Canadians secure silver, eye gold in mixed doubles
Lawes, Morris to face either Switzerland, athletes from Russia in Tuesday’s final
Kaitlyn Lawes was having a miserable start and was feeling the heat under the bright lights of the biggest stage.
An hour later she was basking in the glory of the knowledge she and her partner John Morris have locked up a second curling medal at the Olympic Winter Games.
Lawes and Morris guaranteed Canada at least a silver medal Monday morning with an 8-4 win over Norway’s Kristin Skaslien and Magnus Nedregotten in the mixed doubles curling semifinal.
It was Canada’s seventh straight win, but it almost didn’t happen as Lawes curled just 41 per cent through four ends, missing three shots that would have given Canada more points. Fortunately, the 29-year-old from Winnipeg felt great support from her teammate, settled down and made several clutch shots in the final four ends to secure the win.
“I was obviously a little bit frustrated with not being able to finish it off with my last rock,” Lawes said. “I tried not to get too frustrated and let it bug me. John was a huge support and he kept saying ‘Be patient, let’s figure it out, we’ve got eight ends and we can use all eight.’
“I kept asking myself why I was missing. I felt good with my line and it was just my speed that I felt I needed to make some adjustments with. Was it the rocks or me? It was a little bit of both so we moved some rocks around and once I was able to get a pair that I was more comfortable with, I could just park that and throw and John allowed me to have that confidence by making a ton of shots to set me up for that situation.”
Both Canadians have a chance to win their second career Olympic gold medals — Lawes won with Jennifer Jones in 2014, Morris with Kevin Martin in 2010 — when they take on either Switzerland or Russia in the gold medal game Tuesday night (6:05 a.m. ET in Canada) at the Gangneung Curling Centre.
Russia and Switzerland were playing the other semifinal Monday evening (6:05 a.m. ET in Canada) to determine Canada’s opponent.
“It certainly helps to have played in big games,” Lawes said. “It could be so easy to just continue down that path and not make your shots, but I want to enjoy this experience and leave it all on the ice and have no regrets. I would have regretted it if I didn’t give myself a chance to make those shots.”
Along with serving as a calming influence for his partner, Morris played a terrific game for Canada. The 39-year-old firefighter from Canmore, Alta., has fallen in love with the mixed doubles game and now he’s a win away from winning a gold medal.
“It means the world,” Morris said. “That sudden-death semi is probably the most pressure-packed game that there is in curling. We all want to be in that gold medal game and be guaranteed a medal. It was a high-pressure game and that’s what I live for.”
Even though the Canadians were leaving some potential points on the ice, they were pretty much in control the whole game.
Lawes missed a chance to score three or four in the first end and settled for two when her last rock sailed through the house. She had a chance to set up a big steal or two or three in the second but her last rock slid too deep.
It could easily have been 7-0 through two ends but was only 2-1.
Lawes was light with her cold draw to the four foot in the fourth and Canada gave away another point, leading 3-2 at the break.
At that point, Lawes was curling 41 per cent, Morris 81 per cent. The fact that they were leading nonetheless was impressive.
Lawes redeemed herself in the fifth, making a big shot with her last rock, tapping back a Norwegian rock at the back of the button and sitting on the pin, which led to a steal of two.
After the Norwegians scored two in the sixth, Canada chose not to use its power play in the seventh end but they clearly didn’t need it as Lawes was able to hit and stick for three points and an 8-4 lead. Lawes had to sweep like crazy to make it happen and it was a pivotal shot in the game.
They ran the Norwegians out of rocks in the eighth and the celebration was on.
“It’s been an incredible ride,” Lawes said. “To at one point feel like you’re not going to the Olympics after losing out at the team trials (with Jones), to being here in this moment … to be here for the second time and to know that we’re coming home with a medal for Canada is so special.”
That suddendeath semi is probably the most pressurepacked game that there is in curling . ... It was a high-pressure game and that’s what I live for.