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Bruce Mouat and his team were once again unable to bring home a men’s Winter Olympic curling gold, extending Britain’s wait that has now reached 102 years. Their pursuit of redemption from the previous Games was halted by Canada, who prevented Team GB from claiming a fourth gold medal at these Winter Olympics.
The Scottish team, composed of Mouat, Grant Hardie, Hammy McMillan, Bobby Lammie, and alternate Kyle Waddell, entered the Cortina Games as reigning world champions and strong favorites to win. They came fully confident that this would be the moment to finally break their gold medal drought. Despite those hopes, they had to settle for silver for the second consecutive Olympics.
Since their heartbreaking loss to Sweden in the 2022 final, this quartet has cemented their status as leaders in the sport. However, their journey through the past ten days in Italy was far from smooth. They narrowly avoided a surprising early elimination just days before, and although they managed to secure a medal, the one they truly sought eluded them after a 9-6 defeat. This marked the second time in less than a week that the Canadians had bested them.
“I’m a bit in shock. I think we felt like we were the better team. I don’t know what to say,” Mouat admitted to BBC Sport, visibly emotional after the match. Prior to this, after their dramatic semi-final victory against Switzerland, Mouat had boldly called that win “our gold medal.” Though that statement might have seemed premature to some, it was rooted in the team’s strong track record, which includes two World Championships, multiple European titles, and a record 12 Grand Slam victories since the last Olympics.
Their rivalry with Canada has been intense, with Team GB having a generally favorable record and even defeating Canada in the world semi-finals the previous year. While Canada’s seasoned team led by Brad Jacobs managed a rare round-robin victory earlier in the week, the British side had the upper hand after six ends in the final, leading 5-4 thanks to a remarkable double-takeout by Mouat. The first half was marked by cautious play and back-and-forth scoring between the two teams.
Canada eventually leveled the score after seven ends, but GB had the hammer advantage in two of the last three ends. Unfortunately, they were unable to capitalize on this. Scoring only a single point in the eighth end gave Canada the chance they needed, and with some crucial errors from the British side in the ninth end, Canada pulled ahead 8-6. Mouat, holding the hammer in the final end, needed to score two points to push the game to an extra end, but he was unable to execute under pressure.
For the second Games running, Mouat’s rink was left with a silver medal rather than the gold they dreamed of. Reflecting on the outcome, Hardie expressed to BBC Sport, “We wanted to win it for each other. The pain from four years ago was so much that we wanted to give it another go. We gave ourselves a chance but unfortunately we’ve not got there again.
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