'Oh my god' - Scottish curlers reach Olympic final as Bruce Mouat and team mastermind epic heist

Matt Weston might be the nation’s new speed demon after his double sliding gold but Bruce Mouat is the coolest cat on ice after masterminding a heist of epic proportions.

The 31-year-old from Edinburgh and teammates Grant Hardie, Hammy McMillan and Bobby Lammie woke up on Thursday morning with their bags packed and their knock-out hopes in another teams’ hands. But they went to bed preparing for an Olympic final.

Victory would mark an all-time Olympic great escape after their title hopes appeared in tatters following four defeats from five group matches.

Indeed, top seeds Switzerland gave them a leg-up into the semis by beating hosts Italy in their last round-robin game. And Great Britain’s Scottish quartet then thanked them by dumping Yannick Schwaller’s lot out a few hours later.

The world champions have found form at the perfect time and will fancy their chances of striking gold against Canada in Cortina.

“That is probably the hardest fought win we have ever had,” McMillan said after they beat Switzerland 7-5. “The hardest I have ever had to work in a curling game so I am just proud of the way we fought back, and glad we brought our best when it really mattered.”

The British team are bidding to go one better than the silver medal they claimed at the last Games in Beijing. The pain of that defeat has fuelled four years of curling dominance and they have swept all before them at world and European level since.

They are missing just one medal from their collection and are now one win away from achieving it and becoming the first British men’s squad to win curling gold since 1924.

“Oh my god, what has happened?,” Mouat said. “Crazy, just so much fun to play in that atmosphere again.”

By reaching the final, the Scottish quartet have also ensured Team GB will hit UK Sport’s medal target of between four and eight. That appeared in some doubt after five fourth-place finishes here, even though three gold medals already marks their greatest Winter Olympic return.

On this evidence, a fourth on Friday is very much on.

Switzerland won all nine in the group stage – including victory against Great Britain – while Mouat’s squad limped through at 5-4 but there was very little between them on Thursday night.

Switzerland led 4-3 at half-way but Mouat, the team leader, stole a point in the sixth end and then played a superb stone in the eight to grab two more. They led 6-5 ahead of the final end but with Switzerland having the last shot, it was in their favour.

However, Mouat, Hardie, McMillan and Hardie positioned their shots perfectly, boxed Schwaller in and watched him play a nervy last stone. It finished with Great Britain lying shot and sealing their place in an unlikely final.

Earlier, the women’s team crashed out of the group stages in heart-breaking fashion. After seven days, nine matches, 83 ends and 664 stones, the Scottish squad, containing Sophie Jackson, Rebecca Morrison, Sophie Sinclair and Jen Dodds, missed the semi-finals by just three inches.

They beat Italy in their last round-robin match yesterday and faced a nervous wait to see if Switzerland could do them a favour and defeat the USA. The already-qualified Swiss dramatically scored three points in the last end to tie the game and force sudden death.

USA had the last stone and were heavy favourites to win, but Tabitha Peterson – clearly nervous – overthrew it. As the stone entered the house, it still appeared good enough to finish closest to centre. But instead of slowing up, it just kept going.

Everyone in the Cortina Curling Stadium stood up for a glimpse as it slowed to a halt and spun on its axis, before the USA team erupted in celebrations, the stone lying shot by the barest of margins.

“I watched the shot-by-shot graphic and listened to the cheers,” skip Jackson said.

“I sat with the girls with Sophie [Sinclair] and Rebecca, it was quite a weird one. But yeah, we are just gutted.“Overall, I think we were one of the best teams here at the end of the week, so it's just a shame we didn't start a little quicker.”

Meanwhile, freestyler skier Zoe Atkin raced into the final of the women’s halfpipe.Atkin, whose sister Izzy won slopestyle bronze eight years ago, set-up a mouth-watering clash with Eileen Gu in tomorrow’s final.

"I would love to one-up Izzy," she said. "There's definitely a bit of rivalry between us and I think more from my side because I'm a little sister and so I watched her succeed. Now it's my turn.

“She was the whole reason I got into skiing and she's been my biggest role model and my biggest inspiration."

Atkin's first qualification run soared above the rest of the field with a score of 91.50, earning a scream of pride and easily enough to go top of the standings.

Reigning champion Gu qualified in fifth with a score of 86.50.Atkin will now hold British hopes in her hands after GB snow sports have fallen short of their medal hopes at Milano Cortina 2026, with just one medal and three fourth places.

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