Team GB miss out on curling bronze | Muir fifth in Big Air final

Team GB missed out on a first medal at the Winter Olympics after being thrashed 9-3 by Sweden in the curling mixed doubles bronze-medal match.

Jennifer Dodds and Bruce Mouat, who finished third in the round-robin group stage before a narrow loss to Norway in Monday’s semi-final, were second-best throughout as Sweden claimed a dominant victory in the Ice Cube.

Team GB picked up a point in the opening end before a brilliant final stone from Almida de Val in the second saw her claim four points for her and partner Oskar Eriksson.

Sweden stole three in the third and took single points in the fourth and fifth, despite lacking the last-rock advantage called the hammer, leaving Team GB eight behind with three ends to play.

Dodds made an easy draw to collect two points in the sixth end before conceding the match with two ends to play, securing Sweden a curling medal for the fifth consecutive Winter Olympics.

“Just got off to a bad start, that’s what punished us the most,” Mouat told BBC Sport. “Just had to fight back from there. Almida played a good shot for four, which I have to say fair play to her in such a big game. To make those shots is a great feeling for her I’m sure.

“We’re just going to have to console ourselves because we’ve got a big week with both our teams and I think we’re both ready for that.”

Both Team GB curlers will have further opportunities to win medals in Beijing, with the men’s competition getting under way on Wednesday and the women’s event beginning a day later.

Muir impresses in freestyle Big Air final

Seventeen-year-old Kirsty Muir forged a fresh and fearless Olympic debut, finishing fifth in the women’s freestyle Big Air behind Chinese superstar Eileen Gu.

Muir landed a rare ‘dub 12’ trick on her opening jump to establish herself in medal contention, and had no regrets about crashing out on an even more ambitious third and final attempt when a place on the podium might have been at her mercy.

“I wanted to go for it and I’m proud of myself for doing that,” Muir said. “Getting to the final, I knew I’d be happiest if I really went for it. The level was insane and I’m super happy.

“I landed the [dub 12] trick before but I tried it with a different grab which I’ve only landed in competition once before, and that was definitely the best I’ve ever done it.”

Muir, who had qualified for the final in seventh place, ranked third after her first of three jumps with a score of 90.25, and after a relatively safe second jump – with the cumulative total of the best two to count – she threw it all into a final effort which saw her crash out.

With Peng Shuai and International Olympic Committee president Thomas Bach in attendance, Gu landed her final trick, a left double cork 1620, to push Tess Ledeux of France into the silver medal position and delight a raucous home crowd on the outskirts of the capital city.

American-born Gu could end the Beijing Games with three gold medals for China, as she is also scheduled to compete in the half-pipe and slopestyle events.