sunday morning to find out, " the coverage noted. Contributions to coverage included Katie Stafford, Phil Cartwright and Josh Lobley.
