Canada beats Team GB to deny Bruce Mouat Olympic gold in Cortina final
bruce mouat's rink were unable to deliver the long-sought Olympic gold, settling for silver after a 9-6 defeat by Canada in the men's final in Cortina. The loss ends Britain's 102-year wait for a men's Olympic curling title and denies Team GB a fourth gold of these Games.
Final in Cortina: ninth end proved decisive
The match turned in the ninth end when Canada, with the hammer and a four on offer, took three points to move 8-6 ahead. That swing forced Britain to score in the 10th with the hammer; although Mouat spun in a stone that removed two Canadian stones on his second-to-last throw, a strong Canadian response regained the ascendancy and sealed a 9-6 victory.
Bruce Mouat's reaction
Mouat was visibly emotional after the loss. "I'm a bit in shock. I think we felt like we were the better team. I don't know what to say, " he said, and in a separate remark added: "I'm just a bit shocked. We felt like we were probably the better team there. " He also reflected on the support they have received, saying the group hopes to inspire people to take up the sport and will take the silver and that inspiration away from the week.
Team GB rink, credentials and personnel
The Scottish quartet competing for Team GB—Bruce Mouat, Grant Hardie, Hammy McMillan and Bobby Lammie—travelled to Cortina as world champions and favourites, with Kyle Waddell named as alternate. Since the last Games they have amassed two World Championship titles, a couple of European crowns and a record 12 Grand Slam titles.
Ends and momentum: early trading with Brad Jacobs
The opening half of the final was cagey, with Mouat and 2014 Olympic gold-medallist Brad Jacobs trading points while Canada, having finished the round-robin ahead of Britain, held the hammer for the first end. GB limited Canada to one in the opening end, then took two in the second. Canada went 3-2 up in the third, Britain levelled after four, and a miss from Jacobs in the fifth—when he failed to blank the end to retain the hammer—left Canada leading only 4-3 at the halfway mark.
Mouat produced a pivotal double takeout in the sixth end to score two and put GB 5-4 up, and Canada later levelled at 5-5 after the seventh. The eighth proved a turning point when Britain missed shots and took only one, leaving them 6-5 before the decisive ninth.
Road to the final and broader context
The past 10 days in Italy were turbulent for the British rink. They had been on the brink of an early exit as recently as Thursday but recovered to guarantee at least a medal after an epic semi-final win over Switzerland, a match Mouat called "our gold medal" in the aftermath. Earlier in the tournament Canada had beaten Team GB in the round-robin by 9-5, and the final was the second time the Canadians had beaten them in five days.
The defeat repeats the disappointment of four years ago in Beijing, when the same Scottish quartet were left bereft after losing the final to Sweden; this is their second successive Olympic silver. What makes this notable is the contrast between their dominance on the world stage—multiple world and Grand Slam titles—and the persistence of the Olympic title that has eluded them for more than a century.
Off-ice issues and tournament impact
Canada entered the match having endured a tumultuous tournament of their own amid cheating claims, but finished the round-robin ahead of Britain and converted that position into the gold. The result leaves Team GB with silver and a campaign that combined both narrow escapes and high-level wins, while Canada takes the Olympic men's curling title in Cortina.
