PYEONGCHANG, SOUTH KOREA—As the game wore on and the pressure got more palpable, a group of fans clad in red and white broke the tension at the Gangneung Curling Centre by breaking into a chant that echoed through the otherwise quiet venue.“Let’s go Canada, let’s go!” hollered the small assemblage of flag-toting supporters.Bellowed one fan to punctuate the rallying cry: “Weee Arrre Canadiannn!”For the past 20 years, being Canadian at an Olympic curling event meant you were likely either winning a medal or celebrating one. But Canada’s remarkable medal streak ended Wednesday morning here when Rachel Homan’s rink dropped a 6-5 decision to a team skipped by Britain’s Eve Muirhead. The loss dropped Canada’s record to 3-5, eliminating Homan from medal contention in the women’s draw and extinguishing a long-time national hot streak.Read more: Olympic curling’s Garlic Girls rock South Korea’s worldNorwegian Olympic curlers taking gold for choice of pantsOpinion | Bruce Arthur: Curling drug scandal leaves Russians flagging“We gave it all we had. We never gave up,” said Homan. “And that’s the way it goes sometimes.”Leading 5-4 into the 10th end, Homan’s rink piled mistake upon mistake as Muirhead, holding the hammer, stocked the house with yellow stones. Britain was lying four when Homan threw her penultimate shot, a takeout that reduced that number to two. But after Muirhead countered, Homan needed to make a difficult draw to extend the match. She came up short, and with that an era ended.In each of the five Olympics since curling was added to the Winter Games program in 1998, Canada hadn’t failed to win a medal in both women’s and men’s play, winning five of a possible 10 golds over the span. But the unquestioned dominance is no longer.“Canadians have to understand that these teams are really good outside of Canada. It’s ...
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