Canada will face a pair from Switzerland in the mixed doubles curling final on Tuesday at the Pyeongchang Olympics.
The Swiss pair, Jenny Perret and Martin Rios, defeated two curlers competing as Olympic athletes from Russia 7-5 in the semi-final.
That means the Russians are going to the bronze medal game against Norway. The bronze medal game is Tuesday morning, local time, and can be seen in Canada at 7:05 pm EST Monday night.
Canadians Kaitlyn Lawes and John Morris defeated Norway 8-4 in the semi-final to move to the gold medal round, where they will be guaranteed either a silver or gold. The game airs at 6:05 am EST on Tuesday morning.
Canada has won seven of eight outings so far in Pyeongyang. So has Switzerland — except for the game they lost 7-2 to Canada.
This is the first time mixed doubles curling has been played at the Olympics. The sport is a quicker version of traditional curling, with plenty of high-risk, high-reward shots.
The Canadians have blue-chip curling credentials. The 39-year-old Morris won Olympic gold in 2010 playing third for Kevin Martin. The 29-year-old Lawes won gold in 2014 as vice for Jennifer Jones. But they had little experience playing mixed doubles together prior to winning January’s trials.
Both are converts to the new game.
“Mixed doubles is so much fun to play,” Morris said. “If I was just starting out curling and I had the choice to play team curling or mixed doubles, I’d play mixed doubles. I think it’s more fun, it’s quicker, it’s more athletic and you don’t have to take three hours to play, which is really nice.
“I think it’s fantastic. You can tell why all these other countries are picking up on it and I think it’s just a matter of time before it really blows up in Canada. I think it’s here to stay.”
Asked what her message to the IOC about the future of mixed curling at the Games would be, Lawes laughed and said: “Please keep it.”
“Honestly to have another medal opportunity for curling is amazing and mixed doubles is so popular internationally. And the fact that we can try and help grow the sport as well is huge. And the fact that you don’t need to have four people — just one male, one female, I think that helps grow the sport.”
“I think the fans are loving it because it’s high-scoring, it’s fast-paced. And I think it’s fun for them to see how men and women interact on the ice as well.”
—With files from the Canadian Press