Sweden and Norway win women’s and men’s gold

The Swedish women’s curling team added a second gold medal to their country’s tally at the Krasnoyarsk 2019 Winter Universiade, while Norway took top honours in the men’s event.

KRASNOYARSK, 10 March – The best university-based curling athletes in the world came together at the Ivan Yarygin Sports Palace on Sunday to fight for the medals after a week-long round robin competition. The women’s final between Sweden and Korea kicked off at 2pm local time, to a roaring crowd in this impressive and historic stadium.

Even though the Koreans were very determined and gave it their best shot, the tournament favourites from Sweden won 8:3 and walked away with the gold medal.

“It has been a really great week for us,” said Swedish coach Margaretha Sigfridsson.“I think this is the best our team has ever performed. I’m quite emotional to be a part of this win. I’m excited for the team. The arena, ice and the competition was really nice. It has been an honour to compete here in Krasnoyarsk.”

Isabella Wranaa from Team Sweden added, “We worked really hard for this win. Gold is what we wanted and that’s what we got here. The team is really happy.”

In the bronze medal playoff, Russia took on a strong team from the United Kingdom but had enough in their arsenal to win 12:5 and seal third place.

Ekaterina Kuzmina from the Russian Federation said, “The competition was really tough. There were so many good teams here in Krasnoyarsk and we had two losses in the round robin games. But we had good wins and the playoff stage was really great.”

Earlier in the day, the men’s team from Norway beat Canada 6:5 for the gold medal. The men’s team from the United Kingdom finished in third place, winning the bronze medal with a convincing 10:5 win against Switzerland.

 The gold medal match though, was a very closely contested one, with Norway and Canada neck-and-neck almost throughout. Every time one team got ahead, the opponents immediately equalized the score. The winner became clear in the tenth end, when Norway won with a score of 6:5.
  

After the game, Magnus Ramsfjell, a skip of the Norwegian team, did not hold back his joy. “I feel fantastic! It is beyond any words!” he exclaimed. “We are the best at the Universiade! A week of challenging games paid off with our victory. We did have to strain in the final game, no match is easy when you play against Canada. We managed to keep calm on the surface, but inside we were really anxious, of course, because we were playing for gold. Throughout the whole match, the Canadians made lots of great throws, but in the ninth end we managed to get two points, and the rest of the game was ours.’

The Norwegian coach Rune Hansen was satisfied as he said, “Our opponents began to play hard, but we decided to choose the opposite technique. I suppose it played a decisive role in our win. Throughout the week, we admired the venues, the ice. We are thankful to smiling volunteers and genuine interest from the Krasnoyarsk people. Moreover, we won gold! These events and feelings we have received during the Winter Universiade 2019 will remain in our hearts forever.”

RESULTS

Curling Men

Gold medal match: NOR beat CAN – 6:5

Bronze medal match: GBR beat SUI – 10:5

Curling Women

Gold medal match: SWE beat KOR – 8:3

Bronze medal match: RUS beat GBR – 12:5