Canada wins gold

Jennifer Jones beats Sweden’s Hasselborg at women’s curling worlds

Canada’s Jennifer Jones defeated Sweden’s Anna Hasselborg 7-6 to win the gold medal at the world women’s curling championship on Sunday.

Jones scored a single in an extra end for the victory. Hasselborg tried to pick out a stone on the four-foot ring with her last throw but missed it completely.

The win capped a perfect 14-0 run for the Winnipeg team of Jones, Kaitlyn Lawes, Jill Officer, Dawn McEwen and alternate Shannon Birchard.

“Unbelievable, I’m so happy,” Jones said. “I can’t say enough about my team. We had a great week. We soaked up the atmosphere in the crowd and had fun in that final.

“I’m just so thrilled to be able to stand on top of the podium with these girls one more time.”

Canada ran the table in the 12-game round-robin and edged American Jamie Sinclair in the semifinal. With the game tied 4-4 in the ninth end and two stones close to the pin, Jones threw a runback to score two for the lead. But Hasselborg responded with a run double for a pair to force an extra end.

“I’d rather lose a final when you’re playing great,” Hasselborg said. “I’m so proud of my team for battling through it.” Hasselborg won Olympic gold last month at the Pyeongchang Games. Jones, who is a whisker ahead of No. 2 Hasselborg in the world rankings, won the 2014 Olympic title in Sochi.

The teams felt each other out over three blank ends at the start. Hasselborg missed a freeze attempt in the fourth and Jones drew the four-foot ring for a 2-0 lead.

Canada rubbed guards on two occasions in the fifth end and Sweden took advantage.

Hasselborg made a short runback to sit three and Jones could only clear one stone out.

The Swedish skip drew the eight-foot to take the lead.

Sweden kept the pressure on in the sixth end as Canada had hammer. However, Hasselborg’s final stone appeared to pick halfway down the sheet and Jones followed with a takeout for a 4-3 lead.