Try Curling: GB lose 9-6 as they try curling in Olympic final

Great Britain were defeated by Canada in the men's curling gold medal match, losing 9-6 after faltering in the final ends, as the side who had earlier fought to reach the decider continued to try curling for Olympic glory. The British men had guaranteed at least a silver after a tense 8-5 semi-final victory over Switzerland that sent them into Saturday's final against Canada.

Try Curling gold match details

The final’s closing sequence was decisive: "These are the final two stones of the final which clinched gold for Canada and left Great Britain contemplating another near miss in men's curling at the Winter Olympics. " Great Britain had been aiming for their first gold in Olympic men's curling since 1924 but lost 9-6 after faltering late in the match. The British team had previously won silver at the last Games in Beijing in 2022 and had been aiming to improve on that finish.

Cortina comeback and semi-final

Call it the Cortina Comeback. At nine o'clock on Thursday morning, Great Britain's men's curling team did not know whether they would be in the Olympic semi-finals; by nine o'clock on Thursday night they had beaten the previously undefeated Swiss team 8-5 to reach the final against Canada. The British had scraped through the round robin only because the Italian team lost their last group stage game to the Swiss on Thursday morning.

Ends, shots and a key run-back

The semi-final swung in Britain’s favour in the sixth end when the British managed to steal after Switzerland’s vice skip missed a tricky hammer shot. In the seventh end Bruce Mouat executed an improbable "run back triple takeout" that prevented a Swiss three and left the Swiss needing a draw just to score one. Britain then scored two in the next end to lead 6-5 going into the 10th. In the semi-final sequence a point in the sixth end changed momentum, two points in the eighth saw Britain edge in front for the first time, and another two-point score in the 10th sealed the 8-5 win.

Team make-up and records

Bruce Mouat is the skip of the British side, with Hammy McMillan Jr as lead, Bobby Lammie as second, Grant Hardie as third and vice-skip, and Kyle Waddell as alternate. The first four also made up the team for the Beijing Games, while Waddell returned to the Olympic stage for the first time in eight years. During the round-robin stages Mouat’s squad squeezed through with five wins and four defeats, while Switzerland had won all nine of their matches in the round robin. Mouat and Swiss skip Yannick Schwaller carry a long rivalry dating back to the world junior championships a decade ago; Schwaller won the first meetings but Mouat led 22-10 in their head-to-head coming into this semi-final, including winning the last four straight and beating the Swiss 5-4 in last April's world championship final.

Quotes, crowd and momentum

Hammy McMillan described the week as "an emotional rollercoaster, " saying "we had to really fight extremely hard in that game. We started off pretty slow and the Swiss guys really took advantage of that. " He praised the travelling fans: "They were amazing. If they can bring that exact same energy on Saturday, it’ll spur us on, " and added, "Any time you hear the bagpipes, you get goosebumps. " Mouat judged his run-back shot "one of the best shots he has ever made in competition" and even allowed himself a fist pump after it. McMillan also said of Mouat: "In my opinion Bruce is one of the best shotmakers in the world, if not the best shotmaker in the world, " adding that "for the last 18 months he’s been incredible, and as long as we do our job, we’ve got 100% confidence in Bruce he’s going to finish it off. " Ross Whyte, who won silver in 2022, said the team were doing "amazingly" and should "go out there and play like they normally do, " adding "They're a great team, and we have high hopes and are praying that they get it done. " Vicky Wright, Olympic gold medallist curler, reflected on the players' potential and on Eve Muirhead's previous attempts at gold, saying it "was Eve's fourth time of trying for her Olympic gold. She knew that was probably her last chance of winning it, she went for it and we did it. " Wright also said: "It will be interesting to see how they feel after this - do they want to go again? I really hope they do because there is so much potential with these boys. They can keep going for years and years and will win that gold medal in the future. "

Controversy and officiating changes

Team GB now faced familiar rivals Canada, led by Brad Jacob. The Canadian men's and women's teams, along with Mouat’s squad, have been at the centre of cheating allegations around "double-touching" curling stones after their release. The dispute began during an explosive match between Sweden and Canada and led World Curling officials to increase the level of umpiring.

Other events and schedule

The Games in Milan and Cortina are already among Britain's most successful in history. The best medal haul from a Winter Olympics currently stands at five, with only one gold ever having been won. There are five gold medals up for grabs on the 16th and final day of the 2026 Winter Olympics. It is also described elsewhere in the schedule as the penultimate day of the Winter Olympics. The women's halfpipe final was postponed until Sunday at 09: 40 GMT, with Zoe Atkin described as having a strong medal chance; writers asked, "Will Zoe Atkin win Great Britain a fifth medal on the final day of the Winter Olympics?" and noted "You'll have to join us on Sunday morning to find out. " Norway's Johannes Hoesflot Klaebo won a sixth gold of the Games in the 50km cross country, with Great Britain's Andrew Musgrave sixth. A week earlier, on a day referred to as "Super Sunday, " Charlotte Bankes and Huw Nightingale won gold in the mixed team snowboard cross, with Matt Weston and Tabby Stoecker then winning in the skeleton. The men's ice hockey bronze medal match between Slovakia and Finland was noted as reaching a conclusion on the schedule. Readers were invited to use a yellow 'Get Involved' button to have their say.

Bylines: Katie Stafford, Phil Cartwright and Josh Lobley.

Great Britain’s men will leave Milan-Cortina having sealed a medal but having fallen short of the long-held aim of an Olympic men's curling gold; the road included a pivotal 8-5 semi-final win, a remarkable Mouat shot, and a 9-6 final defeat to Canada after late struggles.