Opinion

Winter Olympics 2022: Eve Muirhead and Bruce Mouat star as curling threatens to come home – Best of Beijing

ByBen Snowball

Updated 29/03/2022 at 12:52 GMT

Team GB’s long wait for a medal is almost over as Bruce Mouat’s rink ripped through their men’s semi-final to guarantee at least a silver at Beijing 2022. Meanwhile, Eve Muirhead’s team got a huge slice of luck to reach the last four as the skip seeks to banish painful Olympic memories. Oh, and there was some serious drama in the ladies’ figure skating as Kamila Valieva took a few tumbles.

'Britain are in the Olympic final' - GB men beat USA in 'terrific' curling semi-final

BEST MOMENTS OF DAY 13

Thrilling Eve, Brilliant Bruce

Get the bunting out, polish your floor and straighten your broom bristles, curling is coming home.

Beijing 2022

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We don’t know what god Eve Muirhead prayed to last night but we’re ready to convert. Heading into the final instalment of the round-robin phrase, there were 16 possible permutations for the semi-final spots. Only two guaranteed Team GB a spot in the last four.

Then Canada built an unassailable lead over Denmark. Suddenly, all the guaranteed routes into the last four for Britain were extinguished. There was one final hope: the dreaded 16th permutation. GB needed to beat Russian Olympic Committee, hope Switzerland and Sweden saw off Japan and South Korea respectively and, crucially, be in the top two in a confusing three-way draw shot challenge.

'Look at that from Muirhead!' - GB's women beat ROC and make semi-finals

As the cards started to fall into place, with Sweden fighting back to beat Korea and Switzerland cruising, everyone frantically typed into Google: ‘what the hell is a draw shot challenge?’.

The answer is complex and boring, so we won’t bog ourselves down with all that here, but the outcome was a good one: Muirhead’s rink had scraped into the last four – an episode rightly dubbed Thrilling Eve.

Then it was over to the men, already through to the semi-finals and hoping to secure GB’s first medal of a torrid Games in Beijing. Skip Bruce Mouat was best known for his hat prior to the men’s tournament after his viral headwear outshone his meek performances alongside Jen Dodds in the mixed doubles. But after a shake-up from his psychologist, who reminded the 27-year-old just why he loved curling (as if you would need reminding?!), Mouat rediscovered his groove.

Against a funky-costumed Team USA, who were bellowing to the point we had to watch the match on mute, Mouat produced a brilliant performance after dropping two in the opening end. Mouat is widely considered as one of the best defenders on the circuit, so when GB took the lead at 5-4 in the fifth end it was always going to be tough for the Americans.

Yet despite the pressure applied by the Mouat Wall, their brain fart in the ninth end will still enter the Winter Olympics hall of shame. After three blank ends, skip John Shuster inexplicably decided to throw his stone into the side – giving Team GB a 6-4 lead into the final end. It could have proved a moment of magic, had they used the hammer to good effect, but a series of mistakes led to a hit-and-hope finale – one that ended with GB finally securing their first medal of the Games.

'Wow! He is giving it away' - USA deliberately throw stone into barrier against GB

'Blameless' Valieva leaves in tears amid Russian drama

Amid the curling drama, it was easy to forget that one of the biggest stories in Winter Olympics history was also unfolding.

The spotlight was fixed on Kamila Valieva of doping scandal fame in the ladies’ singles free skate, but the 15-year-old was left distraught after a catalogue of slips and falls saw her miss on the podium. It was another Russian, Anna Shcherbakova, who produced one of the skates of the Games to storm to gold – profiting from having almost no hype due to the focus on her team-mate.

An unusual final act saw Shcherbakova barely react as her gold was confirmed, silver medallist Alexandra Trusova let fly in an extraordinary rant and Valieva violently sob as her coach scolded her. It was hard not to feel sorry for the youngest Russian, who was given a rapturous reception before and after her routine, with the situation summed up neatly by Simon Reed on Eurosport commentary.

Watch Shcherbakova secure thrilling figure skating gold amid Valieva drama

“We wondered whether she was human because time after time we’ve watched her on Eurosport this season produce impeccable performances,” said Reed.

“But all that’s gone on behind the scenes has undermined her here and she couldn’t produce. Such a shame because there is so much goodwill for her.

“People know that she’s blameless. Anyone who’s got a 15-year-old will tell you, if you’re told to do something in sport at the highest level you tend to do it. She gave it her best shot but in the end it was all too much.”

'It was all too much' - Valieva devastated by routine and fourth place

'Stubborn as s**t'

Unless you stumbled across this article by accident, there’s a good chance you love sport. Everyone here does. And we all enjoy having opinions about it.

But sometimes those opinions stray far beyond what is acceptable. Just because someone is a global star doesn’t give us permission to send vitriol in their direction. They are still human.

Mikaela Shiffrin’s posts on social media in light of her latest heartbreak in Beijing are a reminder of that. The two-time Olympic champion fell again in the combined event, fresh from failing to make it past the fifth gate in the slalom and giant slalom earlier in the Games.

Shiffrin shared a selection of the appalling criticism she had received – including users calling her a “disgrace”, “arrogant” and a “dumb blonde” who should retire – after her combined disappointment.

Addressing her followers on social media, Shiffrin said: “Get up because you can, because you like what you do when it’s not infested with the people who have so much apparent hate for you. Just get up.

“It’s not always easy, but it’s also not the end of the world to fail. Fail twice. Fail five times. At the Olympics. (Enter me…) Why do I keep coming back? Gosh knows it hurts more than it feels good lately. I come back because those first nine turns today were spectacular, really heaven.

“That’s where I’m meant to be and I’m stubborn as s**t. So let’s go for some team event training tomorrow, and then the final Alpine race of this Olympics on Saturday.”

Can't argue with that.

‘No! All wrong again! - Shiffrin ‘just can’t get it together’ as she crashes out again

IN OTHER NEWS

“…and we’ll be taking you to the heart of the action.”

One cameraperson took their brief to extremes during halfpipe qualifying after their desire to get a close-up shot led to them taking a whack from Finland’s Jon Sallinen.

‘Oh my god! There could be injuries’ - Sallinen smashes into cameraperson during halfpipe

THREE TO WATCH ON FRIDAY

Freestyle skiing - halfpipe final (from 01:30 GMT)

Izzy Atkin became Britain’s first confirmed skier to win an Olympic medal at PyeongChang 2018 - and her sister Zoe could become the second.

The younger of the two finished fourth in qualification for the competition, but American-born Chinese star Eileen Gu will again be the favourite as she chases her second gold and third medal of the Games.

Atkin has a serious chance of getting on the podium and she is already a big-game performer, having won bronze at the World Championships last year.

‘Big!’ – GB's Atkin ‘looking great’ as she secures place in halfpipe final

Women’s curling semi-finals - GB v Sweden (12:05 GMT)

Eve Muirhead’s rink will surely feel boosted by the men’s team reaching the final, which guaranteed Britain a first medal. The pressure is now off Team GB and the skip has spoken about how she believes it is the knockout phase when her team really comes alive.

It is on paper a tough draw, with defending champions Sweden the opponents. But GB have already beaten them once at the Games and twice before Christmas on their way to winning the European Championships.

If Muirhead makes it through, she will be sure to upgrade from the bronze she won at Sochi 2014.

Bobsleigh - two-woman (from 1200)

Only so much can be drawn from training runs, but we can be sure that Mica McNeill and Montell Douglas have adapted to the sliding centre well, having gone third quickest in both of their opening heats.

The competition starts for real on Friday and they are hitting form at just the right time. A second place finish at a World Cup in Sigulda was achieved last month and McNeill is a pilot to watch.

It will be a special occasion for Douglas, who competes as an Olympian in a second sport, having also gone to Beijing 14 years ago as a sprinter at the 2008 Games.

BRIT WATCH

Although Mouat’s men’s curling rink have secured the first guaranteed medal, Atkin could be the first to get GB on the board in the early hours of Thursday morning (finish approx 03:00 GMT) when she goes in the halfpipe final.

We have already seen how unpredictable snowboard and ski cross can be and skier Ollie Davies is an outsider for a medal in Beijing, having finished a surprise fourth at the World Championships last year (qualifying from 03:45 GMT, knockout from 06:00 GMT).

Cornelius Kersten rounds off his debut Olympics, where he hit the landmark of being Britain’s first male speed skater to compete at a Games in three decades, when he goes in the 1000m (from 08:30 GMT).

You will need a double screen approach around lunchtime, with Muirhead’s curlers taking on Sweden in their semi-final (1205 GMT) while McNeill and Douglas go in the first two bobsleigh heats (from 12:00 GMT).

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