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On Sunday, Great Britain’s women’s curling team defeated Japan 10-3 to earn gold.
This was captain Eve Muirhead’s fourth Olympics, and she finally got the gold she craved. The victory occurred 20 years after Great Britain’s previous gold medal in curling, which was won by Rhona Martin’s rink in Salt Lake City in 2002.
“This is a moment I’ve wished for since I was a youngster,” Muirhead remarked. “To be here now, knowing that I followed in Rhona’s footsteps and wear this gold medal around my neck, is something very, very precious.”
Muirhead’s team of Vicky Wright, Jennifer Dodds, Hailey Duff, and alternate Mili Smith dominated Japan, with the critical moment coming in the seventh end when Great Britain took four to establish an 8-2 lead. And they closed off the game with a commanding 10-3 victory.
Muirhead’s gold medal joins her bronze medal from Sochi 2014, and it helps her overcome the agony of losing two semifinals. “It was really emotional,” Muirhead remarked. “I managed to keep (the tears) at bay until the flag was hoisted.”
“It’s a moment I’ve been looking forward to for years.” The girls have helped me improve as a curler. They’ve also helped me become a better person, and I wouldn’t be here if it weren’t for them.”
The women’s team qualified for the knockout phase by a hair’s breadth after winning five of their nine round-robin matches. Muirhead’s squad needed to beat the ROC and rely on other outcomes to go their way heading into the final round of games. With the win-loss record-equaling out between Britain, Japan, and Canada, it came down to the Draw Shot Challenge (which takes place before every game and honors team closest to the button), and Britain clinched their berth in the semifinals by less than 10 cm.
They then rallied from four stones behind in the opening end to defeat Sweden 12-11, necessitating an extra end.
And, against Japan, the ladies scored two points in the first end and took control of the game from there. They virtually sealed it in the seventh, taking an 8-2 lead, eliciting the loudest scream from the British supporters in the arena.
In the eighth, Japan could only muster one point. Satsuki Fujisawa, Japan’s captain, went over to pump fists and concede after Muirhead took two in the ninth. Another cheer erupted from the crowd, which included Great Britain’s silver medalists in men’s gymnastics.
