Bruce Mouat’s world champion GB men’s curling team have survived a dramatic turnaround at the Cortina Winter Olympics to reach the semi-finals, where a medal is now guaranteed if they win — but the women’s side were heartbreakingly eliminated despite winning their final match.
The men had been staring at an early exit as recently as Wednesday morning before a strong victory over the United States lifted them to five wins from nine round-robin games. That record alone was not enough to secure progression — they needed Italy to lose their final two matches, and the hosts duly obliged, handing Mouat’s rink an unlikely route into the last four.
They now face Switzerland at 18:05 GMT on Thursday, a rematch of last April’s World Championship final which GB won. Victory would send them into Saturday’s gold medal game and guarantee at least the silver they claimed in Beijing four years ago. Defeat means a bronze medal play-off on Friday against the loser of the Canada vs Norway semi-final.
GB lead Hammy McMillan was bullish about the team’s prospects, telling BBC Sport: “Once you get to the semis, it’s a new tournament.”
The women’s story, however, ended in heartbreak. Rebecca Morrison’s rink had won three consecutive games to keep their semi-final hopes alive, including a stunning last-stone victory over the United States and a composed win over Japan on Wednesday. They followed that up with a controlled 7-4 victory over Italy in their final round-robin game, leading 4-1 after four ends and managing the match well throughout.
But their fate rested on Switzerland beating the United States in a simultaneous match. The Swiss came from three points down to force an extra end, sending GB players watching from the athletes’ village to the edge of their seats — only for the US to hold on and win 7-6, ending Britain’s medal hopes.
Skip Sophie Jackson, standing alongside tearful team-mates, told BBC Sport: “We’re absolutely gutted but so, so proud. We had a tough start to the week and did everything we could but just left it too late.”
The women’s team, European silver medallists last year, had lost their opening two matches before mounting a remarkable late run that ultimately fell one result short.
