Canada tops Team USA for bronze in men's curling

It's not the medal they were hoping for, but the Canadian men's curling team isn't going home empty-handed.

Brad Gushue's rink earned the bronze medal with an 8-5 win Friday over the United States. The bronze is Gushue's second Olympic medal after he won gold at Torino in 2006.

Gushue's victory gives Canada its only curling medal in Beijing, avoiding the country's first shutout since the Olympics reintroduced the sport in 1998. Canada failed to medal once before in 1924 when curling was considered a demonstration sport, though those medals were later upgraded to official by the IOC.

Gushue opened up with a pair of points in the first end. After the two sides exchanged singles, Team USA's John Shuster knotted things up with two of his own in the fourth. Canada then looked to blank the fifth and carry the hammer into the sixth, but Gushue's own stone didn't clear the house, and the Canadians scored one instead to go up 5-4.

Following the fifth-end break, the U.S. took its first lead of the game with a pair in the sixth. After blanking the seventh, Canada had a shot for three in the eighth but only grabbed two and retook the lead. Gushue stole two in the ninth to head to the final end with a three-point advantage and then cleared out enough stones in the 10th until it was time to bump fists.

Shuster was looking for his third Olympic medal after winning bronze in Torino and gold at PyeongChang in 2018.