GB Men Steal Four in USA Win to Maintain Semi-Final Hopes
Team GB's chances of securing a curling medal at the Winter Olympics remain alive following victories by both the men's and women's teams against the United States in Cortina.
Bruce Mouat's world champion rink needed to defeat the Americans and rely on losses by either Italy or Norway in their final two matches to progress.
After Wednesday afternoon's session, they have made significant progress toward this goal.
The British men's team delivered a commanding performance, defeating the less experienced US side 9-2 in just six ends. Simultaneously, Italy and Norway were trailing against the already-qualified Canada and Switzerland, respectively.
These fixtures will be reversed on Thursday at 08:05 GMT. Should either Italy or Norway suffer another defeat, Great Britain will advance to the semi-finals later that day.
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"This is a horrible position to be in, watching other games and hoping results go our way," Mouat told .
"We're just going to have to keep our fingers and toes crossed and see what happens."
Mouat's rink faced immense pressure as gold-medal favourites but produced some of their best curling on the big stage.
They stole points in each of the first two ends and capitalised on a critical third final-stone error by young American skip Daniel Casper. This mistake was particularly costly, allowing Great Britain to score four points and take a 6-0 lead after three ends.
The US team managed to recover slightly before the break, scoring a couple of points, but Mouat, returning to strong form after a challenging week, secured another three points in the sixth end, effectively ending the contest and leaving the British team and supporters anxiously awaiting other results.
Italy and Norway would both finish above Great Britain's men on the head-to-head record if they win their final round-robin matches, with the top four teams advancing to the semi-finals.
Women's Team Holds On for Dramatic Victory
Great Britain's women's team is in a similarly precarious situation.
The relatively inexperienced rink, with only Jen Dodds remaining from the 2022 gold-medal winning squad, finished sixth at last year's World Championships and have not yet reached their peak performance in this tournament. Against the US, they missed opportunities and made errors.
Trailing 7-6 going into the final end and without the hammer, it appeared their chances were slim.
However, Rebecca Morrison executed a remarkable double takeout with her final stone. The American team faltered under pressure, failing their final attempt and handing the British rink an unexpected 8-7 victory.
The Scottish quartet must still win their remaining two matches and hope for favourable outcomes elsewhere to secure a place in the medal rounds.
The next challenge is a match against bottom-ranked Japan later on Wednesday at 18:05 GMT, followed by a game against second-bottom Italy on Thursday at 13:05 GMT.
"There was a lot at stake but we just need to keep believing," Morrison told .
"We were up against it but we're here to fight and that's what we did."
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