Bruce Mouat: GB curlers denied Olympic gold as Canada wins 9-6
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 title in 102 years and preventing Team GB from claiming a fourth gold medal at these Games.
Final score and where it turned
Canada overtook Great Britain in the ninth end to turn the match and finish 9-6 ahead. Britain had held the hammer for the 10th end but trailed 8-6 after Canada took three in the penultimate end, leaving the last end too little to overturn the deficit.
Bruce Mouat nailed a sixth-end double but late errors cost GB
Bruce Mouat produced a key double takeout in the sixth end to score two and move GB into a 5-4 lead, but misses in the eighth left Britain with only a single and exposed them when Canada had the hammer in the ninth. Mouat then spun in an excellent stone with his second-to-last throw in the 10th, knocking away two opponents' stones, but a strong response from Canada secured the gold and the 9-6 final score.
Lineups, pedigree and the long wait
Mouat, Grant Hardie, Hammy McMillan and Bobby Lammie — with alternate Kyle Waddell — arrived in Cortina as world champions and favourites. The Scottish quartet, who were left bereft by defeat against Sweden in the final in Beijing four years ago, have since won two World Championships, a couple of European crowns and a record 12 Grand Slam titles since the last Games, yet will take silver for the second successive Olympics.
Route to the final: early scare and a Thursday semi-final
The past 10 days in Italy were not straightforward. Team GB were on the brink of a shock early exit as recently as Thursday but recovered after an epic semi-final win over Switzerland on Thursday that Mouat called "our gold medal". Canada had beaten GB in the round-robin earlier in the week, making Saturday's final the second time the Canadians had beaten them in five days.
Canada's campaign and post-match reaction
Canada, whose team includes 2014 gold-medallist Brad Jacobs, finished the round-robin ahead of Team GB and therefore had the hammer for the first end. Brad Jacobs missed a chance to blank the fifth end, leaving Canada with a 4-3 lead at the halfway mark despite having had the hammer three times. The Canadian side, which has faced tumultuous scrutiny amid cheating claims during these Games, seized the critical moments late to take gold.
Mouat's response and what comes next
Overcome with emotion after the final, Mouat said he was "a bit in shock" and added that they felt like the better team. He also spoke about the support from home and the hope that the silver medal could help inspire people to take up the sport. Team GB will leave Cortina with silver for a second straight Games; unclear in the provided context is the team's immediate schedule, but the next confirmed public milestone for the squad is not stated in the provided context.
