Team GB pull off great escape against Switzerland to guarantee curling medal and keep hopes of glory alive

Bruce Mouat’s world champions have now guaranteed they will at least match their silver medal from Beijing 2022

Team GB have booked their place in the gold medal match (Getty Images)

Fight Club author Chuck Palahniuk once surmised that history does nothing but repeat itself.

In Cortina, Great Britain’s curlers are hoping to prove that notion true.

Rhona Martin and Eve Muirhead both led British squads to unlikely curling gold medals and on Saturday night, Bruce Mouat will hope to do the same after a day of rollercoaster emotions on and off the ice.

No winter sport holds tension quite like the roaring game and the Edinburgh skip and his band of merry Scotsmen are suddenly making all the noise.

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

The 31-year-old and teammates Grant Hardie, Hammy McMillan and Bobby Lammie woke up yesterday morning with their bags packed and their knock-out out of their hands. 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 on Saturday evening.

“Honestly, it has been the most incredible week, it's not gone all our way and knew that this morning we might not be playing again,” Mouat said. “So, so many emotions have happened today in one day and it's a wee bit overwhelming in the moment to realise that we had won.

“He [Benoit Berkel Schwarz-Van] had that shot that very tough shot to maybe only get one and when he missed it, it was just a wee bit of like, holy bad word, like this is actually happening.

“I am so, very, very proud of us.”

Team GB will now at least match their silver medal from Beijing (Getty Images)

Martin, who threw down the epic stone of destiny to lead Great Britain’s women to a famous gold in Salt Lake City 24 years ago, also had a rocky road to the final.

Her team needed to win two tie-breakers just to reach the semi-finals, and then rode the crest of the wave all the way to that epic destiny throw.

Muirhead’s rink in Beijing hardly pulled up trees either. They also battled to a 5-4 round robin record before surging to gold. Momentum matters.

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.

“We are very excited,” Mouat added. “There's so much history in our sport and a lot of it goes back to Scotland versus Canada.

“So, our first ever World Championship final, we played Canada in Canada. So, now getting to play an Olympic gold medal game against Canada is pretty special.”

The Swiss topped the group with an unbeaten record but GB beat them when it mattered (Getty Images)

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 tomorrow 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.

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 the Swiss in and watched them play a nervy last stone. It finished with Great Britain lying shot and sealing their place in an unlikely final.

“It's going to be a tough game,” McMillan added ahead of the final. “We beat them in the semi-final of the World Championships in Moose Jaw there.

“We have played them a lot of times. It's going to be a battle. I guess on paper this week, they've been the second-best team behind Switzerland. So we, again, know we've got to bring the performance we gave in the last four or five ends we've brought there, for 10 ends.

“We haven't probably quite had a full A plus 10 end game yet. So time to bring it on Saturday.”