WATCH: Jennifer Jones and her team make history in Sochi with an undefeated run capped by a gold medal win. Eric Sorensen reports
Jennifer Jones and the Canadian team have gone undefeated in Sochi – taking home the gold medal.
Canada beat Sweden 6-3 in the gold-medal match, leaving the Swedes with the silver.
It was a nail-biter of a game against the experienced Swedish team.
The turning point was likely in the 5th end: The Swedish team was behind 3-1. They had a chance at scoring three with their last rock but were only able to get two to tie the game.
“A little bit of a sigh of relief there,” Jones told CBC afterward.
There was no score in the 6th and 7th ends. Jones intentionally blanked both ends, ensuring they remained scoreless so that she would have the last shot in the 8th.
In the 8th, Jones shot her last stone too lightly, forcing officials to measure who was closer to the button: Sweden or Canada. Canada was closer by a hair and took the point. Even the Canadian team didn’t believe they had won it at first: “Girls, what do we do?” Jones was heard to ask before the measure. That brought the score to 4-3 going into the ninth.
A great shot by Jones in the 9th end forced an extremely difficult play by Sweden, and they were not up to the task. Canada stole the end and scored two points to widen their lead.
The Canadian team of Jones, Kaitlyn Lawes, Jill Officer, Dawn McEwen and alternate Kirsten Wall did incredibly well in Sochi – the only women’s team to make it through the entire tournament without losing a game. In the end, they matched Canadian skip Kevin Martin’s 2010 feat of winning Olympic gold with a perfect 11-0 record.
The Swedish team, skipped by Margaretha Sigfridsson, also has an impressive record, having come in 2nd place in the world championship and first in the European championship. Another Swedish team took home gold in Vancouver, where the Canadian women’s curlers took silver.
This is Canada’s second women’s curling gold. The late Sandra Schmirler won the first in Nagano, Japan, in 1998.
The Canadian men also made it to the final. They will play Great Britain on Friday at 8:30 a.m. Eastern time (5:30 a.m. Pacific).
With files from The Canadian Press
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