After the resonating cheers of the Swedish supporters filled the Cortina Curling Olympic Stadium, the quartet of Canadian players headed back to their bench with solemn expressions.
The 6-3 defeat in the semifinals against Anna Hasselborg was still sinking in. There were no dramatics; Sweden’s precision in shotmaking led them to success, leaving the Canadians without any stones in the 10th end.
In a somber atmosphere, Rachel Homan, Tracy Fleury, Emma Miskew, and Sarah Wilkes packed up their belongings while their coaches and alternate player observed silently.
The opportunity to compete for Olympic gold slipped away, leaving them to settle for a spot in the bronze-medal game.
Canadian coach Heather Nedohin remarked, “They’re devastated. Their aspiration and dream were to reach the final. Currently, the mood is heavy.”
With the game tied 2-2 at the fifth-end break, Sweden gained momentum in the sixth by scoring multiple points after some misses by the Canadian team. Homan’s squad struggled to create offensive opportunities against their familiar rivals, resulting in only three single-point scores.
“I’m obviously disheartened,” expressed Homan. “We gave it our all out there.”
In the other semifinal, Switzerland’s Silvana Tirinzoni secured a 7-4 victory over Tabitha Peterson from the U.S. Canada is set to face the United States in the third-place match on Saturday.
Starting with the hammer as the top seed, Sweden and Canada kept each other in check in the initial four ends.
In the sixth end, a misstep by Fleury and an unsuccessful runback-double attempt by Homan allowed Sweden to secure a two-point lead. Homan’s subsequent hit-and-roll attempt fell short, allowing Hasselborg to claim a deuce.
In the seventh, Homan opted for a risky angle-raise to secure multiple points but ended up conceding a steal of one point.
