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Great Britain women secure spot in curling gold medal match

GB women secure spot in curling gold medal match
© Reuters
Great Britain's women's curling team beat Sweden to advance to the gold medal match at the Beijing 2022 Winter Olympics.

Great Britain's women's curling team beat Sweden to advance to the gold medal match at the Beijing 2022 Winter Olympics.

Skip Eve Muirhead and the team of Jennifer Dodds, Hailey Duff and Vicky Wright marched to a thrilling 12-11 victory over the Scandinavians after 11 ends to emulate the men's team and set up a clash with Japan in the final.

GB were immediately handed a scare as Sweden stormed to an opening 4-0 lead in the first end with the hammer, but Muirhead's team pulled it back to 4-3 straight away before levelling at 5-5 after a steal in the fifth end.

Muirhead produced one of the shots of the tournament to propel GB to a four-pointer in the ninth end, but at 8-11 down, Anna Hasselborg's Sweden managed to force an extra end with three points as the first 10 ends finished with the scores tied at 11-11.

GB kept their heads in the 11th end and nicked the all-important point as Hasselborg's final shot curled just wide, as Muirhead's team claimed a 12-11 win to guarantee the nation another medal at the Beijing Games.

Speaking to BBC Sport after the win, Muirhead said: "Third time lucky! I've lost two semi-finals before and I was desperate for it! These moments and opportunities don't come around very often. I'm so so proud of these girls. I'm pretty speechless right now, what a moment."

Wright added: "After the first end I thought 'Right here we go, buckle up!'. I fully believed in all of us, we put the pressure on Sweden and we got there in the end."

Dodds reflected on the team spirit, saying: "The aim of that second end was to get ourselves back in the game - three was an absolute bonus. We knew it was going to be tough. We are so good at grinding and never giving up. None of us put our heads down, we all rallied around each other."

GB now prepare for battle against Japan in the women's final on Sunday morning after the men's team take on Sweden in their gold medal match on Saturday.

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Great Britain's Eve Muirhead, Jennifer Dodds and Hailey Duff in action at the Beijing 2022 Winter Olympics on February 10, 2022
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