13.02 Russia Takes Maiden Olympic Win in Men's Curling

SOCHI, February 13 (R-Sport) — Russia's men's curling team earned its first ever Olympic victory on Thursday, beating Switzerland 7-6 in the round robin stage in Sochi.

Russia's young team, making its Olympic debut, has lost its first four matches of the tournament but finally brought joy to the home fans at the Ice Cube arena on the Black Sea coast.

Skipped by Andrey Kuznetsov, Russia snatched an improbable 7-6 victory by winning three points in the final end despite not having the last-stone advantage.

Both Russia and Switzerland are on 1-4 records with minimal chances of making the playoffs.

Reigning champion Canada recovered from a rusty start to grab a 7-6 win over Denmark, also prevailing in the 10th end, to move to three wins and two defeats.

Great Britain and Sweden moved to 4-1 records, behind China which sits on top with an unbeaten 5-0.

The Britons defeated the United States 5-3, while world champions Sweden edged out Norway 5-4.

The Olympic curling tournament features a round robin where everyone plays everyone else and the top four teams in the final standings progress to the playoffs.

The gold medal game is February 21.