Bruce Mouat 'very disappointed' with Olympics curling defeat, Greg Rutherford says 'pressure was monumental'

Published 19/02/2022 at 12:45 GMT

Team GB secured their first medal at Beijing 2022 – but it was not the colour they were after. Bruce Mouat’s rink were left with silver after failing to get the better of Sweden in Saturday’s showdown, with Eve Muirhead’s women’s team now Britain’s best hope of a gold at the Winter Olympics. Muirhead will skip GB in the final against Japan on Sunday (from 1:05 GMT).

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Bruce Mouat admits his Team GB rink gave Sweden “too much of a head start” after seeing their title dreams vanish at Beijing 2022 on Sunday.

Mouat, Grant Hardie, Bobby Lammie and Hammy McMillan were bidding to end Britain’s 98-year wait for a men’s curling gold medal but fell to an extra-end defeat in a tense final with Sweden.

They had fought their way back into the contest from 3-1 behind after a loose start, but could not crack opposite skip Niklas Edin as the Swedes pinched it 5-4.

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“More than a little bit [disappointed],” Mouat told Eurosport.

“It was a great week from us, we played really well throughout the tournament. We were hoping to kind of have that performance today.

“It was pretty close but we just gave them too much of a head start. We were preparing for this for about five years and this was the moment we were hoping to have that win obviously. So we’re very disappointed.

“I think in the last half we were in control, more so than them. But as I said, we gave them too much of a head start and we had to battle back.”

GB had beaten Sweden in the round-robin phase, but could not stage a repeat in their medal showdown at the Beijing National Aquatics Centre.

“We’re still very proud, particularly how we played all week,” added Hardie.

“But at the moment, the overriding emotion is disappointment that we didn’t bring home the gold for everyone.”

It was the crowning moment for Edin, who had won bronze at Sochi 2014 and silver at PyeongChang 2018.

"Niklas has had such an impressive career and he's one of the best in curling history, he's an example of what we can do in four years’ time,” added Mouat.

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'Pressure was monumental' - Rutherford

Meanwhile, two-time world junior bronze medallist Logan Gray joined Radzi Chinyanganya and former Olympic long jump champion Greg Rutherford in The Cube.

“What a match that gold medal game was and it was nip and tuck all the way," said Gray.

"GB got off to a bad start but you thought that, if things had gone slightly differently in the second half, they could have got the gold but it wasn’t to be unfortunately.”

Reacting to Mouat's obvious emotion after the heartbreaking loss, Gray added: “Bruce was absolutely gutted. He had two chances, technically, to become Olympic champion and he didn’t quite get there in the end.

"But there’s no question that his performance levels have been unbelievable throughout and he can be beyond proud of what he’s achieved in these Games.”

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Rutherford, who is the protagonist of a discovery+ documentary after attempting to qualify for Beijing in the four-man bobsleigh, said they had the weight of a nation on their shoulders.

"It was so difficult. And for all the guys there, this pressure is monumental. This is one of the biggest moments of their lives, genuinely, the pressure of everybody," said Rutherford.

"You’ve got to think about what’s been talked about during this entire Olympic Games – we’ve not had any medals yet and they had it all on their shoulders.

"They were going into this, we have to remember, knowing they would come away with some form of medal and what I found incredible was watching their reaction when they didn’t get the gold. That showed how much it meant to them, how much they came into this wanting to win.

"They came into this to become Olympic champions. I’ve lived it myself. It’s very difficult when you don’t get what you go in there for – aiming to win."

The London 2012 Olympic gold medallist hopes the silver medal will encourage people to consider taking up curling and other winter sports. “I think loads of people will take inspiration from what he’s achieved today," he said.

"Whenever we have an Olympic Games, everybody gets behind Team GB, which is amazing. And it really does help promote the sports. I would not be surprised if there is many a club across the UK inundated with people wanting to give it a go.

"And that’s what’s so important, if we can get more people into the winter sports, we’ll have even more success. And we have to look at curling. We are a successful nation in curling, so we should be – and I’m hoping people see it as something as close as it can be to them that they can get access to, get involved with, and we can bring more people through.

"It’s a wonderful sport, we were all on the edge of our seats. It’s one of those things once you get into it you realise how incredible it is, and I would love more people get involved."