Dumfries and Galloway curlers take Team GB men through to Olympic gold medal game

17/02/22. Great Britain's Hammy McMillan (left), Bobby Lammie and Grant Hardie (right) in action against against Canada during day thirteen of the Beijing 2022 Winter Olympic Games at the National Aquatics Centre in China. Picture date: Thursday February 17, 2022. Xinhua/PA Images
Hammy McMillan (left), Bobby Lammie and Grant Hardie from Dumfries and Galloway at the Games today. Credit: XInhua/PA Images

Great Britain's men's curlers are guaranteed a medal at the Beijing Winter Olympics after winning their semi-final against the United States.

The team - which included three players from Dumfries and Galloway - held their nerve to beat the Americans 8-4 and book their place in Saturday's Olympic final against Sweden.

Bobby Lammie and Hammy McMillan from Stranraer and Dumfries' Grant Hardie were all part of the side which booked its place in the final.

This means the curlers are the first guaranteed medal for Team GB at the Beijing Games.

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Fighting back from a nightmare start in which they conceded two with the 'hammer' in the first end, they led by a point at the halfway stage.

The Americans blanked three consecutive ends as they sought a bigger return for their last stone advantage, but were forced to give one away in the ninth.

Armed with a 6-4 lead going into the final end, Mouat's team retained control, and when US skip John Shuster's final attempted take-out went awry, the Britons' advance was secured.

Skip Bruce Mouat (centre) in action today with Hammy McMillan and Bobby Lammie

Team skip Bruce Mouat, from Edinburgh, was pleased with the win after a mixed bag of an Olympics so far.

"The last two weeks, especially for myself, has been a bit of a roller coaster so this is very special," he told BBC Sport.

"I'm so excited to be able to share the moment with the guys and the celebration at the end was pure elation. I don't think I can sum it up any other way.

"I am excited to play that game and we have got a day off tomorrow. Just looking forward to getting on the ice again and going for that gold.

Earlier, Mouat's men's team made sure of a shot at a place in the final by  brushing aside Canada to finish top of their round-robin standings. Mouat's side claimed a 5-2 win to end an impressive group stage with an 8-1 record.

The Swedes - skipped by veteran Niklas Edin, whom Mouat's men defeated earlier in the competition - defeated Canada in the second semi-final.

Vicky Wright (right) of Stranraer throws a stone in Team GB's game with Russia. Credit: Xinhua/PA Images

Great Britain's women - including Stranraer's Vicky Wright - squeezed into the semi-finals by 10 centimetres as skip Eve Muirhead, from Perth, fashioned a great escape at the National Aquatics Centre in Beijing.

Muirhead, a bronze medallist in Sochi in 2014, went into the last match of the round-robin phase against the Russian Olympic Committee requiring at least three results to go her way in order to book a top-four spot.

The 31-year-old kept her side of the bargain with a brilliant double take-out in the penultimate end to score four and seal a 9-4 win, then waited nervously while Sweden beat South Korea in order to guarantee their place.

"We were in the mixed zone watching TV - I don't think many of us could really watch the screen," said team-mate Jennifer Dodds, who will now get a second shot at guaranteeing an Olympic medal after missing out in the mixed event.

"You never know and we were not 100 per cent sure. But when we got it confirmed it was more relief than anything else."

The men return to the ice on Saturday at 6.05am for the final while the women's team play tomorrow at 12.05pm in their semi-final fixture. Both teams will take on their Swedish equivalents.