Superior, Wisconsin’s John Shuster and the United States curling team will play for a gold medal against Sweden.
The Americans upset curling power Canada for the second time in less than a week, pulling out a 5-3 victory in Thursday’s semifinals. Prior to this year, the U.S. had never beaten Canada at the Olympics and hadn’t made the podium since the 2006 Turin Games, when the Americans won a bronze medal. Now the worst the U.S. can do is a silver medal.
It’s been a rocky path for Shuster, who was benched at the 2010 Vancouver Games in the middle of the tournament because of poor performance. His team finished in ninth place in Sochi.
The turning point came in the eighth end with the score tied 2-2. Canada had the “hammer”, but team skip Kevin Koe threw the stone too lightly and it came up short of the house. The Americans came up with a two-point steal, putting them ahead 4-2 and in control.
The Americans went into the final end with a 4-3 lead, but Shuster had the hammer (last rock) and delivered the winning shot to pull out a point and 5-3 victory.
The Canadians will play for a bronze medal against Switzerland, which fell 9-3 to Sweden in the other semifinal match.
