Scottish medal hopes grow at Winter Olympics as curling duo and Muir impress

Britain’s mixed doubles curling pair guaranteed themselves a medal match after beating major rivals Canada and the United States to extend their winning run to a perfect seven.

Those victories secured a place in the semi-finals regardless of the outcome of Sunday’s matches against Switzerland and Italy, the latter a repeat of last year’s world final, which they lost narrowly.

Four years ago in Beijing, the two childhood friends also reached the last four but then threw away a winning position against Norway. They were shell-shocked again the following day as Sweden brushed them aside, winning with two ends to spare.

Dodds went on to claim Olympic gold as part of Eve Muirhead’s women’s rink, while Mouat skipped the men’s team to silver. Yet Beijing still rankles, making their dominance here more striking. They are the only unbeaten team heading into the final day of the round-robin stage.

However, Mouat is keen to go further. Finishing top of the group would give the Scots crucial 'hammer advantage' in knockout matches that normally go to the wire.

Hammer advantage is not simply about the final stone. It allows a team to dictate the shape, tempo and risk profile of an end and, in mixed doubles curling, where there are fewer stones and more pre-positioned rocks, it is even more influential.

Curlers keep foot to the floor

“We’re not going to ease up,” said Mouat, who has found his rhythm after admitting his early tournament form was shaky. “We’re going to try to keep the momentum rolling. Hammer is a big thing in our sport, so having that advantage in the play-offs is what we want. If we win both games, we guarantee it regardless of other results.”

Dodds, 34 and three years older than Mouat, has arguably been the player of the tournament so far. She again played a starring role in the 7–5 win over Canada and the 6–4 victory against the United States, the only other unbeaten team in the ten-strong competition.

“We’re really happy to have secured qualification,” she said. “Those were two big games against sides who both believe they can win this. We knew we had to step up because our last four matches were probably the toughest.

“We had to play our A-game on a very tight turnaround, so I’m proud of us. We’re going to keep the momentum and the shot-making at that level. If we do that, we can secure top spot.”

Monday at the Olympics could be a big day for Scottish athletes if Mouat and Dodds guarantee a podium place and Aberdeen's Kirsty Muir delivers in the women's freestyle skiing slopestyle final.

The 21-year-old from Aberdeen qualified third for the medal showdown, with a best score of 64.98, Switzerland's Mathilde Gremaud and China's Eileen Gu, advancing first and second.

“My qualifying was quite good, I was focused and able to calm myself down a little bit, but my heart was maybe racing a little more than usual,” she said.

“After I put my first run down, I felt a bit of relief and could just be a bit smoother. I’m just going to give it everything in the final. I’m not going to hold back, and I think that if I do that and put down a run I’d like to do, then I’ll be super proud of myself.”

Elsewhere, Glasgow's Chris McCormick didn't progress to the men's slopestyle final while Inverurie's finished 42nd in the cross country skiing skiathlon.

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