1 February 2024

Great Britain win mixed doubles gold at Youth Olympics

Great Britain have claimed gold at the Youth Olympic Games Gangwon 2024 after defeating Denmark by 7-6. Earlier in the afternoon, United States won bronze against Sweden, 7-4.

Great Britain got off to a strong start, stealing two in the opening end, followed by another steal in the second for a 3-0 lead. 

Denmark bounced back with two of their own, followed by a steal of two to take the lead, 4-3.

In the fifth end, Great Britain’s Callie Soutar slashed her last shot into a cluster of stones and managed to score three, to take a 6-4 lead.

On the Danish power-play, Soutar made a double take-out to force the Danes to a single, making the score 6-5. 

Great Britain played their power-play in the seventh end, where they made a hit for a single point, taking a 7-5 advantage playing the eighth end.

Facing three Danish stones covered on the four-foot, Soutar placed her last draw perfectly in shot position, forcing Denmark to play a difficult shot. 

Denmark missed their final stone, getting just a single point, giving Great Britain the gold medals, 7-6.

“It means the world to me. It’s honestly just such a dream come true, I just can’t believe it!” said Soutar.

“I was very nervous because it [the last shot] looked very, very close. It was a great effort from her so all due to her. My heart was racing, I’m just so happy with the outcome,” she said.

“I fell to the ground instantly,” recalled her teammate Ethan Brewster. 

“I couldn’t believe it honestly. That whole last end was a little bit shaky and then we made that last stone and I was like ‘we got this!” 

This final was a rematch of the mixed teams’ competition last week, where Great Britain also defeated Denmark for gold. 

“I thought that game [the mixed team final with Great Britain] was a good game to watch, and now we’ve just replicated it, so it feels amazing. I can’t describe it, it’s the best moment of my life,” said Brewster.

Denmark’s brother and sister duo, Jacob and Katrine Schmidt, became the only two curlers at Gangwon 2024 to win medals in both disciplines. 

“Right now, I’m not very happy because we just lost the final. It’s obviously something to be proud of [the silver medal],” said Katrine. 

“We were very close, I had a shot to win, it just needed some finish,” she said about the ending.

“Right now obviously we are a little disappoint, they played well, she made a really good shot on her last one,” said her brother.

International Olympic Committee President, Thomas Bach OLY, watched the game alongside two mixed doubles athletes, Nagy Lola Olimpia of Hungary and Brazil’s Guilherme Melo.

Great Britain’s Chef de Mission and Olympic champion, Eve Muirhead OBE cheered from the stands as well. 

“For Great Britain curling, it’s amazing [to get two gold medals]!” said Muirhead. “Of course, being a curler and seeing us get two gold medals here is really special and it’s a Games I’ll never forget.”

United States steal bronze

In the afternoon’s bronze medal match, Sweden led the game 4-1 after five ends. 

United States got forced to a single on their power-play in the sixth end, 4-2.

The game took a turn in the seventh end when Sweden had an open take-out for four points, but missed, giving United States a big stolen point. 

The Americans stole again in the eighth end, when Sweden missed their final draw to the button, forcing an extra end, 4-4. 

With momentum on their side, the Americans played a strong extra end, leaving Sweden with no shot to win on their last. 

The duo of Ella Wendling and Benji Paral claimed Youth Olympic bronze, 7-4. 

“Towards the seventh end, when I missed my shot, I was like ‘we’re done’,” said Wendling. 

“They played amazing and they were great competition.”

“You can play great the whole game, but games come down to single shots and that’s how sports are – it’s tough,” Paral added sympathetically, referring to the Swedish miss in the seventh end. 

“It’s crazy to [be a medallist] holy cow! To be in this building which has had all the Olympics and world championships and now to be here ourselves is crazy.” 

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