Great Britain's women's curling team have been eliminated from medal contention at the Winter Olympics after the United States clinched an extra-end victory over Switzerland in their final round-robin match. The result, coupled with Britain's own 7-4 win over Italy, left Sophie Jackson's rink relying on other results to reach the semi-finals, but the US prevailed by millimetres.
Britain had earlier beaten the USA 8-7 in the round robin, thanks in part to a stunning shot from Rebecca Morrison. However, the Americans produced a remarkable comeback against Switzerland, with the Swiss scoring three in the 10th end to force an extra end at 6-6. In the extra end, Tabitha Peterson, with the hammer, delivered a superb final throw to edge closer to the button than Switzerland's stones, sealing the win.
Skip Jackson, whose team won gold under Eve Muirhead at Beijing 2022, expressed pride in her side despite the disappointment. "We wanted to get that win today and wait and see what happens. I'm so, so proud of the team, so proud of the girls," she said. "We had a tough start to the week and we did the best we could. I think we were the best team out there by the end of the round robin but unfortunately we just left it too late."
Jen Dodds, who also missed out on a medal in the mixed doubles, described the tension of watching the extra end. "It was the worst feeling of watching an extra end in my life," she said. "Obviously, we knew Switzerland needed to win to give us any chance. So, it was a very tense extra end, I can imagine, for the Swiss and the Americans. They played a great last shot and hats off to them." Sophie Sinclair admitted she could not watch the final stages, adding: "We could hear the cheers and that was really enough to tell us."
Britain finished the group stage with a 5-4 record, in sixth place, with Sweden, Switzerland and Canada progressing to the semi-finals. The team's arrival at the Cortina Curling Olympic Stadium was delayed by heavy snowfall, with a bus journey taking 50 minutes instead of 10. Meanwhile, Bruce Mouat's men's rink secured their own semi-final spot after Italy lost to Switzerland, and Jackson confirmed the women's team would be supporting them. "We've got their backs all the way," she said.
