Heartbreak for Team GB as Canada take men’s curling gold on last stone

• Great Britain 6-9 Canada

• Mouat’s side take silver after falling short in last end

Sometimes the silvers you win feel more like the golds you lose. After an excruciatingly tense three-hour final, there’s no doubt which way Bruce Mouat and the British men’s curling team will see this one. They were beaten 9-6 by Canada, in a game that took several twists and turns on its way to the very last stone of the 10th end. It is their second Olympic silver medal, after the one they won when they lost to Sweden in Beijing in 2022. After 10 days of competition, the Olympic title is still the one thing in the sport that this world champion team haven’t won, and that will sting.

The British rink had the better start. They forced Canada to settle for one from the 1st end, even though they had last stone advantage. But Grant Hardie is a gnarly competitor and he and his team worked their way into a 4-3 lead at halfway with a couple of double take-outs in the 3rd and 5th ends. In the 4th, when Britain had the hammer, they were made to play the same clearing shot four times in a row, before Hardie finally nailed it. Then Mouat missed with his penultimate stone, which clipped his own guard on its way home. Continue reading...