Winter Olympics closing ceremony LIVE: Team GB women win first gold medal in curling as Beijing Games end
Follow latest updates from Beijing Winter Olympics 2022 as Team GB chase their first medal of the Games
Great Britain’s women, led by Eve Muirhead, went one better than the men in their gold medal match against Japan at the Winter Olympics in Beijing.
The men’s team fell short yesterday when Sweden claimed gold to deny Bruce Mouat and his team. Swedish skip Niklas Edin proved too good and repeated their victory over Great Britain in a 2014 semi-final. Muirhead overcame almost impossible odds to steer her women’s curling team into the Olympic final where she completed an incredible journey to finally fulfil an ambition that appeared beyond her after a decade at the top of her sport. Team coach Murdoch put her chances of salvaging victory at “less than 10 per cent” after shipping four shots in a disastrous opening end to defending Olympic champions Sweden, but they clawed back to clinch a thrilling 12-11 victory in an extra end.
In the final, Muirhead guided Great Britain to their first and only gold of the Games, beating Japan 10-3 to claim the joint-biggest margin of victory in a final since the sport was reintroduced in ‘98. With all events now closed and the medals handed out, it only remains for the closing ceremony to take place and the baton to be passed on to Italy.
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Here we go then, the first stone has been cast!
Team GB have the hammer.
Rhona Martin on Eve Muirhead
“She’s fought for this all her life, following in her father’s footsteps,” says Rhona Martin.
“To get to this point is a huge boost for her.
“She loves playing the big shots. Eve played such a good game in that semi-final.
“She was on fire in the semis, I’m sure it will be the same today.”
Jackie Lockhart on Team GB women
“It was very last-minute they were put together, dynamics are a huge part of the sport,” says Jackie Lockhart.
“They’ve gained energy and taken it forward into their game.
“It’s no secret they were struggling last year. When the new team was put together and they performed well, they raised their game and knew something had happened.
“It’s a breath of fresh air to have the youngsters in the team.”
Rhona Martin’s message to Eve Muirhead and Team GB
"They're relaxed and happy, they'll be nervous, everybody will be. Good nerves, when they're on the ice, they'll enjoy it and play the game they want to play."
Rhona Martin recalls Olympic glory
“It was a case of us being excited and pleased to be there,”
“We treated it like any other game, not like an Olympic final. We didn’t do anything out of the ordinary.
“We were relaxed. You just want to win the game. The girls had played the end so well I had the chance to win it.
“They did their job and I finished it off. It was an exciting end. As a skip, you just want the shot to win. I had to take it.”
Winter Olympics Day 16 event times and what to look out for
- 01:05: Women’s curling final - GB v Japan
- 01:30: Men’s bobsleigh - GB chasing a medal in four-man event
- 01:00: Skiing mixed team parallel
- 03:00: Cross country women’s 30km
- 04:10: Men’s ice hockey final - ROC v Finland
- 12:00: Closing ceremony
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