Bruce Mouat: Winter Olympics 2026 — GB curlers denied Olympic gold at death yet again
bruce mouat's rink left Cortina with silver after Canada beat Team GB 9-6 in the men's curling final, denying Britain a first Olympic men's gold in 102 years and stopping what had looked like a real chance to end that drought. The Scottish quartet — Bruce Mouat, Grant Hardie, Hammy McMillan and Bobby Lammie, plus alternate Kyle Waddell — arrived in Cortina as world champions and favourites but will depart as silver medallists for the second successive Olympics.
Bruce Mouat's reaction
Mouat was emotional afterwards. "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 later added: "I'm just a bit shocked. We felt like we were probably the better team there. " He also reflected on support and the week overall: "Regardless of the result, the amount of people that have come out to support us, the amount of people that message us from back home. The boys and I love our sport. We want people to come and join our sport. If we can take anything away from this week, as well as the silver medal obviously, it's being able to inspire people to take part, I hope. "
Final ends — hammer and double takeout
The match swung late. Canada had finished the round-robin ahead of Team GB and therefore had the hammer for the first end; GB limited them to one in that opening end and then took two in the second. After three ends Canada led 3-2, Britain levelled after four, and by the halfway mark Canada led 4-3 following a miss from Brad Jacobs when he failed to blank the fifth end. Mouat then executed a double takeout in the sixth to pick up two and move GB into a 5-4 lead. Canada drew level after seven, but the eighth was pivotal: GB missed shots and only took one, leaving them 6-5 ahead going into the penultimate end. With Canada holding a four on offer in the ninth they took three points to move 8-6 ahead. Britain had the hammer in the 10th; Mouat spun in an excellent stone with his second-to-last throw, knocking away two of the opponents', but Canada responded to seize control and close out a 9-6 victory.
Path to the final in Cortina
The Scottish rink had arrived in Cortina believing this was their time. They had won two World Championships, a couple of European crowns and a record 12 Grand Slam titles since the last Games, and they have built a dominant record in the years between Olympics. That pedigree included beating the Canadians in last year's world semi-final, although Brad Jacobs' time-served Canadian team did beat GB in the round-robin meeting earlier in the week, a match in which GB led after six ends before slipping to a 9-5 defeat and temporarily needing favours from other teams to progress.
Semi-final and near exit Thursday
The past 10 days in Italy had not been straightforward. GB were on the brink of a shock early exit as recently as Thursday, then recovered and secured a place on the podium after an epic semi-final win over Switzerland on Thursday — a match Mouat described as "our gold medal" in the immediate aftermath. That semi-final win guaranteed a medal, but the one they really wanted proved out of reach in the final.
Canada's win and context
Canada's victory denied Team GB what would have been a fourth gold medal of this year's Games for Britain, and it was the second time in five days that the Canadians had beaten Mouat's rink in Cortina. The Canadian team, meanwhile, have had a tumultuous time at these Games amid cheating claims, but they completed the tournament by overtaking GB in the ninth end of the final and finishing 9-6 to take gold.
Left bereft by defeat against Sweden in the final in Beijing four years ago, the Scottish quartet have come to dominate their sport since, but for a second successive Olympics they must settle for silver in the men's event.
