Winter Olympics 2022 - Eve Muirhead's rink into curling semi-finals after win and a huge slice of luck

Updated 17/02/2022 at 10:45 GMT

Great Britain have pulled off a remarkable comeback to reach the semi-finals of the women's curling at the Winter Olympics, thanks to a huge bit of fortune. Eve Muirhead's rink beat the Russian Olympic Committee 9-4 and with other results going their way, they went through on the tie-breaking draw shot challenge. Watch every moment of the Games on discovery+.

'Look at that from Muirhead!' - GB's women beat ROC and make semi-finals

Great Britain dramatically sneaked into the semi-finals of the women's curling at the Winter Olympics after results and a tie-break went their way, having beaten the Russian Olympic Committee 9-4.

Eve Muirhead's rink needed to win their final round robin match to have a chance of going through and then required results to go their way. With Switzerland, Canada and Sweden winning, they went through on a tie-breaker, known as the 'draw shot challenge'.

In that, each team throws two stones before each match starts - one clockwise, one counter-clockwise, trying to get as close to the button as possible, with the average of the two shots then taken. Britain's efforts throughout the tournament were enough to go through in third ahead of Japan, with Canada knocked out.

Beijing 2022

Grainger vows Team GB will improve after Beijing disappointment

27/02/2022 at 16:04

After beating the ROC, Britain faced an anxious wait to see if Sweden would beat South Korea and they finally got the news they wanted to set up a last four tie with the Swedes, the reigning Olympic champions.

Muirhead started her match brilliantly, making the most of having the hammer in the first end. The skip drew her penultimate stone on the nose of an ROC rock, and despite skip Alina Kovaleva attempting to put up another guard, Muirhead drew close to the button to secure a double, meaning they were 2-0 up almost from the off.

ROC pulled a stone back in the second, with Muirhead unable to get past a guarded house, but GB responded in the third with the skip achieving a take-out on her final stone to secure one, leaving Britain 3-1 up after three ends.

GB were on course for a potential steal of three in the fourth, but Kovaleva achieved a successful raise, knocking a yellow stone out of the way to edge hers into the centre of the house to reduce the deficit to one.

The hammer was back with Britain but take-outs and counter take-outs would dominate the fifth end. Kovaleva put pressure on by making sure two red stones were in the house, leaving Muirhead with a relatively simply draw into the centre to take one, giving them a 4-2 advantage at the half-way point.

It was nip and tuck in the sixth end and Muirhead achieved a takeout with her final stone to leave a yellow on the button, but that was when Kovaleva made her first mistake of the match. The Russian skip over curled her effort to get a two, meaning Britain achieved a steal to go three up, to the apparent surprise of Muirhead, who let out a big sigh of relief.

With GB not needing to force anything due to their advantage, the team played it safe and restricted the Russians to one, who were getting to the stage where they needed more.

Muirhead had a chance to wrap up a win with two ends to spare in the eighth, but she needed to remove an ROC stone from the button to do it, without removing too many of her own - as three yellows were loaded in the centre of the house. Muirhead was unsuccessful with the takeout and ROC got the steal to reduce the deficit to 5-4.

GB had the hammer in the ninth and Muirhead threw a superb take-out with her penultimate effort, meaning four yellow stones were now sitting in the house. Kovaleva needed to pull off something special and threaded a stone brilliantly, meaning the British skip had work to do to remove it. She did that superbly, securing a four, cueing handshakes to win 9-4 with an end to spare.

With Canada and Switzerland already victorious, attention switched to Sheet D, where GB needed Sweden to win to have a chance of going through. But they got the result they wanted to keep their hopes of winning a medal alive on a dramatic afternoon in Beijing.

- - -

Watch every moment of Olympic Winter Games Beijing 2022 on discovery+

Beijing 2022