Bruce Mouat and his British curling team will face Canada for the gold medal on Saturday evening after a remarkable comeback against Switzerland at the Cortina Curling Stadium. The semi-final clash featured two game-changing shots of extraordinary skill from Mouat himself, turning what seemed a likely defeat into a historic victory.
Earlier in the day, Britain’s chances of reaching the semi-finals had been uncertain. Their round-robin performances had failed to assert dominance, and progression depended on other results. Switzerland provided the crucial opening, defeating Italy and setting up a semi-final against GB.
Switzerland initially dominated the match, appearing in control midway through. But Mouat produced a pivotal stone in the sixth end, turning what looked like a potential three-point Swiss advantage into a tied game. The decisive moment came in the seventh end, when Mouat’s final stone removed all three Swiss counters, swinging momentum firmly in Britain’s favour.
Grant Hardie praised the shot, saying: “That shot from Bruce in the seventh, we’ll hopefully be talking about for a long time.” From that point on, the British team seized control, scoring two points in the eighth and defending effectively in the tenth to secure an 8-5 victory.
“It’s probably the hardest-fought win we’ve ever had,” said Bobby Lammie, while Mouat, overcome with emotion, could barely respond: “Oh my God… what’s happened? Crazy!”
The victory sets up a highly anticipated gold-medal clash with Canada, which GB’s curlers have long had their sights on. Grant Hardie described the upcoming game as “the biggest match of our lives.”
Meanwhile, the GB women’s team narrowly missed out on a semi-final spot. Sophie Jackson’s team finished with a 7-4 win over Italy but required a Switzerland victory over the US to progress, a result that did not materialise. Jackson reflected: “Overall, I think we were one of the best teams here at the end of the week, so it’s just a shame we didn’t start a little quicker.”
