Brad Jacobs scratched his neck and rubbed his face with his hands in a gesture of sheer relief as he slid across the ice to celebrate with his Canada teammates.
The gold-medal favorites in men’s Olympic curling stayed on course for the semifinals on Saturday. But only just. In another thrilling finish at the Ice Cube Curling Center, Canada stole a point in the final end to beat Britain 7-5 and avoid dropping back into trouble in the standings. “Relief,” Jacobs said. China and Sweden earned far more convincing wins to move into a two-way tie for the lead at 6-1 and guarantee at least a tiebreaker for a spot in the playoffs.
The Chinese silenced the home crowd early in a 9-6 victory over Russia to maintain their sparkling form this week and Sweden needed only nine ends to beat Germany 8-4. The joint-leaders are one more victory away from definitely being in the semifinals. Both Britain and Canada are 5-2. Only Norway (3-3), which didn’t play Saturday, realistically can stop the current top four from advancing.
The Norwegians play Britain in Sunday’s morning session and could be knocked out of contention with a loss. Players and coaches from rival teams stayed on to watch the riveting end to the Canada-Britain game, highlighting how crucial it was in the context of the tournament.