U-15 leads Finns assault

That was because it was time for another winning streak.

The Finns, Olympic silver medallists at Turin last February, won their next two matches and sat at 2-2 heading into Monday's late afternoon draw.

At the Olympic Games, the man they call U-15 – due to the eye-popping 15 letters in his surname - was 2-2 before reeling off six straight wins en route to the final.

The previous season, Uusipaavalniemi found himself losing early and often at every Olympic qualifying tournament (the Europeans and the Worlds) but, again, he managed to launch a stunning roll of victories.

"Sometimes it's slow, and then we get a better touch," the bespectacled skip confirmed.

"Sometimes it matters who we are playing, we have tough matches at the start. But we've won eight in a row after losing the first five many times, so it's not a problem."

The curling life is not a problem for the towering blonde skip, who became a folk hero after winning Olympic silver.

Millions watched on television, and websites sang the praise of "The Mighty Uusis" and tens of thousands lined up at his home-built curling club in Hyvinkaa, a project for which Uusipaavalniemi risked his career and life savings a few years ago.

"You need to have at least one crazy guy like me to build a curling club, or you cross your fingers and hope the media will pick up on curling and everybody gets interested," Uusipavaalniemi said.

"Then after the Olympics, I got 100-150 emails a day and the same amount of phone calls. Big publishers are trying to get me to make a book. On average, two television programs a day phone me.

"The Olympics can change a lot."

The Finns now have a new line-up, which sees Olympic second Kalle Kiiskinen at third stone and sweeping, while Olympic alternate Jani Sullanmaa throws second and holds the brush for skip stones. Teemu Salo is the lead.

Olympic third Wille Makela retired after Turin, claiming he could no longer afford to compete away from full-time employment.

"He (Makela) has been my soulmate in curling for 10 years, and trusted a third," Uusipaavalniemi said.

"I hope he will get some stability in his work life soon and return to curling."

Finland sat in a five-way tie for third place after their 7-5 win over Sweden, along with Norway, Germany, the surprising Irish and the Swedes.

Scotland and hosts Switzerland lead the pack with 4-0 records.

In women's play, Switzerland's Mirjam Ott is mounting a comeback of her own after critical wins over Germany and the Netherlands.

Ott is 2-3 after a horrendous start, tied with two other teams. Three squads are in third place at 3-2, while Scotland's Rhona Martin is in second at 4-1.

The surprising Russians led by 20-year-old Ludmilla Privivkova are alone in first place at 5-0.