Winter Olympics: Team GB women thrash Japan to win curling gold

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Great Britain have won their first gold medal of the Winter Olympics after thrashing Japan in the women’s curling final.

Skip Eve Muirhead and her rink of Vicky Wright, Jennifer Dodds and Hailey Duff dominated from the start to earn a 10-3 win.

For Muirhead, it is a gold medal at the fourth attempt after earning bronze in Sochi in 2014, and it was her brilliance that set Team GB on the way to victory when a perfect take-out in the seventh end gave Britain four to extend the lead to 8-2 and seal the victory.

“It is a dream come true for myself, and for the rest of the girls,” Muirhead told BBC Sport.

“The journey to get here, I think it shows how strong we are. We have so many people to thank. It is something we’ll never forget and we’re going to enjoy the next few hours.

“It is a moment I have wanted for so many years. The two [Olympic] semi-finals I lost were hard but I bounced back and it is such a special moment.”

Britain got off to a superb start when they scored two in the opener and, after narrowly missing another two, a steal in the fifth saw them extend their lead to 4-1.

Japan could only score one to make it 4-2, and Muirhead seized the advantage with the hammer by taking out the single Japanese stone in the house to score four.

Another two in the ninth end saw Japan skip Satsuki Fujisawa concede as Muirhead’s rink ensured Team GB would not be leaving Beijing without a gold medal.

The gold comes a day after the Team GB men’s curling medal won the silver medal after a loss to Sweden in the final.

Cover Photo: “Curling” by Benson Kua is licensed under CC BY-SA 2.0.

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