Winter Olympics 2022 - Team GB guaranteed first medal as men's curlers reach final with win over USA

ByEurosport

Updated 17/02/2022 at 18:06 GMT

Team GB are certain to end their wait for a medal at the Winter Olympics in Beijing after Bruce Mouat guided the men's curling team to the final with a 8-4 win over the USA. The Americans gambled by throwing their final shot on the penultimate end to retain the hammer, leaving them 6-4 down, but it did not pay off. Watch every moment of the Games on discovery+.

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Concerns that Great Britain could leave the Beijing Winter Olympics without a medal have been put to bed by the men's curlers after they beat the United States 8-4 to reach the final.

Bruce Mouat - who missed out on a place in the podium in the mixed event - will lead his rink in the gold medal match against Sweden on Saturday (06:05 GMT).

It was the tightest matches that went down to the final stone, but GB were rock solid and stayed calm as their opponents made all the mistakes.

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But they got off to a ropey start.

After a blank first end with the hammer, the USA stole an end and went 2-0 up as GB looked passive in the face of American aggression.

But they struck straight back and took the lead in the third end as American skip John Shuster threw a few wayward stones and GB crowded the house.

The USA took the hammer and an end with it as they took two off GB thanks to some supreme shooting from Matt Hamilton, but that was the last time Mouat's men would lose an end as they took back the hammer and restored the lead thanks to brilliant shooting of Grant Hardie and Bobby Lammie.

With a 5-4 lead and into the second half of the game, neither side took the risks required to either take the initiative, fearful of throwing away a chance of the final before the match neared its end.

Three blank ends followed with the US holding the hammer as Christopher Plys was guilt of some heavy-handed shooting in the eighth, spoiling the USA's chances of levelling the match.

In the ninth end, GB stole an end to go 6-4 up as Shuster opted to throw into the barriers, doubling their deficit but retaining the hammer.

With two needed in the tenth and final end, the Americans took risks but looked low on confidence as victory edged closer to Team GB.

With the hammer, Shuster needed to knock two yellow stones out of the house, but he missed to hand Team GB the win, sparking celebrations from an emotional Mouat.

Team GB's women's curling team will compete in their own semi-final against Sweden on Friday, and could guarantee the nation yet another medal with a win.

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