Right down the final rock of the final end, the women’s curling gold medal was up in the air. When the rocks stopped sliding, the Swedish women’s curling team had repeated as Olympic champions, defeating Canada 7–6 in eleven ends to take home the gold.
Canada pushed Sweden hard in the later ends, taking the lead in the seventh, but Sweden came back in the tenth to score two, and stole a point in the eleventh for the gold medal.
Led by two-time World-Champion skip Annette Norberg, the Swedish team came out in control with first-rate offense and defense.
Canada showed some signs of pressure early on, missing a few shots, while Annette Norberg played like a perfectly-programmed curling robot, maximizing every opportunity.
Through six ends, Sweden was in control with the score at 4–3 and Sweden holding the hammer. While the Canadians were playing well, the Swiss were playing flawlessly.
Canada began its comeback in the seventh end. Annette Norberg missed two shots in a row, letting Canada steal two.
Sweden blanked the eighth end and probably would have blanked the ninth if they could, but Canada stole another point going up two. This gave Sweden the hammer in the tenth, and Sweden capitalized, scoring two and forcing the extra end.
Canada started its comeback in the seventh end, loading up the house with Canadian rocks. Anette Norberg threw her first bad stone of the night, missing a double takeout, and still got a lucky roll to lie shot. Cheryl Bernard came back with a great shot, knocking a Canadian rock into the shot rock and clearing it out. Norberg followed with a second bad shot, letting Canada steal two to take the lead 5–4.
Sweden blanked the eighth end and seemed eager to blank the ninth, but Canada’s Carolyn Darbyshire and Susan O’Connor kept burying rocks in the four-foot. Then Swedish third Eva Lund (playing on her birthday) missed a takeout, hitting a Canadian guard, giving Canada a break. Canada called timeout, deciding how to make the most of this chance.
Bernard had the choice of “splitting” the house—drawing a rock into the house far away from shot rock to prevent a double takeout—or setting a high center guard to protect shot rock. Bernard tried the draw, but shot heavy. Norberg’s first shot only took out one Canadian rock, and rolled to guard the other, balancing Bernard’s bad luck.
Bernard’s next shot replaced the Swedish rock with a Canadian, giving them another rock in the house, and still covering the back Canadian rock. Norberg tried the run-back double takeout, but only got one. Canada stole another point, to lead 6–4.
Sweden held the hammer in the tenth, but Canada seemed strong through the early shooters. When O’Connor came up, Canada lay three with one Swedish rock in the house. O’Connor ejected the Swedish rock to lie four.
Eva Lund shot a good takeout to leave Canada lying one, three, and four. Bernard took out the Swedish stone, leaving Canada three.
Sweden called timeout, sensing that the next rock was key. Norberg decided to try the double takeout, but missed, hitting only one. Now the game and the medal was in Bernard’s to win.
With everything riding on her shot, Bernard missed her takeout, knocking out a Canadian instead of a Swedish rock. Norberg responded with a perfect hit-and-roll to tie the game at six and bring on the extra end.
Canada found itself in the best possible position in the final end—holding the hammer.
Annette Norberg set a guard with her first rock to make it hard for Canadian skip Cheryl Bernard to draw to the button with her last shot. Bernard peeled the guard.
Norberg, with her last rock of the 2010 Olympics, throws a perfect shot, knocking a Swedish rock into the Canadian shot rock and ejecting it, leaving Sweden lying two and guarding the button.
This put the game in Cheryl Bernard’s hands. She needed a double takeout and a roll to the center to win the gold.
Bernard threw her last rock offline by fractions of an inch. Her rock knocked one Swedish rock clear but only brushed the second, and rolled to a stop further from the button than the Swedish rock.
Canada forced Sweden to use all of its skill and worked its way into a game-winning situation, twice. In the end, it was a competition between the two best skips in the Olympics, and that competition came down to a matter of error.
Swedish skip Anette Norberg made her errors in the middle ends, when she and her team had time to recover. Canadian skip Cheryl Bernard made here errors on the final shots of the final two ends.
Cheryl Bernard guided the Canadian team to a silver-medal performance, and she and her team put in numerous excellent performances, losing only the final game.
Anette Norberg led the Swedish team to its second Olympic victory by being nearly perfect and being perfect when it counted.
Canada pushed Sweden hard in the later ends, taking the lead in the seventh, but Sweden came back in the tenth to score two, and stole a point in the eleventh for the gold medal.
Led by two-time World-Champion skip Annette Norberg, the Swedish team came out in control with first-rate offense and defense.
Canada showed some signs of pressure early on, missing a few shots, while Annette Norberg played like a perfectly-programmed curling robot, maximizing every opportunity.
Through six ends, Sweden was in control with the score at 4–3 and Sweden holding the hammer. While the Canadians were playing well, the Swiss were playing flawlessly.
Canada began its comeback in the seventh end. Annette Norberg missed two shots in a row, letting Canada steal two.
Sweden blanked the eighth end and probably would have blanked the ninth if they could, but Canada stole another point going up two. This gave Sweden the hammer in the tenth, and Sweden capitalized, scoring two and forcing the extra end.
Canada Starts a Comeback
Canada started its comeback in the seventh end, loading up the house with Canadian rocks. Anette Norberg threw her first bad stone of the night, missing a double takeout, and still got a lucky roll to lie shot. Cheryl Bernard came back with a great shot, knocking a Canadian rock into the shot rock and clearing it out. Norberg followed with a second bad shot, letting Canada steal two to take the lead 5–4.
Sweden blanked the eighth end and seemed eager to blank the ninth, but Canada’s Carolyn Darbyshire and Susan O’Connor kept burying rocks in the four-foot. Then Swedish third Eva Lund (playing on her birthday) missed a takeout, hitting a Canadian guard, giving Canada a break. Canada called timeout, deciding how to make the most of this chance.
Bernard had the choice of “splitting” the house—drawing a rock into the house far away from shot rock to prevent a double takeout—or setting a high center guard to protect shot rock. Bernard tried the draw, but shot heavy. Norberg’s first shot only took out one Canadian rock, and rolled to guard the other, balancing Bernard’s bad luck.
Bernard’s next shot replaced the Swedish rock with a Canadian, giving them another rock in the house, and still covering the back Canadian rock. Norberg tried the run-back double takeout, but only got one. Canada stole another point, to lead 6–4.
Sweden held the hammer in the tenth, but Canada seemed strong through the early shooters. When O’Connor came up, Canada lay three with one Swedish rock in the house. O’Connor ejected the Swedish rock to lie four.
Eva Lund shot a good takeout to leave Canada lying one, three, and four. Bernard took out the Swedish stone, leaving Canada three.
Sweden called timeout, sensing that the next rock was key. Norberg decided to try the double takeout, but missed, hitting only one. Now the game and the medal was in Bernard’s to win.
With everything riding on her shot, Bernard missed her takeout, knocking out a Canadian instead of a Swedish rock. Norberg responded with a perfect hit-and-roll to tie the game at six and bring on the extra end.
Canada’s Last Chance
Canada found itself in the best possible position in the final end—holding the hammer.
Annette Norberg set a guard with her first rock to make it hard for Canadian skip Cheryl Bernard to draw to the button with her last shot. Bernard peeled the guard.
Norberg, with her last rock of the 2010 Olympics, throws a perfect shot, knocking a Swedish rock into the Canadian shot rock and ejecting it, leaving Sweden lying two and guarding the button.
This put the game in Cheryl Bernard’s hands. She needed a double takeout and a roll to the center to win the gold.
Bernard threw her last rock offline by fractions of an inch. Her rock knocked one Swedish rock clear but only brushed the second, and rolled to a stop further from the button than the Swedish rock.
Canada forced Sweden to use all of its skill and worked its way into a game-winning situation, twice. In the end, it was a competition between the two best skips in the Olympics, and that competition came down to a matter of error.
Swedish skip Anette Norberg made her errors in the middle ends, when she and her team had time to recover. Canadian skip Cheryl Bernard made here errors on the final shots of the final two ends.
Cheryl Bernard guided the Canadian team to a silver-medal performance, and she and her team put in numerous excellent performances, losing only the final game.
Anette Norberg led the Swedish team to its second Olympic victory by being nearly perfect and being perfect when it counted.
