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Winter Olympics: Team GB beaten 5-4 by Sweden in dramatic men’s curling gold medal match | Olympics News

Winter Olympics: Team GB beaten 5-4 by Sweden in dramatic men’s curling gold medal match | Olympics News

Great Britain take silver, their first medal of the Winter Olympics, despite losing the men’s curling final in Beijing; Sweden claim a narrow 5-4 victory in the first extra end

Last Updated: 19/02/22 5:33pm


Despite losing the men's curling final in Beijing, Team GB are looking forward to playing in the 2026 Games

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Despite losing the men’s curling final in Beijing, Team GB are looking forward to playing in the 2026 Games

Despite losing the men’s curling final in Beijing, Team GB are looking forward to playing in the 2026 Games

Team GB narrowly missed out on a historic curling gold medal after being beaten 5-4 by Sweden in a dramatic men’s final at the National Aquatics Centre in Beijing.

Forced to try an ambitious effort to salvage an improbable win against the hammer, Bruce Mouat’s attempted take-out missed by inches to give Swedish skip Niklas Edin his first Olympic crown.

Mouat’s men were never in front after losing two in the second end, but nevertheless the 27-year-old and his team of Hammy McMillan, Bobby Lammie, Grant Hardie and alternate Ross Whyte can take solace in becoming Britain’s first medallists of the Games.

“It’s still pretty raw,” Mouat told BBC Sport. “That’s going to be the case for quite a while but I’m just trying to think about how good our week was and am just really proud of how we went about it.

It was a thoroughly impressive display by Edin, a former soldier in the Swedish army with five world titles to his name, who was under pressure in Beijing to land the one major title that still eluded him.

Sweden had claimed bronze in 2014 and silver in 2018

Sweden had claimed bronze in 2014 and silver in 2018

Great Britain, looking to win their first men’s curling gold since 1924, picked up one in the opening end but saw Sweden grab an advantage they would never relinquish when skipper Niklas Edin took two in the second.

The Swedes extended their advantage by stealing one in the third despite a brilliant double take-out by Mouat that had given him a glimmer of a greater reward.

Mouat pulled one back in the fourth for 3-2 and after Edin intentionally blanked the sixth and seventh ends to retain the last stone advantage, he made a rare error in the eighth to hand GB a steal and allow them to tie up the score at 3-3.

More clever tactics by Mouat in the eighth forced Edin to settle for one, and a pair of superb double take-outs in the ninth – first by Lammie, then Hardie, set up an intentional blank to allow GB to retain the hammer for the final end.

However, forced to take one in the 10th after some more expert work from Edin, they gave the advantage back to the Swedes for the extra end, and they forced Mouat into attempting an improbable effort which came up short.

Can GB’s women enjoy curling success?

Team GB will play in the women's gold medal match on Sunday

Team GB will play in the women’s gold medal match on Sunday

Eve Muirhead’s team face Japan early on Sunday (1.05am GMT) aiming to become Britain’s first Olympic champions since Rhona Martin – now Rhona Howie – led her team to victory in Salt Lake City in 2002.

Great Britain booked their place in the final after an extraordinary 12-11 semi-final win over Sweden, fighting back from a 4-0 deficit after the first end to seal victory in an extra end.

It capped a remarkable route for Muirhead’s team, consisting of Vicky Wright, Jennifer Dodds and Hailey Duff, who had to battle through a tough qualifying tournament just to reach Beijing.

Team GB only squeezed through to the semi-finals having won their final round-robin match and seeing two other results going their way, which was enough for them to finish third in their group.

The final against Japan, who like Britain squeaked through the group stage with a 5-4 record before beating round-robin leaders Switzerland in their semi-final clash, will give Muirhead the chance to avenge her bronze medal defeat to the same team in Pyeongchang four years ago.