Jones will suffer the second Olympic loss when Canada falls short against Sweden in curling for women
Jennifer Jones and her Canadian team lost their second straight match in the ladies’ Olympic curling and fell 7-6 in a match to the defending champions Anna Hasselborg and Sweden on Saturday morning at the games in Beijing.
After trailing 6-3 as they entered the eighth finish, Canada battled back to a point heading into the ninth. The Canadians were then in a position to take victory after uncharacteristic misses from Sweden opened the door in the end.
But Jones could not secure the double on the last shot of the match, and the measurement left Canada with only one single.
“My stone curved a little too much. It was a hard shot but it’s nice to have a potential shot to win the match when you are behind. I’m proud of us,” said Jones.
She later added: “Those damn millimeters – they get you sometimes. It’s always a game of millimeters, but that’s why we play. If a sport was a guarantee it would not be fun. You can go out and win with a millimeter and lose by a millimeter. That’s the adrenaline rush, that’s the fun of competing. “
The two losses also give unknown territory, as they are the first for Jones at the Olympics after an 11-0 record at the 2014 Games and an initial 12-7 win in Beijing against South Korea.
Her team includes Jocelyn Peterman, Dawn McEwen and Kaitlyn Lawes – with Lisa Weagle as alternate.
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Sweden (2-1) strives to become the second women’s team to ever win Olympic titles. They opened the tournament with an 8-5 win over Japan before falling 8-2 against Great Britain yesterday.
Canada recovered from a slow start in the first end against the Swedes when Jones made a perfect shot to steal a point with the last stone. It became clear that a tight match was being formed after a blank in the second.
Hasselborg made two on a fantastic throw with the last stone in the third finish, but the speed went back and forth when Jones cleared two stones before he tied things together with a hit and stick for one in the fourth.
Jones’ last stone in the fifth end went outside the protection, and Hasselborg made three to put Sweden in control with a 5-2 lead in the fifth end.
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Canada came closer by making one with the last stone in the sixth end, but Hasselborg restored breathing space with a lead of 6-3 after seven.
Hasselborg made a draw in the ninth to slow down the Canadian rally, as Sweden went up by two on the way to the final end before the dramatic end secured the win.
“Pretty disappointed. I missed a bad one [the fifth end] to give up three and we chased after it. We fought back to the end, says Jones.
Each of the ten competing countries will play nine matches during the round robin stage, where the four best teams advance to the semifinals.
Jones and Canada were the first and only women’s curling team to win Olympic curling gold with an unbeaten record in 2014. The Winnipeg native is a six-time Scottish champion and two-time world champion.
Brad Gushue and his Canadian men’s team are scheduled to play against Niklas Edin and Sweden at 01:05 ET.
Canada has won five medals in the women’s Olympic curling and 11 in total on the Olympic stage.
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