BUMPED FROM THE RINGS
Loss eliminates Homan rink from medal hunt, and leaves Canadian women off the podium for first time since curling’s return to Games
We were just getting everyone’s best game and that’s what happens when you’re the world champs.
Canada’s Emma Miskew
GANGNEUNG—Inthe end, there were just too many mistakes, too many half shots and too much indecision for Rachel Homan’s team to be successful at the Olympics.
As a result, the Canadians are going home without a medal for the first time ever in Olympic curling competition.
Homan’s team fell to a jawdropping record of 3-5 on Wednesday morning with a 6-5 loss to Great Britain’s Eve Muirhead.
Like a dagger to the heart, Muirhead sealed Canada’s fate by scoring two points in the 10th end for the victory.
“I’m just a little bit disappointed,” Homan said. “We wanted to try to make the playoffs for Canada. But we gave it all we had, we never gave up and that’s the way it goes sometimes with sport.”
The Canadians started with three straight losses at the Gangneung Curling Centre, bounced back to win their next three, but reverted to their struggles in their last two games, falling to China and Great Britain.
Not only did they not make it to the podium, they didn’t even make the playoffs.
Nobody would have predicted this for the defending world women’s curling champions. Nobody would have predicted it for a country that has won five medals in five tries in women’s curling at the Olympics, including gold in 2014.
Nobody would have predicted this for a country that has 11 medals in 11 events since curling became part of the Olympics in 1998.
There had to be a first time eventually. It certainly didn’t seem likely that it would happen this year, to this team.
“We were just getting everyone’s best game and that’s what happens when you’re the world champs,” said Canadian third Emma Miskew.
“Every team was making a ton of shots against us. Every single team that was here earned their right to be here and they’re amazing teams. They all play on tour with the Canadian teams and they beat the Canadian teams very often.”
Homan’s team, which also includes second Joanne Courtney and lead Lisa Weagle, has a history of not winning the first time it attends a big event. They didn’t win the first time they played in the world junior championship, the Scotties Tournament of Hearts, the world women’s championship or the Olympic curling trials.
But they did win all of those events eventually.
The only problem is, this time they’ll have to wait at least four years to get another chance.
“This wasn’t the result we wanted to have,” Weagle said. “I really wanted to have a chance to fight for a medal, for my teammates and for Canada.”
Canada was in control for much of Wednesday’s game, despite a below-average performance from Homan herself, but things started to unravel in the sixth end.
Homan had the hammer and a 3-2 lead when she tried a relatively easy shot for a blank end in the sixth. But her shooter stuck around for a single point, giving the hammer back to Great Britain.
Muirhead’s team capitalized on the gift, blanking the seventh, and then scoring a deuce in the eighth to tie it at 4-4.
Muirhead then got out of trouble in the ninth with a terrific shot that could best be described as a doubleraise-double. Homan had to draw for one point to take a 5-4 lead and give back the hammer for the 10th.
The 10th was a disaster for Canada as Great Britain was lying three before Miskew even threw her third stones. On her first shot, Miskew’s draw attempt ticked a guard and Great Britain was able to bring another rock into the house to lie four.
Facing an almost impossible situation, with a Great Britain rock covering the button behind the cover, Homan tried to draw her last rock to the back of the fourfoot to cut the score down to one point, but it came up light.
“They put the rocks in the right spot and we really didn’t,” Homan said.
“We had control of the game the whole way but we didn’t put our rocks in the right spot in nine and we didn’t put our rocks in the right spot in 10. Nine and 10 cost us.”
The Canadians also lost 7-5 to China on Tuesday afternoon to fall to 3-4. It was the first time China’s Bingyu Wang had ever beaten Homan’s team, in eight tries.
Homan struggled to find draw weight throughout the week and wound up curling 77% overall and just 72% on draws. She often attempted more difficult takeouts, throwing up-weight shots, rather than trying the touch draws that are necessary to win big events.
The bottom line is the Canadians just didn’t have it this week.
They said they weren’t feeling the pressure of Canadian expectations, but there was definitely something that had them spooked.
And now the only thing they will leave South Korea with is crushing disappointment.