Canada’s Nixon ‘gutted’ by losing podium to Russia
With tears in
SWIFT CURRENT, S ASK her eyes and her daughter in her arms, Amy Nixon wasn’t trying to hide her disappointment.
A 9-8 loss to Russia on Sunday morning meant Nixon and her Canadian teammates would be leaving the world women’s curling championship without a medal.
An up-and-down week left Canada with plenty of positives and the team still has an automatic berth at next year’s Scotties, thanks to their win at the national championships in February, but none of that made Sunday’s disappointment any more palatable.
“I’m not gonna lie, I’m gutted. I’m gutted,” Nixon said after Russia picked up a point in the 10th end to earn the bronze medal. “One of the hardest losses of my career, personally, and it happens and it’s just a sport, but right now, that’s hurting.”
To Canada’s credit, skip Chelsea Carey’s team — including second Jocelyn Peterman and lead Laine Peters — put up a strong fight against Anna Sidorova’s Russian rink. After falling behind 5-2 in the fifth end, the Canadians put their rocks exactly where they wanted them over the next two ends to take a 6-5 lead.
In the eighth, though, a couple of missed shots allowed Russia to take three and put themselves in the driver’s seat for the win. Canada tied things up with two in the ninth, but Sidorova made no mistake with her last stone in the final end and secured her team’s place on the podium.
The victory earned the Russians their third bronze medal from the past three world championships, as well as their third win over Canada in Swift Current.
“They made lots of shots, but we had lots of opportunities and just couldn’t take advantage of them in all of those games,” Carey said.
“We had chances and we just couldn’t capitalize. We steal two and get the lead and then we give three back ... we rolled just too far on Amy’s (shot) and then mine doesn’t curl.
“It was just that little bit off and when you get down to (the Russians) they’re tough because they hit really well.”
The loss brings an inconsistent week to a close for the Canadians, who often struggled to find the right draw weight on inconsistent ice but nonetheless qualified for the playoffs with an 8-3 record.
There’s unforeseen pressure that comes with representing Canada at a world championship — especially one on home soil — and Carey admitted that the experience of having gone through it once will likely help her should she get the opportunity to skip Canada again.
Unlike her rookie skip, though, Nixon wasn’t eager to turn her attention to next year and the opportunity that an automatic berth at the Scotties affords.
“I can’t even, the work that goes into making it this far and knowing it took me 10 years to get back in this situation, it’s a huge drain personally,” said Nixon, who won bronze with Shannon Kleibrink’s rink at the 2006 Olympics.
“I just feel like this was maybe my chance. I’m looking forward to standing with the girls next year in St. Catharines and wearing the maple leaf at the Scotties, but these chances don’t come along that many times in people’s careers and I’m well aware of that.”