Team GB star fights back ‘ugly’ tears after Winter Olympics medal heartbreak

Team GB curling star Jen Dodds fought back tears after once again missing out on a bronze medal at the Winter Olympics.

Standing alongside teammate Bruce Mouat, the Scottish pair had been tipped as one of Team GB‘s best hopes for a medal prior to the event.

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But Dodds and Mouat were beaten 5-3 against their Italian opponents in the bronze medal match in the mixed doubles curling event.

The duo had topped the table in the round-robin format, winning their first seven matches in a row.

They suffered just one defeat in that time, but were unable to build on their momentum.

Their impressive start ebbed away in the knockout stages which saw them slip to a shock 9-3 defeat to Sweden in Monday’s semi-finals that quashed any hopes of landing a gold medal.

Team GB had beaten the 2024 world champions just three days earlier in the round-robin stage.

And it got even worse for Dodds and Mouat with defeat against Italian duo Amos Mosaner and Stefania Constantini which saw a repeat of the fourth-placed finish they achieved in Beijing four years ago.

The defeat is the third fourth-placed finish for Team GB after Kirsty Muir and Mia Brookes also missed out on a medal by one place in the respective Women’s Slopestyle and Big Air finals.

Fighting back the tears

Following the loss, Dodds struggled to hold back her tears while conducting an interview alongside Mouat.

Speaking to BBC Sport, Dodds said: “So close, but so far.

“It hurts the same as four years ago but I don’t want to ugly-cry so I’m going to stop there.”

Getty

Getty

There is still hope that the pair can get their hands on a medal when they compete in the respective men’s and women’s events.

However, they will need some time to process the disappointment of the mixed doubles with Mouat claiming the defeat will hurt for a while.

“It’s rough,” he said.

“We played so much better than four years ago so to leave with the same result is going to hurt for a bit.

“There’s been a few fourth places for Team GB – that shows how close we are in so many events.”

“We’re so lucky to be able to play in the Olympics with your best mate. I’m so gutted but I’m so proud of us for sticking at it,” Mouat added.