Dumfries and Galloway curlers secure Winter Olympics semi-final spot

Both of Britains curling teams are through to the semi-finals of the Winter Olympics.

Bruce Mouat’s men’s team, which contains Kirkgunzeon’s Grant Hardie, Stranraer duo Hammy McMillan and Bobby Lammie and alternate Ross Whyte of Dumfries, eased through after topping the round-robin stage, losing just one game along the way.

But it was much harder for Eve Murihead’s women’s rink, which includes Dumfries-born Vicky Wright, who had to wait until after their final match to find out if they’d progressed to the last four.

Team Mouat booked their slot with a 7-6 win over world champions Sweden 7-6 on Tuesday before beating the Russian Olympic Committee 8-6 on Wednesday.

And on Thursday morning they defeated Canada 5-2 to finish with a fine record of eight wins and one defeat.

They topped the group, with their semi-final against the USA taking place later today.

The women’s team hit trouble when they were surprisingly beaten by China on Wednesday, leaving them with a record of four wins and four defeats.

On Thursday, they kept their hopes alive by beating the Russian Olympic Committee 9-4 in their final game.

However, they still required other results to go their way to progress.

And luck was on their side, with wins for Sweden, Canada and Switzerland seeing them through to the last four where they meet Sweden tomorrow.