The Swiss men survived the regular season undefeated and were able to clearly prevail against Great Britain in the semi-finals.
This is what happened to Switzerland so often in the past in Olympic curling: the gold went up in smoke and in the end they had to settle for bronze.
Curling made a comeback was on the Olympic program in Nagano in 1998 and then Lag Patrick Hürliman won the Swiss men’s gold, one of the world’s leading curling nations has since gone to zero.
Miriam Ott lost the dramatic finale in Turin 20 years ago due to Anette Norberg’s perfect keystone. Four years earlier in Salt Lake, Ott and her team had lost the final against the team of Brit Rhona Martin.
Both are on site in Cortina, Martin as an expert commentator and Ott as the coach of the team between Sweden and Olympic gold. It’s not just any quintet.
Team Silvana Tirinzoni has dominated women’s curling in recent years with four consecutive World Championship gold medals in 2019, 2021, 2022 and 2023. No championship was held in 2020 due to the pandemic.
But the team scored zero points at the Olympics.
46-year-old skipper Silvana Tirinzoni, playing third and leaving the last two stones to Alina Pätz, would give a lot to break the Swiss curse but knows it will be a difficult task.
– It’s going to be a tough game. “They have the hammer and we have to try to take it back as quickly as possible,” said Tirinzoni, who believes the pressure on the team has eased now that the medal is secured.
You have been involved in curling for a very long time. Do you remember when you first met Anna Hasselborg?
– No, it’s been so long, but we have a very good relationship, like with all the teams that are here. Of course we want to beat each other on the ice, but off the ice we are friends. “We like them and I hope they like us,” says Tirinzoni
