Team Switzerland’s men’s curling squad, led by skip Yannick Schwaller, extended their flawless performance at the Winter Olympics on Tuesday, crushing Sweden 9-4 in Cortina d’Ampezzo, Italy. The decisive victory keeps Switzerland’s perfect record intact while officially crushing the defending Olympic champions’ hopes for another medal.
Sweden’s title defense had already been hanging by a thread following Monday’s 7-3 loss to Germany under skip Niklas Edin’s leadership. While a narrow path to the playoffs still existed through an improbable series of outcomes, that slim possibility has now vanished completely.
The former champions find themselves tied for ninth position in the round-robin tournament with just a single victory in seven matches played. Meanwhile, Switzerland dominates the standings in first place, boasting a pristine 6-0 record.
“We worked very hard and we had a lot of very good discussions leading up to this,” Schwaller said. “I think everything is coming together nicely, and we play with so much confidence out there right now, and just enjoy each other and enjoy the moment.”
In other Tuesday action, China’s team under skip Xiaoming Xu secured an 8-5 victory against the United States in a contest that remained tied entering the final end. The Czech Republic also notched a 9-7 triumph over Germany, the reigning 2024 European champions.
The Czech victory marked a historic milestone as their first Olympic win in men’s curling competition, although the team has previously claimed victories in mixed doubles events at the Games.
The round-robin format requires each team to compete in nine total matches, with play continuing later Tuesday. The tournament’s top four finishers will advance to this week’s semifinal rounds.
