Canada won the bronze medal in men’s curling at the Beijing Olympics on Friday after defeating the United States 8-5.
Brad Gushue, gold medallist at the 2006 Games in Turin, led Canada to victory in a hard-fought contest after U.S. skip John Shuster gave up a steal of two in the ninth end as his team fell three points behind.
It was a hard fall for the U.S., who won the country’s first-ever Olympic gold in the sport in Pyeongchang.
The win marked a welcome return to the podium for Team Canada, who placed fourth at the 2018 Games in Pyeongchang after winning medals in five straight Winter Games, including three back-to-back golds in 2014, 2010 and 2006.
It’s the first Olympic medal for second Brett Gallant and lead Geoff Walker. Third Mark Nichols was on the 2006 gold medal winning squad.
Canada was forced into the bronze medal game in Beijing after losing their semifinal match against Sweden 5-3 on Thursday.
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“Today and the past couple of days has just been about grinding, and trying to give ourselves a shot to win,” Gushue said.
“We had a shot last night (against Sweden) that was tough and we just missed it. And today we got a break in the ninth end with the steal of two which put the game out of reach.”
The squad entered the playoffs with a 5-4 record in the round robin.
Great Britain will take on Sweden for the gold on Saturday.
The Canadian women’s curling team did not make it into the semifinals despite carrying an identical round robin record. The mixed doubles team also missed out on a medal earlier in the Games.
— with files from The Canadian Press.
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