Opinion

Eve Muirhead stars (and scares!) as curling fever grips Britain again – Best of Beijing

ByBen Snowball

Updated 29/03/2022 at 12:52 GMT

Well that was glorious and unpleasant in equal measure! After a sensational four-stone swing was secured by a terrific Eve Muirhead shot, her Team GB rink conspired to (almost) throw it all away as Sweden battled back in their semi-final. But it’s all smiles now – Britain will go for gold in both the women’s and the men’s curling at Beijing 2022. Can they win both and make it our greatest Games?

Vicky Wright and Eve Muirhead of Team Great Britain celebrate t

Image credit: Getty Images

BEST MOMENTS OF DAY 14

Curling: the sequel

Wanted: new heart. Reason: Eve Muirhead.

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Thrilling Eve almost became Killing Eve as Muirhead took British fans on the most twisting of rollercoasters in Team GB’s crunch semi-final with Sweden – one where they again flirted with an unfortunate demise.

Scintillating was married with silly as they fell 4-0 behind in the first end, roared back with a sensational four to lead 11-8 heading into the 10th and final end, then leaked a pitiful three to allow the Swedes to force overtime.

At this point we must confess some choice words were flying around Eurosport Towers – “just blast every stone out the way ffs”. But Muirhead’s squad regained their composure and got sheet-smart to finally snuff out the Swedish threat in the 11th end and spark pandemonium amongst those draped in red, white and blue in the Beijing National Aquatics Centre.

It was the crowning moment in a storied career for Muirhead, which has featured a bronze medal in Sochi sandwiched between an angry broom snap at Vancouver 2010 and a capitulation at PyeongChang 2018. Now she has a shot of that elusive gold.

We almost didn’t get here. Even before Muirhead’s bizarre tactics in the 10th end invited Sweden back into the semi-final, GB had needed an unusual tiebreaker – the draw shot challenge – to progress after three results had swung in their favour on the final day in the round-robin phase. Now Japan await in the final.

All the pessimism surrounding Team GB has suddenly lifted. They might be joint last in the medal table with an unavoidably useless 0-0-0 record, but two medals – at least silver – are now guaranteed thanks to the heroics in a sport dubbed chess on ice. Should they win those curling showdowns, this would technically go down as their greatest ever Winter Games.

Bruce Mouat’s men return to the ice to face Sweden on Saturday morning – tune in from 06:30 GMT on Eurosport, the Eurosport app and discovery+ – with Muirhead’s crew facing Japan in the wee hours of Sunday morning.

So as we said yesterday, get the bunting out, polish your floor and perfect those broom bristles. Curling is truly coming home!

WR alert!

When Chinese duo Sui Wenjing and Han Cong soared to a pairs world record in the team event, they probably didn’t expect to return in the solo campaign to almost no hype – but also in the world’s most talked about sport.

The pair were meant to be among the major acts in Beijing, along with the Nathan Chen v Yuzuru Hanyu storyline, but they have all faded into obscurity amid the Kamila Valieva storm.

It is nice, therefore, that headlines were grabbed for events on the ice again as Sui and Han duly smashed their own world record in the short programme and stake their claim for gold.

"It seemed almost like an exhibition skate,” said Eurosport commentator Simon Reed, "for a while I just forgot - this is the Olympics” such was their commanding performance.

'Done it!' - Sui and Han smash their own world record to take figure skating gold

THREE TO WATCH ON SATURDAY

Curling - men’s final - GB v Sweden (06:05 GMT)

This is it. With two days of competition left, Great Britain will finally get on the medal table when the men’s curlers play Sweden in the final.

It is an enticing match-up between the two most consistent rinks on the circuit. Bruce Mouat’s team have already beaten the Swedes in a tight 7-6 win during the round robin phase, but they also lost to Niklas Edin in the final of the World Championships last year.

GB have won gold at the last three Winter Olympics and Mouat’s men are probably the team’s best chance.

Eve Muirhead’s women’s rink have a day off ahead of Sunday’s decider with Japan, but bronze will be settled in that competition between Sweden and Switzerland.

Bobsleigh - 2-woman (from 12:00 GMT) and 4-man (from 01:30 GMT)

Brad Hall will surely be desperate to put right what was a disappointing 2-man bobsleigh campaign when he leads the team in the 4-man. Training runs would suggest the GB pilot is getting to grips with the sliding circuit.

Hall needs to get off to a good start to have any chance of challenging the Germans, led by Francesco Friedrich. Out of eight World Cup events this season, Hall, Nick Gleeson, Greg Cackett and Taylor Lawrence have come second three times.

Begin well, and they will be in contention for the podium.

There were high hopes for Mica McNeill and Montell Douglas ahead of the 2-woman event, but they sit second from bottom going into the second day.

The Germans again lead the way, with Laura Nolte 0.50 seconds ahead of Mariama Jamanka.

Figure skating - pairs free skate (11:00 GMT)

The Chinese figure skating pair of Sui Wenjing and Han Cong continue to amaze in Beijing. After setting a world record in the short programme pairs team event, they annihilated that in the competition proper.

But hot on their heels are Evgenia Tarasova and Vladimir Morozov of the Russian Olympic Committee, who have had controversial coach Eteri Tutberidze in their corner since last year. They also would have broken Sui and Han’s leading mark had it not been for the Chinese wowing judges again. Just 0.16 points separate the two pairs going into the free skate.

Ready to pounce if anything goes wrong are world champions Anastasia Mishina and Aleksandr Galliamov, who are 1.49 seconds off second spot.

BRIT WATCH

All British attention is on the National Aquatics Centre, where Bruce Mouat’s men’s curlers are certain to get Britain on the medal table, but what colour? They take on Sweden in the final (0605 GMT).

Gus Kenworthy will bow out from Olympic competition when he goes for a halfpipe medal, having only just made the final after finishing 12th in qualifying (from 0130 GMT). The freestyle skier-turned-actor is representing Team GB after switching allegiance from the US, who he won slopestyle silver for at Sochi 2014.

Brad Hall’s 4-man bobsleigh crew will be hoping for two, solid opening runs to put them in contention for a medal (0130), but Mica McNeill and Montell Douglas (1200 GMT) are out of contention in the 2-woman, as they sit second from bottom.

Cross-country skier Andrew Musgrave says he has been “super disappointed” with what he has achieved so far in Beijing and having finished in the top 10 of the 50km mass start at the last three World Championships, he is aiming for the same again (from 0600 GMT).

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The Olympic Games will return with Paris 2024, live on Eurosport and discovery+

Beijing 2022