BEIJING (Reuters) -Anna Hasselborg’s Sweden triumphed 9-7 over Silvana Tirinzoni’s reigning world champions Switzerland to clinch the Olympic bronze medal in the women’s curling competition at the National Aquatics Centre on Saturday.
Hasselborg and her team mates had halted hosts South Korea’s fairytale run in the final four years ago in Pyeongchang to win gold but had to settle for third place in Beijing after losing Friday’s semi-final to Britain.
Sweden had been 8-4 up and on the verge of victory heading into the penultimate end in an end-to-end affair before Switzerland set up a tense finish by scoring three to give themselves a fighting chance.
But Hasselborg’s solitary point in the final end sealed the win for the Swedish quartet, who were cheered on by newly crowned Olympic champions Niklas Edin and the men’s team along with a handful of their compatriots in attendance.
“It’s huge to come here and win a medal. To sum up, being to two Olympics and win two Olympic medals – I think it’s huge,” Hasselborg said.
“Everyone’s emotions showed how hard we worked for every inch of this tournament and that’s what makes this team great. We work so hard and we never give up.
“It definitely has been different for me, since I’ve become a mother, to find the balance. And I’m very, very proud of finding it, and it resulted in a bronze medal. It’s huge.”
Eve Muirhead’s Britain and Japan, who beat Switzerland in the other semi-final, will vie for gold on Sunday.
(Reporting by Hritika Sharma; Editing by Andrew Cawthorne and Hugh Lawson)
