Gushue settles for silver after falling to Edin
LAS VEGAS – Canada’s Brad Gushue did not mince words after settling for silver on Sunday at the World Curling Championships for men.
“Just the worst ice cream I’ve ever rolled on in a major championship,” he said. “I have played in some curling clubs that were poor. But not in a world championship.”
Gushue lost an 8-6 decision to Sweden’s Niklas Edin in a final where precision shots were difficult. An unpredictable game turned Edin’s path when Gushue sniffed a blank attempt at the ninth end.
It gave the Swedes a hammer in a draw and they made a pair in 10th for their fourth straight world title.
“That match was very tough, difficult conditions to play,” said Edin. “So I’m really glad we were able to fight as hard as we did.”
Gushue said there were two distinct ridges on the ice in his semifinal victory a day earlier. When he came to training before the match on Sunday, he noticed four ridges on the sheet.
“When I went out and felt it, I thought, ‘Wow. We are part of it, “he said.
Gushue and his St. Johns-based teams with Mark Nichols, Brett Gallant and Geoff Walker opened the match with a hammer but were forced to a single.
With the help of a loud partisan audience of about 1,000 spectators, the Canadians stole a pair at the other end and built against a force in the third when the match turned.
Gushue raised his arms in disbelief as his stone hit a ridge near the far hogline and moved nine or 10 inches in the wrong direction.
“It was really a shock,” Gushue said of his reaction. “Excuse my language, but what happened right now?”
Sweden took advantage of a second and followed with a steal to make a draw.
“Every shot we threw was a guess,” Gushue said. “One had to guess what it would do and what ridge it would hit.”
Edin, who took his first Olympic gold this season, kept the press. He forced Gushue to pull to one in the fifth end and made two in the sixth after Gushue could only clear one stone on a double selection attempt.
“The ice was just so bad that there was a coin toss on every rock,” Gushue said. “Unfortunately, it came up for Niklas a little more than it did for us.”
Canada’s chances of stealing from the 10th end were slim, but a fine Walker stone put things in longshot mode.
Gushue, who threw 62 percent, said the ice conditions affected both of his rocks when the game was at stake.
A come-around attempt curled “dramatically” after hitting a ridge but was still in a good spot, he said. For his last throw, Gushue tried to pull around two Swedish stones on top of the four-footed ring.
He said the stone ended up on the wrong side of a ridge and then ran straight.
“It’s embarrassing for a player of my caliber to see two shots so far away when I really only take six inches of different ice,” Gushue said. “It’s hard to swallow. You feel like an idiot even though you threw a good rock.”
It was Edin’s sixth world title in his career. He also beat Gushue in the Olympic semifinals in Beijing.
“I do not want our complaint about the ice to be perceived as discrediting what they did because they are one of the best teams in the world,” Gushue said. “They could have hit us on good ice.
“It just took away an experience that I think for both teams.”
Gushue considered that the ice problems were probably caused by the ice crew building up the outer edges of the sheets early in the event.
He added that it can cause the ice scraper to tilt slightly as construction continues during the week, digging into the edge and causing ridges to form.
“The World Curling Federation conducts a review of each championship when it ends and places special emphasis on athletes’ feedback,” the WCF said via email.
“The ice and the technical aspects of the championship during the week are incorporated in this review.”
Earlier in the day, Joel Retornaz defeated American Korey Dropkin 13-4 and won the bronze medal. It was Italy’s first podium ever at this event.
The result came two months after Italian third Amos Mosaner won Olympic gold in mixed doubles with Stefania Constantini.
Canada’s Kerri Einarson took bronze at the world championships for women last month in Prince George, BC Swiss Silvana Tirinzoni won the gold.
Gushue was looking to win his second world title of his career after topping Edin 2017 in Edmonton. Edin won the rematch a year later at the same venue in Las Vegas.
Without Olympic silver medalist Bruce Mouat from Scotland in the field, Canada and Sweden were heavy favorites to reach the final. Gushue and Edin had a few hiccups during round-robin games but were still the class of the 13 entries.
Gushue has had a fantastic season with a victory in Canada’s Olympic trials, a bronze medal at the Olympics and a fourth national title in six years.
However, this match disappointed him for his teammates as well as spectators and TV viewers who he said were “deprived” of an experience to see two of the world’s best teams fight for gold.
“What they saw was a (poop) show,” Gushue said. “Niklas did more than we did and deserved to win. But I would have loved to show, because we two could go out and fight like we did at the Olympics (or) as we have done many times in Slams.
“It would have been fun. This was not fun.”
This report from The Canadian Press was first published on April 10, 2022.
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