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Three wins in a row.

The Czech men finished eighth in the Olympic curling tournament. They left behind Sweden and China, whom they defeated in their respective matches. Their third victory was against Germany. After somewhat mixed impressions from the first two-thirds of the competition, they definitely redeemed themselves and can return home with a sense of mission accomplished. The results are in line with pre-Olympic expectations, as is their ranking. All the experience gained, not only by the players but also by the coaching staff, needs to be transformed into a functioning preparation plan for the new Olympic cycle, which begins today. The competition in Cortina d'Ampezzo continues with the playoff matches. The national teams of Switzerland, Canada, Great Britain, and Norway have advanced to the semifinals in the men's category. Looking back at the events so far, perhaps the biggest surprise of the Games has been the decline in performance of the Swedish curlers, who even replaced their star captain Niklas Edin after the fifth end in their last match against the Czech Republic, replacing him with 26-year-old Simon Olofsson. In the women's competition, the order of the top four teams was not decided until the very last moment. The semifinal pairs are ultimately Canada and Sweden, and the United States and Switzerland. It is difficult to predict, as Olympic tournaments have brought many surprises, such as the Swiss victory in 1998 or the Americans in 2018. Rhona Martin's victory in the women's category in 2002 was also something of a surprise, especially for the British (not Scottish) audience. I wish the Czech representatives a safe journey home and thank Czech Television for guiding us through curling until the end of the competition.