It was closer than some expected, but Italy defeated Norway to win gold in the mixed doubles curling wrap up a perfect Olympics.
The victory sealed Italy's first-ever Olympic curling medal.
Down 7-5 entering the final end, Norway was in position to force an extra end before Italy's final throw. Stefania Constantini then delivered a perfect shot, as Amos Mosaner swept and the Italians executed a double takeout -- knocking both Norwegian stones and stealing one final point for the 8-5 win.
The Italian duo of Constantini and Mosaner were 11-0 in Beijing, winning all nine round-robin games and then advancing to the gold medal match with an 8-1 victory over Sweden. The Italians outscored their opponents 95-54 in 11 games.
Italy was in command of the gold medal game for most of the event. Norway grabbed a 2-0 lead in the first end before the Italians struck for six unanswered over the next three ends to take a 6-2 lead. The two sides traded points in the fifth and sixth before Norway scored two points in the seventh to make it 7-5. But with Italy holding the last-rock advantage, also known as the hammer, Constantini easily knocked both yellow stones out for the win.
Get Tri-state area news delivered to your inbox. Sign up for NBC New York's News Headlines newsletter.
âWinning a gold medal without losing a game, I think, is amazing,â Mosaner said after the match.
Local
The Norwegians were the reigning bronze medalists â but with an asterisk. Kristin Skaslien and Magnus Nedregotten lost in the third-place game at the 2018 Games in Pyeongchang, but moved onto the medal stand when Russian clurler Alexander Krushelnitsky failed a doping test.
The Swedish team of Almida de Val and Oskar Eriksson secured the bronze medal earlier Tuesday with their victory over Britain.
