AP Wire | 02/22/2006 | Swedes, Swiss in women’s curling final
Posted on Wed, Feb. 22, 2006
NOAH TRISTER
Associated Press
PINEROLO, Italy – Anette Norberg’s takeout on the final shot of the game gave Sweden a 5-4 win over Norway in the semifinals of the Olympic curling tournament Wednesday. The Swedes advanced to the gold medal match against Switzerland, which beat Canada 7-5.
Norwegian skip Dordi Nordby tied the match at 4 in the ninth end with a double takeout, knocking two Swedish rocks out of the target area. But in the 10th and final end, Sweden had the crucial last-rock advantage. All Norberg had to do was bump a Norwegian stone away from the center of the house, or target area, leaving the Swedes with the closest rock.
Switzerland (8-2) trailed its match 1-0 before scoring three points in the third end, or inning. Skip Mirjam Ott slid the final rock, or hammer, and knocked one of her team’s stationary rocks into the target area. Her stone then slid in after it, leaving the Swiss with three closest to the center and a 3-1 lead.
Canada is the world’s biggest curling nation, but it has won just one Olympic gold medal, the women’s in Nagano. The men’s team also qualified for the medal round in Turin.
“I was disappointed in the way I played, but I’d have been disappointed if I was playing in a women’s club match,” skip Shannon Kleibrink said. “I don’t think I struggled because of the pressure. I just plain struggled.”
Canada trailed 5-2 in the seventh before Kleibrink drew the hammer to the middle of the house to cut the deficit to one.
Ott answered for Switzerland in the eighth. Each team had one stone around the inner ring of the house, and the Canadians were closer. Ott knocked the Swiss rock into Canada’s stone, bumping it away and leaving Switzerland with the two nearest the target for a 7-4 advantage.
Canada (6-4) will play Norway (6-4) for the bronze Thursday, the same day as the gold medal game.
Sweden (8-2) beat Switzerland 9-7 in the preliminary round last Friday.
The Canadians were the last team to qualify for the medal round and have been battling illness – either a flu bug or food poisoning – all week. Third Amy Nixon was able to play after taking antibiotics but had to rest between shots.
“She had to sit every time she swept hard,” Kleibrink said. “It was a big fight for her just to be in the game.”
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