GB men's curling team reaches final, women miss out

Team GB men guarantee a medal with curling final berth

Bruce Mouat's rink has guaranteed Team GB at least a silver medal at the Winter Olympics, defeating previously unbeaten Switzerland 8-5 in the men's curling semi-final. The victory secures Britain's fourth medal of the Games in Cortina.

The reigning world champions will face Canada in the gold medal match on Saturday at 18:05 GMT. They are looking to upgrade the silver they won at the Beijing Games four years ago.

A dramatic turn in the semi-final

The British quartet—Mouat, Grant Hardie, Hammy McMillan, and Bobby Lammie—struggled in the round-robin stage and only advanced to the medal matches after Italy lost on Thursday morning. Their semi-final performance was a tense affair against the world's top-ranked teams.

Switzerland took an early 4-3 lead at the break. The game's pivotal moment came in the sixth end when a Swiss stone glanced off a guard and sailed through the house, handing Britain a steal and tying the match at 4-4.

"That's probably the hardest-fought win we've ever had and glad we brought our best when it really mattered," second Bobby Lammie told BBC Sport.

Final ends decide the contest

After Switzerland nudged ahead 5-4 in the seventh, Mouat executed a crucial shot to limit the damage. He then scored two in the eighth to give GB its first lead at 6-5.

Switzerland blanked the ninth end, setting up a final end where they needed two points to win. With the game on the line, Swiss player Benoit Schwarz-van Berkel's final stone was a fraction off target, securing the British victory.

The team now looks ahead to what vice-skip Grant Hardie called "the biggest match of our lives" against Canada.

Heartbreak for the British women's team

Earlier on Friday, the British women's curling team saw their medal hopes end in dramatic fashion. Rebecca Morrison's rink did their part by defeating Italy 7-4 in their final round-robin match.

However, their fate depended on Switzerland beating the United States in a concurrent match. The Swiss, despite forcing an extra end after being three points down, lost 7-6.

That result eliminated Team GB, rendering their own victory moot. The women's team had rallied from losing their first two matches to win five of their last seven.

A week of curling highs and lows

The British men's path to the final looked unlikely just days ago. Their resurgence was signaled by a strong performance against the United States on Wednesday, which served notice of their threat in the knockout rounds.

Key factors in their semi-final win included:

• Recovering from a slow start, which had cost them earlier in the week
• Capitalizing on a critical Swiss error in the sixth end
• Executing precise final shots under immense pressure

For the women, skip Sophie Jackson summed up the team's devastation and pride. "We're absolutely gutted but so, so proud," she told BBC Sport. "We had a tough start to the week and we did everything we could but just left it too late."