Bruce Mouat and Jen Dodds endured a bitter repeat of history as they lost their mixed doubles curling bronze medal match to Italy 5-3, leaving Team GB still searching for their first medal of the Winter Olympics. The defeat follows fourth-placed finishes for Mia Brookes in big air and Kirsty Muir in slopestyle, compounding a frustrating 24 hours for the British team.
Chef de mission Eve Muirhead acknowledged the pain, calling the recent near-misses a prime example of sport's fine margins. “Fourth isn’t a position any athlete wants to finish in,” said Muirhead, who experienced the same fate in women’s curling at Pyeongchang 2018. She urged the team to stay positive and build momentum as the Games continue.
Mouat and Dodds had been dominant in the round robin, winning eight of nine games and entering the semi-finals as favourites. However, they suffered a shock 9-3 loss to Sweden’s Isabella and Rasmus Wranå, a team they had beaten earlier. The defeat forced them into a bronze medal match against world and Olympic champions Italy, who capitalised on a costly steal in the fourth end to take control.
“We’re gutted,” said Mouat. “We had a much better week than four years ago so to again come away with nothing is bitterly disappointing.” Dodds added that the Italians fully capitalised on their half shots, and the pair now look to regroup for the team events, where both won medals in Beijing four years ago.
Muirhead remains hopeful: “We’ve got a long way to go, we are only on day four and there’s a lot of great events to come.” The Swedish pair later won gold, beating the USA 6-5 in the final.
