Men's curling at Beijing 2022 Olympics Day 5 round-up: Sweden maintain unblemished record with Britain in pursuit
Team GB recorded wins over hosts China and Denmark to sit second in the round-robin rankings, as Canada beat reigning champs USA to snap losing streak.
Curling
Sweden continue to lead the men’s curling tournament at Beijing 2022 after beating Norway to take their record to 5-0 on Sunday (13 February).
Niklas Edin and his rink survived their toughest test yet as the Norwegians pushed the PyeongChang 2018 silver medallists all the way until the final end.
With the scores tied 4-4, Norway had the advantage of the hammer in the 10th and final end.
Edin was lying two after his final stone but Steffen Walstad was left with what looked a fairly routine double take-out to win the match.
But he was off-line with his shot, only clipping the first of the stones near the button and rolling out for Sweden steal of two and a 6-4 win which leaves them unbeaten.
It was a day of mixed fortunes for reigning Olympic champions USA.
After suffering a 10-5 defeat to neighbours Canada in the morning session, John Shuster's rink returned to see off China 8-6.
The Americans looked in control as they led 7-3 after six ends.
But the gap was down to one going into the final end after China stole one when Shuster missed a double take-out instead of a simple draw for one.
That did mean USA had the hammer in the 10th, and Shuster drew for a single to take a victory which leaves them on 3-3 and with work to do to make the top four.
Beijing 2022 men's curling round up: Canada snaps losing streak with dominant display over Team USA
Team Canada rebounded from back-to-back losses to defeat defending USA in a 10-5 romp.
Canadian skip Brad Gushue came out of the blocks firing as he followed up an opening score of one with a four-point steal in the second end.
Victory looked all but guaranteed at the halfway mark with Canada 7-1 in front.
Determined not to let their northern neighbours have things their own way, Shuster responded with a triple in the sixth end.
But they were unable to further cut the deficit, and Gushue hit a perfect takeout to score two in the ninth the Americans conceded the game.
Elsewhere, Great Britain registered two important wins to boost their hopes of making the final four.
Skip Bruce Mouat and his rink defeated hosts China 7-6 in the morning before returning to the ‘Ice Cube’ to down Denmark 8-2 in eight ends.
After going up 4-0 in the second end against the Danes, the Scottish quarter never looked back as the put together one of their most complete performances to date.
"Out of 10 for the round robin so far, I'd give us an eight," said Mouat to Team GB after the second win of the day.
Now 4-1, they will be hoping to carry that momentum with them into Monday's clash with Switzerland:
"We've got a lot of teams that are probably going to be in the top half of the field now," continued Mouat, looking at what lies ahead. "The Swiss tomorrow is going to be a very big game."
Italy meanwhile rebounded from their fourth consecutive defeat at the hands of ROC (10-7) to beat the Swiss 8-4.
That was their first win of the competition in Beijing after third Amos Mosaner won gold in the mixed doubles with Stefania Constantini.
Men’s curling at Beijing 2022 Olympics Day 5 results in full:
- Sweden 6-4 Norway
- Great Britain 7-6 People's Republic of China
- Canada 10-5 United States of America
- ROC 10-7 Italy
- Great Britain 8-2 Denmark
- Italy 8-4 Switzerland
- United States of America 8-6 People's Republic of China
You can find the round robin standings after today’s action here.
A reminder that the top four teams after the round-robin proceedings will progress to the semi-finals. The subsequent winners of those matches will then face off for the Olympic gold medal.
Schedule: Curling at Beijing 2022 Olympics Day 6
Here is the schedule for Monday 14 February (all times local China Standard Time):
- 14:05 Men's Round Robin Session 8 - Canada v Italy
- 14:05 Men's Round Robin Session 8 - Denmark v Norway
- 14:05 Men's Round Robin Session 8 - ROC v Sweden
- 14:05 Men's Round Robin Session 8 - Great Britain v Switzerland