Canada’s female curlers secured the bronze medal by defeating the U.S. 10-7 in the 10th end, following key scores in the sixth and eighth ends, at the Milan Cortina Olympics on Saturday.
Despite their efforts, the U.S. female squad was unable to clinch its inaugural medal in this competition.
The U.S. contingent initially gained a 1-0 lead in the opening end, yet Canada quickly equalized, setting the stage for a highly contested match in Cortina.
Individual points were registered by the U.S. in the first, third, and fifth ends, placing them ahead 3-2 as the crucial sixth end commenced.
This moment saw Canada exploit two significant errors made by the American side. Tara Peterson’s stone passed entirely through the scoring area, and her sibling, Tabitha, failed to generate sufficient power to dislodge a Canadian stone from the rings, allowing the Canadians to secure three points in that end, shifting the score to 5-3 in their favor.
To the U.S.’s relief, they managed to recover in the seventh end, leveling the score once more.
Following an impressive freeze shot by Canada’s Rachel Homan, Tabitha, serving as the American skip, skillfully guided a draw shot to separate two stones, which then glanced off a Canadian rock and settled precisely in the button, earning the Americans a vital multi-point score.
However, the comfort felt by the U.S. quickly dissipated. The Americans provided Team Canada with another opening for three points in the eighth end, and Homan — an athlete with three world titles aiming for her inaugural Olympic medal — capitalized on this, extending the score to 8-5.
The U.S. squad showed resilience and refused to yield easily. They effectively utilized the subsequent hammer, with Peterson’s concluding shot of the ninth end nudging a Canadian stone out of the four-foot area and coming to rest beside another American rock, earning them two points.
Trailing 8-7, the Americans required a steal in the final 10th end. However, they were unable to summon a final burst of Olympic prowess to achieve this.
Peterson’s concluding shot failed to bypass the Canadian guard, leading to the Canadians celebrating their 10-7 triumph.
With a 6-3 record from the round-robin stage, the U.S. female athletes qualified for the Olympic playoffs, a feat not achieved since 2002.
Mirroring the events 24 years prior in Salt Lake City, the American team was defeated by Switzerland in the semifinals. The Swiss also overcame the U.S. in the concluding round-robin game this year on Friday.
Furthermore, similar to the 2002 Games, Canada emerged victorious against the U.S. in the contest for the bronze medal.
Team Canada experienced an unusually difficult beginning to these Games, securing only one win in their initial four round-robin matches. Within that period, the American female curlers achieved their inaugural Olympic victory against a Canadian squad that had historically dominated them in a sport added to the Games in 1998.
Nevertheless, guided by Homan, the Canadian team still managed to secure a spot in the four-team playoff bracket.
Following an impressive streak of five consecutive medals, including two gold, since women’s curling was introduced at the Olympics, Canada placed merely sixth in the 2018 Pyeongchang Games and fifth in the 2022 Beijing Games, failing to reach the playoffs on both occasions, with Homan leading the team once.
Despite this, during the current Games, Homan and Team Canada demonstrated resilience to earn the bronze medal.
Nevertheless, the journey of the United States to the semifinals provides a positive outlook. Earlier in these Games, Cory Thiesse made history as the first American female curler to secure a medal, achieving silver in the mixed doubles event.
This Saturday, Thiesse surpassed 190 ends played throughout these Games, marking the highest number any individual has ever completed in a single Olympic event. Taylor Anderson-Heide executed diligent sweeping, and the Peterson siblings demonstrated maximum effort.
Ultimately, the American contingent narrowly missed their objective.
