Gushue made an empty attempt at the ninth end to give Edin the hammer in the 10th with the game tied. Sweden scored a pair when Gushue could not make his stone roll under two Swedish rocks at the top of the four-legged ring. It was the fourth consecutive world crown for Edin and his sixth overall. The victory came less than two months after he won the Olympic gold – defeating Gushue in the semifinals – at the Beijing Games. Gushue and his team based in St. Louis. Mark Nichols’ John’s, Brett Gallant and Geoff Walker had the first seed and opened the game with a hammer. But Edin worked hard in the first half and kept up the pressure throughout the game, taking advantage of Canada’s mistakes. Gushue tried for a gap at the ninth end, but succeeded for a single and Walker hugged his second stone in the 10th. Italian Joel Retornaz defeated American Korey Dropkin 13-4 earlier in the day to win the bronze medal. Gushue, who won the bronze medal at the Beijing Olympics, was looking to win the second world title of his career after Edin topped the 2017 final in Edmonton. Edin won the rematch a year later in the same venue in Las Vegas. Without Bruce Muat from Scotland on the pitch, Canada and Sweden were heavy favorites to reach the final. Gushue and Edin had some hiccups during the return match, but were still in the 13-team category and secured the first two seeds. The teams have known each other well since the skips first played each other in 2011. Gushue entered all-time matches 21-10, but Edin had won his last three games, including one here and two in Beijing. . With a pro-Canadian crowd of about 1,000 fans providing support, Gushue stole a pair in the second. Edin threw an in-off and could not move the buried Canadian rocks in his last shot. An obvious ice problem – the latest in a series of problems that hampered the game all week – seemed to affect Gushue’s first throw in the third end. He raised his hands in the air as his stone passed through the distant piglet before losing its target. This allowed Edin to take a hit and stay for two. Gushiu glanced at the spot on the ice and checked the bottom of the stone for debris. He was still shaking his head as he discussed the problem with substitute EJ Harnden and national team coach Jeff Stoughton. Gushue, ranked No. 1 in the world, has enjoyed a remarkable season with victories at the Canadian Olympics, a bronze medal at the Olympics and a fourth national title in six years. Gushue, Gallant and Walker played last weekend at Tim Hortons Brier as a trio when Nichols retired due to COVID-19. Edin, who beat Muat in the Olympic final, even pulled with a steal in the fourth end. Sweden sat three in the fifth end to force Gushue to equalize for a single and a 4-3 lead entering the break in the middle of the match. Edin picked up another duo in the sixth when Gushue managed to clear only one stone in a double shot attempt. Retornaz, meanwhile, led the Italian team to its first playoff appearance in this tournament and to the first podium. A seventh end of six points sealed the victory on the host side. The world bronze medal came two months after Italian third seed Amos Mosaner won gold at the mixed doubles Olympics with Stefania Constantini. This will be the last season for this version of the Team Gushue series. Gallant plans to leave the team as soon as the campaign is completed later this spring. His replacement has not yet been named. Canada ‘s Kerri Einarson won bronze at last month’ s World Championships in Prince George, BC Switzerland ‘s Silvana Tirinzoni won gold. This Canadian Press report was first published on April 10, 2022. Follow @GregoryStrongCP on Twitter.
