It just wasn't meant to be for Canada curling in Pyeongchang.
After winning gold medals at three consecutive Winter Games, the Canadian men will return home empty-handed after losing to Switzerland 7-5 in the bronze medal game early Friday morning.
This is the first time that Canada has failed to medal in men's or women's curling since the sport was brought back to the Olympics in 1998.
It’s over.
— Devin Heroux (@Devin_Heroux) February 23, 2018
Switzerland defeats Canada 7-5 to win the bronze medal in men’s curling.
Canada is left off the podium in team men’s and women’s curling for the first time at the Olympics.#cbccurl @CBCOlympics
“For us obviously it’s hugely disappointing," skip Kevin Koe said after the loss. “We thought we would do well here, but unfortunately we just struggled a bit in the playoff games. Too many misses. It’s tough to win out here.”
Koe was guilty of many of those misses Friday, recording a game-low 65% accuracy.
Canada never led as Switzerland jumped out to an early 2-0 advantage and never looked back on its way to its first men's curling medal since Vancouver 2010.
“It’s crazy," Swiss Benoit Schwarz said about the Canadian men and women missing the podium in curling. "It feels unreal. Especially with those two teams. They are some of the best in the world, if not the best ever. I can’t explain it.”
Canadian lead Ben Herbert thought the team's struggles came down to execution.
“I don’t know what to tell you. There’s no way to sugar coat it. We were prepared. We practiced. We said all the the right things and when it came down to it our execution was brutal.”
— Devin Heroux (@Devin_Heroux) February 23, 2018
- Canadian lead Ben Hebert#cbccurl @CBCOlympics @CurlingZone
After the match, Curling Canada high performance coach Paul Webster said that he was more sad for the team than disappointed in the program, but added that these results will lead to some reflection within the organization.
“Humble pie is something that’s really hard to eat," Webster said. "Curling is in a healthy spot and we will get Canadian curling there. It sends a strong message to our teams that we’ve got work to do.”
While there is plenty of work to do, Canada curling will not leave Pyeongchang completely empty-handed.
The Canadian duo of Kaitlyn Lawes and John Morris captured a historic gold medal in the first ever Olympic mixed doubles tournament earlier this month.