Arrows at Gold - London 2012 Olympics, Women's Individual Medal

The women;s individual event closes out with a pair of five set thrillers. The battle for the bronze medal went back and forth between Aida Roman and Jessica Tomasi with the Italian shooting a perfect first set. Roman tied it at 2two points each with a 10-10-9 scoreline, just edging Tomasi's 9-9-10. Both archers had a wild shot in the third set with Tomasi's seven just beating out her Mexican opponents six for a 4-2 lead.

Two tens from the Italian was not quite enough to close it out in the fourth as a shot landing in the seven only tied the set, but Tomasi stayed ahead 5-3. Roman was able to force a shoot-off with a trio of nines in the final set, Tomasi improved as the finale wore on but her opening shot of another seven cost her. So the difference between a medal and nothing would be decided by a single shot. Both women hit the nine but one arrow was clearly closer to the centre than the other meaning that Aida Roman was Olympic Bronze medalist.

In the final it all Ren Hayakawa and Sunj Jin Lee fired home fifteen bullseyes between them but Lee enjoyed the better start with four tens in the opening two sets, Hayakawa able to match her opponent 9-10-10 in the second to claim a point and was 1-3 down.

The Japanese archer was able to replicate her second set score in the third while Lee hit her only eight of the match for a 3-3 scoreline. Momentum turned back to the Korean at the start of the fourth, her 10-9-9 beating Hayakawa's 7-9-9 for a 5-3 advantage heading into the final set where both women again fell just shy of the perfect round meaning a point each gives Sung Jin Lee the Gold medal.

Women's Individual Bronze Medal Match
Aida Roman (MEX) def. Jessica Tomasi (ITA) 28-30, 29-28, 24-26, 27-27, 27-26 (6-5)

Women's Individual Gold Medal Match
Sung Jin Lee (KOR) def. Ren Hayakawa (JPN) 29-26, 29-29, 27-29, 28-25, 29-29

Gold: Sung Jin Lee (KOR)
Silver: Ren Hayakawa (JPN)
Bronze: Aida Roman (MEX)

Arrows at Gold - London 2012 Olympics, Women's Individual Semifinals

The medal matchups have been determined and the Olympic final will be an all Asian affair between Ren Hayakawa of Japan and Korea's Sung Jin Lee. Lee swept aside the challenge of Mexican Aida Roman in straight sets with a masterclass in archery, firing off seven tens out of her nine shots including a perfect opening set.

It was a much tougher task for Hayakawa to reach the final having to come back from a 0-4 scoreline to win it in a shoot-off. Italy's Jessica Tomasi was in the zone early on with three of her first six arrows landing in the ten and, while she did hit the bullseye in every set, suffered with some wayward shots ending up scoring only seven.With a tense ending to the match as Hayakawa took the third and fifth sets and tying the fourth, the match was decided on an equally tense footing as both athletes hit the ten. The measuring conducted and Ren Hayakawa won by a slim margin.

Women's Individual Semifinal results:
Ren Hayakawa (JPN) Jessica Tomasi (ITA) 26-28, 25-27, 26-24, 26-26, 29-28 (6-5)

Sung Jin Lee (KOR) def. Aida Roman (MEX) 30-28, 28-26, 29-27

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Arrows at Gold - London 2012 Olympics, Women's Individual Quarterfinal Results

The final four are now decided but none of them had it easy. Jessica Tomasi of Italy was tied at 2-2 after two sets but finished off with 10-10-9 in the final sets to knock out China's Ming Cheng. She will play Ren Hayakawa who edged out Russian Ksenia Perova. The Japanese archer was 4-2 up after three sets with the final two sets tied to give Hayakawa victory.

On the other side of the draw it was a hard slog for Sung Jin Lee as she dropped the first and last sets leaving her to win through the shoot-off; Kristina Timofeva hit a seven but Lee struck the eight. Her semifinal opponent is Mexico's Aida Roman who started out 1-3 after two sets before her consistency beat down the challenge of Ukrainian Kateryna Palekha.

Women's Individual Quarterfinal results:
Ren Hayakawa (JPN) def. Ksenia Perova (RUS) 29-26, 26-25, 25-26, 27-27, 28-28
Jessica Tomasi (ITA) def. Ming Cheng (CHN) 28-24, 24-28, 29-27, 29-26

Aida Roman (MEX) def. Kateryna Palekha (UKR) 27-27, 24-27, 26-24, 27-25, 26-26
Sung Jin Lee (KOR) def. Kristina Timofeeva (RUS) 24-27, 26-25, 27-27, 28-25, 26-28 (6-5)

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Arrows at Gold - London 2012 Olympics, Women's Individual 1/8 Elimination Round Results

Three of the final sixteen had little trouble in booking their spots for the quarterfinals. Ksenia Perova, Ming Cheng and Sung Jin Lee all won in straight sets with Lee hitting seven tens, including a clean sweep in the second set. The Japanese women had a tough day with only Ren Hayakawa surviving out of the three competitors, and she needed a fourth set to see off Ukraine's Sichenikova; Kanie lost in four to Mexico's Aida Roman and Kawanaka tied the final set, one point away from completing her comeback from 5-1 down to Jessica Tomasi of Italy.

Women's Individual 1/8 Elimination results:
Ren Hayakawa (JPN) def. Lidia Sichenikova (UKR) 26-26, 26-23, 26-25, 28-27
Ksenia Perova (RUS) def. Yuting Fang (CHN) 27-25, 28-27, 27-25

Jessica Tomasi (ITA) def. Kaori Kawanaka (JPN) 29-27, 29-23, 25-25, 26-27, 27-27
Ming Cheng (CHN) def. Khatuna Lorig (USA) 26-23, 27-24, 29-25

Kateryna Palekha (UKR) def. Ya-Ting Tan (TPE) 26-28, 26-24, 27-26, 26-23
Aida Roman (MEX) def. Miki Kanie (JPN) 26-29, 27-26, 27-23, 29-26

Kristina Timofeeva (RUS) def. Carina Christiansen (DEN) 28-27, 23-24, 28-27, 30-22
Sung Jin Lee (KOR) def. Chekrovlu Swuro (IND) 29-27, 30-26, 29-26

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Arrows at Gold - London 2012 Olympics, Women's Individual 1/16 Elimination Round Results

Women's Individual 1/16 Elimination results:
Lidia Sichenikova (UKR) def. Bo Bae Ki (KOR) 27-26, 27-25, 28-25
Ren Hayakawa (JPN) def. Inna Stepanova (RUS) 25-22, 24-27, 28-22, 28-26
Ksenia Perova (RUS) def.  Un Sil Kown (PRK) 28-24, 27-26, 29-24
Yuting Fang (CHN) def. Deepika Kumari (IND) 25-27, 27-26, 26-26, 27-27, 27-27 (6-5)

Kaori Kawanaka (JPN) def. Chia-En Lin (TPE) 22-22, 21-25, 25-14, 28-22, 24-22
Jessica Tomasi (ITA) def. Irla Grandal (ESP) 30-25, 26-29, 24-25, 25-21, 26-23
Ming Cheng (CHN) def. Alejandra Valencia (MEX) 26-25, 25-27, 27-26, 25-21
Khatuna Lorig (USA) def. Marie-Per Beaudet (CAN) 28-24, 25-28, 25-24, 28-24

Ya-Ting Tan (TPE) def. Elena Richter (GER) 27-24, 28-28, 28-22, 27-26
Kateryna Palekha (UKR) def. Pia Lionetti (ITA) 27-26, 28-26, 26-24
Aida Roman (MEX) def. Evangelia Psarra (GRE) 26-25, 27-23, 28-23
Miki Kanie (JPN) def. Natalia Lesniak (POL) 24-24, 25-17, 27-25, 27-29, 24-26 (6-5)

Carina Christiansen (DEN) def. Begul Lokluoglu (TUR) 29-26, 24-28, 21-30, 28-27, 26-23
Kristina Timofeeva (RUS) def. Mariana Avitia (MEX) 22-23, 25-30, 26-25, 27-27, 25-24 (6-5)
Chekrovlu Swuro (IND) def. Allison Williamson (GBR) 28-26, 27-27, 26-28, 28-25, 27-26
Sung Jin Lee (KOR) def. Kristine Esebua (GEO) 27-28, 27-25, 28-25, 26-26, 26-25

Arrows at Gold - London 2012 Olympics, Women's Individual 1/16 Elimination Round

First a correction. I had originally played out this tournament after misreading the rules. Instead of one arrow per set, it is three shots per set. The first round results stand but I have replayed the remainder of the competition and will do the same for the men. My apologies for the sticky start and to Paul Morris - his rules were clear, the mistake was mine.

At the top of the draw Korean Bo Bae Ki was dumped 6-0 by Lidiia Sichenikova as the Ukrainian hit a ten in each set. She will play Japanese archer Ren Hayakawa who needed a fourth set to finish off Stepanova. China's Yuting Fang held her nerve in the shoot-off by shooting a ten to Kumari's eight, this after three straight sets to keep the scores tied.

The big comeback of the round came from the bow of Kristina Timofeeva who trailed Mariana Avitia 0-4 with the Mexican hitting a perfect second set. There was almost nothing between them after that with the Russian edging two of the final three sets by a single point, tying the other, and going on to win the shoot-off 10-9. Finally the last Brit is out as Allison Williamson dropped a five setter to India's Chekrovlu Swuro.

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Arrows at Gold - London 2012 Olympics, Women's Individual 1/32 Elimination Round Results

Women's Individual 1/32 Elimination results:
Bo Bae Ki (KOR) def. Rand Al-Mashhadanni (IRQ) 10-5 8-5 9-7
Lidia Sichenikova (UKR) def. Ekaterina Timfeyeva (BLR) 10-6 10-9 10-8
Inna Stepanova (RUS) def. Rachelle Anne Cabral (PHI) 8-8 9-8 9-8 9-9
Ren Hayakawa (JPN) def. Christine Bjerendal (SWE) 9-9 10-8 9-7 9-9

Ksenia Perova (RUS) def. Nada Kamel (EGY) 8-8 9-8 10-7 10-7
Un Sil Kown (PRK) def. Natalia Valeeva (ITA) 9-7 10-9 7-9 9-7
Yuting Fang (CHN) def. Ika Yuliana Rochmawati (POL) 10-10 10-9 8-10 8-8 10-9
Deepika Kumari (IND) def. Amy Oliver (GBR) 8-8 9-8 9-9 9-9 9-4

Chia-En Lin (TPE) def. Nurul Syafigah Hashim (MAS) 8-9 7-8 10-7 10-9 7-6
Kaori Kawanaka (JPN) def. Berengere Schuh (FRA) 10-10 9-9 9-8 9-8
Jessica Tomasi (ITA) def. Hyeonju Choi (KOR) 9-6 10-9 10-9
Irla Grandal (ESP) def. Ana Maria Rendon (COL) 10-10 9-9 9-8 10-8

Alejandra Valencia (MEX) def. Reena Parnat (EST) 8-6 7-8 9-6 9-6
Ming Cheng (CHN) def. Leidyx Brito (VEN) 9-6 9-9 8-6 7-9 10-9
Marie-Per Beaudet (CAN) def. Louise Laursen (DEN) 9-8 9-7 9-8
Khatuna Lorig (USA) def. Sherud Zam (BHU) 9-6 10-7 9-7

Ya-Ting Tan (TPE) def. Nathalie Dielen (SUI) 6-8 9-8 10-8 7-8 9-7
Elena Richter (GER) def. Maja Jager (DEN) 8-10 9-8 8-8 8-8 8-6
Pia Lionetti (ITA) def. Karen Hultzer (RSA) 8-6 9-6 10-8
Kateryna Palekha (UKR) def. Miranda Leek (USA) 7-10 10-8 10-9 10-9

Aisa Roman (MEX) def. Anastassiya Bannova (KAZ) 9-8 9-9 10-7 10-10
Evangelia Psarra (GRE) def. Bombayla Devi Laishram (IND) 8-4 8-9 9-10 10-8 9-9 (6-5)
Natalia Lesniak (POL) def. Jing xu (CHN) 9-8 10-10 8-9 10-8 9-8
Miki Kanie (JPN) def. Tetyana Dorokhova (UKR) 9-7 10-9 8-9 8-10 9-8

Carina Christiansen (DEN) def. Elisa Barnard (AUS) 8-10 9-6 8-6 9-9 8-8
Begul Lokluoglu (TUR) def. Chien-Ying Le (TPE) 10-10 10-8 4-10 10-9 10-9
Kristina Timofeeva (RUS) def. Naomi Folkard (GBR) 10-8 10-8 8-9 8-9 8-8 (6-5)
Mariana Avitia (MEX) def. Zahra Dehghanabnavi (IRI) 9-9 9-5 8-8 10-6

Jennifer Nichols (USA) def. Chekrovlu Swuro (IND) 6-8 9-9 9-8 10-8 10-8
Allison Williamson (GBR) def. (Bishindee Urantungalag (MGL) 8-9 10-7 10-7 9-9 9-10 (6-5)
Kristine Esebua (GEO) def. Denisse Van Lamoen (CHI) 8-9 9-7 9-7 9-8
Sung Jin Lee (KOR) def. Maureen Tuinalealifano (SAM) 10-8 9-7 9-8

Arrows at Gold - London 2012 Olympics, Women's Individual 1/32 Elimination Round

The Gold medal winning team from Taipei had a mixed day with Chia-En Lin and Ya-Ting Tan both taking come from behind victories; Lin was down 0-4 before hitting a pair of tens and just beating Hashim on the final shot. Chien-Ying Le however lost her first round match as Turkey's Begul Lokluoglu hit four tens to take her place in the next round.

The hotly tipped Koreans also have two women past the first hurdle as Bo Bae Ki and Sung Jin Lee sweep past their opponents 6-0 and the home fans had something to cheer for despite the tough losses of both Naomi Folkard and Amy Oliver as Allison Williamson beat Urantungalag of Mongolia in a shoot-off.

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Arrows at Gold - London 2012 Olympics, Women's Individual Preview

After the team events comes the men's and women's individual competition. Sixty-four archers will take part in a traditional elimination tournament through six rounds on their way towards the finals. Each contest pits two competitors head-to-head in a best-of-five sets match. Each archer will fire an arrow, the winner scoring two points with a point each for a tie. The first to six points wins and progresses on to the next round. If the match is tied 5-5 then a single arrow shoot-off is required whereby the winner is the athlete who hits nearest to the centre of the target.

As with the team event each archer is carded and dice rolls are compared to their real life performance in order to determine the score for each shot.

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Arrows at Gold - London 2012 Olympics, Womens Team Semifinals

Korea vs Mexico
The first semifinal was a hot mess, especially in the second end where both teams scored under fifty. Korea held a four point lead after the first with two late tens securing their advantage, but neither side would get inside the ten during the second end and only four nines between them were scored. Both teams had landed in the eight ring four times through the first half of the match, with several arrows scoring lower still.

Business picked up in the third thanks to a trio of bullseyes for Korea while Mexico continued to languish in the eights with only two gold-ringed shots to their credit. The final end was a similar story to guarantee a medal for Korea as they progress to the final leaving Mexico in the bronze medal match.

KOREA									MEXICO
End	Arrows						Score		End	Arrows						Score
1	9	8	9	8	10	10	54		1	9	8	7	8	9	9	50
2	9	8	8	9	7	6	47		2	8	7	7	9	8	9	48
3	10	10	9	8	8	10	55		3	10	8	9	8	8	8	51
4	9	10	10	9	9	7	54		4	10	9	9	8	7	8	51
Total							210		Total							200

Taipei vs United States
The United States had a unique look about their scoreline with four eights interrupting an otherwise clean sweep of nines. This kept them two points behind at the halfway stage as Taipei found the ten on two occasions. The all gold third ends extended Taipei's lead to four points as they hit another two bullseyes, and they repeated the performance in the fourth end to cement their place in the final to face Korea. USA will play Mexico for the bronze.

TAIPEI									UNITED STATES
End	Arrows						Score		End	Arrows						Score
1	9	10	9	8	8	9	53		1	9	9	9	8	9	8	52
2	8	9	9	10	8	9	53		2	9	8	8	9	9	9	52
3	10	9	10	9	9	9	56		3	9	9	9	9	9	9	54
4	10	9	10	9	8	9	55		4	9	9	9	9	9	9	54
Total							217		Total							212

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Arrows at Gold - London 2012 Olympics, Womens Team Quarterfinals

Korea vs India
India lost a winnable match in the first end, hitting three sixes. They went on to beat the Koreans in the remaining three ends by a score of 167-162 but ultimately falling five shy of a winning score. Korea were not on song only hitting all gold in the second end, the other ends polluted with eights and seven; they hit the bullseye six times.

With seven tens and just a pair of eights India were the better team and would deservedly be competing for medals if not for that opening end score of forty-four.

KOREA									INDIA
End	Arrows						Score		End	Arrows						Score
1	8	9	9	10	9	8	53		1	9	9	6	6	8	6	44
2	10	9	9	9	9	10	56		2	9	10	10	9	9	10	57
3	10	8	8	7	9	9	51		3	9	10	9	9	9	9	55
4	9	9	10	10	8	9	55		4	9	10	10	8	10	8	55
Total							215		Total							211

Japan vs Mexico
Japan were unable to bring their from from the first round into their contest with Mexico. Whereas in their victory over the Ukrainians Japan managed to score 167 through three ends, only going outside the eight in the final end, here they managed to shoot seven sevens while Mexico hit nothing by 8-9-10.

Despite three sevens in the opening half Japan was tied with the Mexicans 106-106 with four tens, three of which came in the first end. Mexico hit a pair of tens and a mixture of eights and nines as they tried to find their groove. Neither side found the centre in the third end but Mexico's three eights trumped the triple sevens of Japan, and the golden fourth end for Mexico sealed their place into the semifinals where they will face Korea.

JAPAN									MEXICO
End	Arrows						Score		End	Arrows						Score
1	7	9	10	10	10	7	53		1	10	9	9	8	8	8	52
2	9	7	8	10	9	10	53		2	9	9	9	8	9	10	54
3	7	9	7	9	7	9	48		3	8	8	9	9	9	8	51
4	8	7	9	9	10	9	52		4	10	9	9	10	9	10	57
Total							206		Total							214

Taipei vs Russia
Russia were below par for this one with almost half of their shots (11/24) scoring eight, another two in the second end finding the six. This only made things easier for Taipei as they shot outside of the gold rings once through the first three ends, relaxing in the final go-round with the match won.

TAIPEI									RUSSIA
End	Arrows						Score		End	Arrows						Score
1	10	9	10	9	9	10	57		1	8	8	10	8	8	8	50
2	8	9	10	9	9	9	54		2	10	8	6	9	6	10	49
3	10	10	9	9	9	9	56		3	9	9	10	9	9	8	54
4	8	9	8	9	8	7	49		4	8	10	9	8	8	8	51
Total							216		Total							204

China vs United States
One team hit the bullseye five times, the other just twice and both found a pair of sevens. But the real difference came when the United States consistently found the nine; eighteen of their twenty-four arrows hitting the mark. On the other side, for every nine China hit they were finding an eight to go along with it and ultimately losing the match in the third end where they scored no tens but three eights and a seven. The USA did not need a maximum in the second half of the match as they only feel outside the nine twice.

CHINA									UNITED STATES
End	Arrows						Score		End	Arrows						Score
1	10	10	8	8	9	8	53		1	9	10	9	8	9	7	52
2	9	9	8	10	9	9	54		2	9	9	9	9	10	9	55
3	8	9	7	8	8	9	49		3	9	8	9	9	9	9	53
4	9	10	8	9	10	7	53		4	9	9	9	9	7	9	52
Total							209		Total							212

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Arrows at Gold - London 2012 Olympics, Womens Team First Round

India vs Denmark
India was glad of their 109-103 lead heading into the third end as they hit two sixes to score under fifty; Denmark closing the gap to just two points but their inability to avoid the eight throughout the match cost them a real chance of qualifying for the next round.

India hit the bullseye twice per end to counter the odd seven and eight creeping into their shooting while the Danes only managed five tens total along with seven eights.

INDIA									DENMARK
End	Arrows						Score		End	Arrows						Score
1	9	9	10	9	8	10	55		1	10	9	7	9	8	8	51
2	9	9	10	7	9	10	54		2	7	9	9	8	10	9	52
3	8	6	6	10	9	10	49		3	9	8	8	10	9	9	53
4	9	10	9	10	9	9	56		4	8	8	10	10	6	9	51
Total							214		Total							207

Japan vs Ukraine
For three ends Japan put on an archery masterclass hitting nine tens for a commanding win over the Ukraine. The wheels fell off in the fourth however with some rather wild shots but the result was never in doubt.

On the other side the Ukrainians really fought to find their mark, only breaking the fifty point barrier once in the first end. Just three bullseyes would never be enough to keep them safe with half their arrows hitting outside of the gold rings, including an incredible two fours and a three.

JAPAN									UKRAINE
End	Arrows						Score		End	Arrows						Score
1	9	10	10	10	8	9	56		1	9	8	10	7	9	8	51
2	10	10	10	9	9	10	58		2	9	9	8	8	8	7	49
3	10	8	10	8	9	8	53		3	9	7	3	9	9	9	46
4	9	8	6	7	8	8	46		4	10	4	10	9	4	8	45
Total							213		Total							191

Great Britain vs Russia
The penultimate match of the opening round saw the host nation take a 106-104 lead into the second half of proceedings. Neither side looked to be terribly comfortable through the first end with Team GB hitting the seven, but with four nines, and Russia nailing the eight with three arrows but also making a maximum.

The second end saw the Brits move ahead with all gold outside of the fifth arrow which struck the eight. Russia had to make do with a single ten to go with a seven and an eight. Then the match turned and the Russians tied it up with one end to play thanks to a pair of tens against Britain's single bullseye and a seven. The final end was a similar story as the Russians only found gold and GB hit another seven to knock themselves out by two points.

GREAT BRITAIN									RUSSIA
End	Arrows						Score		End	Arrows						Score
1	8	7	9	9	9	9	51		1	10	8	9	8	9	8	52
2	10	9	9	9	8	10	55		2	9	10	8	7	9	9	52
3	9	9	9	7	9	10	53		3	10	10	9	8	9	9	55
4	9	9	7	10	9	10	54		4	10	10	9	9	9	9	56
Total							213		Total							215

China vs Italy
The tenth arrow fired by the Italians proved to be a very costly miss as it embedded itself in the three ring. Even a rogue five from the Chinese to start the final end would not be enough to open the door for Italy.

The wild shot came with Italy ahead 54-51 after the first end and looked likely to extend that lead with a 9-10-8 run to kick off the second; China another point back with 8-8-10. From that moment on China failed to hit gold on three shots while Italy would only find the centre of the target once more.

CHINA									ITALY
End	Arrows						Score		End	Arrows						Score
1	7	8	10	9	9	8	51		1	10	8	8	8	10	10	54
2	8	8	10	9	9	9	53		2	9	10	8	3	8	8	46
3	8	10	10	10	9	8	55		3	9	9	8	9	9	10	54
4	5	9	9	10	9	10	52		4	9	8	9	9	7	9	51
Total							211		Total							205

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Arrows at Gold - London 2012 Olympics, Women's Team First Round Preview

Chinese Taipei: Chien-Ying Le / Chia-En Lin / Ya-Ting Tan
China: Ming Cheng / Yuting Fang / Jing Xu
Denmark: Carina Christiansen / Maja Jager / Louise Laursen
Great Britain: Naomi Folkard / Amy Oliver / Alison Williamson
India: Deepika Kumari / Bombayla Devi Laishram / Chekrovolu Swuro
Italy: Pia Lionetti / Jesica Tomasi / Natalia Valeeva
Japan: Ren Hayakawa / Miki Kanie / Kaori Kawanaka
Korea: Hyeonju Choi / Bo Bae Ki / Sung Jin Lee
Mexico: Mariana Avitia / Aida Roman / Alejandra Valencia
Russia: Ksenia Perova / Inna Stepanova / Kristina Timofeeva
Ukraine: Tetyana Dorokhova / Kateryna Palekha / Lidiia Sichenikova
United States: Miranda Leek / Khatuna Lorig / Jennifer Nichols

As in the men's tournament there are four nations here who receive a bye into the quarterfinals: Chinese Taipei, Korea, Mexico and the United States.

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Arrows at Gold - London 2012 Olympics Preview

Arrows at Gold is a new archery game from Paul Morris over at Xtra Large Cheltonian and is available to download free here.

The game features all four competitions in the Olympic archery tournament: Men's and Women's Individual along with the two team events. The individual archers and teams are rated on how they performed in real life with all the relevant data, including photos, on ready to print cards.

The game is played with a pair of ten-sided dice. The number rolled indicates where the arrow scored ranging from 0-10. Each player/team scores according to how they performed in reality. For example, Bubmin Kim who finished 5th in the Men's Individual competition will score a 7 on a roll of 01-02, an 8 03-22, a 9 on 23-67 etc. The team tournaments operate in the same vein.

The order of play will be as follows:
Men's Team
Women's Team
Men's and Women's Individual

As always, I hope you enjoy and please feel to comment.

SRC - Capital One World Women's Curling Championship 2011 - Gold Medal

Lineups:
Sweden - Karlstads CK
Lead: Lotta Lennartsson
Second: Sara Carlsson
Third: Cecilia Östlund
Skip: Anete Norberg

China - Harbin CC
Lead: Yan Zhou
Second: Qingshuang Yue
Third: Yin Liu
Skip: Bingyu Wang

Gold Medal Game - 27th March 2011 15:00
Sheet C		1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	Ex	F
Sweden	*	1	0	0	0	2	0	0	3	3	0		9
China		0	0	0	2	0	1	2	0	0	1		6

China were far more competitive in this rematch of the 1/2 Playoff game, but still could not find a way to beat the Swedes for a second time in this tournament.

Compared to the penultimate match of the competition, the final was downright pedestrian; Sara Carlsson's early efforts making things difficult for China to get to their opponents stone. A pair of blanked ends were followed by a sudden flurry of scoring. China's Yin Liu blocked superbly in the fourth end, while Annette Norberg showed creativity to get a second stone into the house and retake the lead in the fifth.

It then looked as though there was a change in momentum as Bingyu Wang, who has the highest percentage amongst the Skips in the tournament, scored a single in the sixth end, following this up with a steal of two more points in the seventh, and suddenly China was in the ascendency with a lead of 5-3.

But how quickly things can turn. Sara Carlsson was again immaculate in her blocking, allowing her teammates to score three points in the eighth, and it continued with a three stolen points in the ninth end as Sweden dug down and found something special to take that Gold medal.

SRC - Capital One World Women's Curling Championship 2011 - Bronze Medal

Lineups:
CANADA - Kronau CC, Saskatchewan
Lead: Heather Kalenchuk
Second: Tammy Schneider
Third: Kim Schneider
Skip: Amber Holland

DENMARK - Hvidovre CC
Lead: Maria Poulson
Second: Jeanne Ellegaard
Third: Helle Simonsen
Skip: Lene Nielsen

Bronze Medal Game - 27th March 2011 10:00
Sheet C		1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	Ex	F
Canada	*	2	0	1	0	3	3	0	1	0	2		12
Denmark		0	3	0	3	0	0	3	0	1	0		10

The final day of the 2011 Capital One Women's World Curling Championships began with a real barnburner. The score was added to in every end, including a run of four straight where three points were put up on the board.

The wild contest started out with Amber Holland cementing a 2-0 lead with the final stone of the end, and Tammy Schneider disrupting the Danish efforts in the third end. In the middle of this Jeanne Ellegaard played a pair of remarkable shots to give three points to her rink, and on Denmark's next end with the hammer it was all about Helle Simonsen and her blocking to give them a 6-3 lead.

The score was tied in the next end when Holland finished up some strong play throughout the Canadian lineup. Heather Kalenchuk then started it all over again thanks to some very poor shots from her opposite Lead curler, Maria Paulsen fora 9-6 scoreline. Once again the free-scoring teams were level after seven ends, Ellegaard the focus once more.

A difference in the skill shown between the leads was again a big contribution to Canada retaking the lead, but they needed to get it done one more time in the final end, with the score even at 10-10, and Amber Holland was up to the task of winning Bronze for her country in an incredible match.

SRC - Capital One World Women's Curling Championship 2011 - Semifinal

Lineups:
China - Harbin CC
Lead: Yan Zhou
Second: Qingshuang Yue
Third: Yin Liu
Skip: Bingyu Wang

CANADA - Kronau CC, Saskatchewan
Lead: Heather Kalenchuk
Second: Tammy Schneider
Third: Kim Schneider
Skip: Amber Holland

Semi-finals - 26th March 2011 15:00
Sheet C		1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	Ex	F
China		0	2	1	0	2	0	0	1	0	0		6
Canada	*	1	0	0	1	0	1	1	0	0	1		5

There was only one scoreless end when Canada decided to blank it in order to keep the hammer for the tenth, but they were unable to get even with China who are guaranteed a medal in their rematch with Sweden. Canada will see Denmark again for the Bronze game.

Kim Schneider again influenced the first end, allowing her rink to score, but China then outscored their opponents 5-2 at the midpoint as first Bingyu Wang put home a second stone in end number two and followed that up with a steal. It then becomes a battle between the thirds: Schneider and Yin Liu; the Chinese curler winning the war with some first-rate blocking in the fifth end.

Canada moved within one, Tammy Schneider and Amber Holland the best shots in the sixth and seventh ends, but what proved to be the winning point was out of the hand of Bingyu Wang; Holland unable to do anything else in the tenth to get back on level terms.

SRC - Capital One World Women's Curling Championship 2011 - 3/4 Playoff

Lineups:
CANADA - Kronau CC, Saskatchewan
Lead: Heather Kalenchuk
Second: Tammy Schneider
Third: Kim Schneider
Skip: Amber Holland

Denmark - Hvidovre CC
Lead: Maria Poulson
Second: Jeanne Ellegaard
Third: Helle Simonsen
Skip: Lene Nielsen

Play-off 3/4 - 26th March 2011 10:00
Sheet C		1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	Ex	F
Canada	*	1	0	2	0	0	0	1	0	0	1		5
Denmark		0	1	0	0	0	2	0	0	0	0		3

Canada won the earlier meeting between the rinks in the fifth draw of the tournament 6-4, and they came out on top to progress to the semifinal match against China by the same points margin. Denmark will have to settle for a chance to take home the Bronze.

It took a few Kim Schneider shots was enough to put her rink into a 3-1 lead with the Danish skip Lene Nielsen squeezing a stone home in between. Following a stalemate for two ends, Denmark had the match tied up; Helle Simonsen's brave shot knocking two Canadian stones out of blocking positions. But, after another lull in scoring, Canada took the lead for the final time thanks to Amber Holland's leadership.

SRC - Capital One World Women's Curling Championship 2011 - 1/2 Playoff

Lineups:
Sweden - Karlstads CK
Lead: Lotta Lennartsson
Second: Sara Carlsson
Third: Cecilia Östlund
Skip: Anete Norberg
China - Harbin CC
Lead: Yan Zhou
Second: Qingshuang Yue
Third: Yin Liu
Skip: Bingyu Wang

Play-off 1/2 - 25th March 2011 19:00
Sheet C		1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	Ex	F
Sweden	*	3	0	1	0	0	2	1	0	/	/		7
China		0	0	0	1	0	0	0	1	/	/		2

Sweden took their excellent form into the matches that really matter and defeated China, the only rink that was able to get a win over the Swedes during this tournament. The hot start was thanks to two excellent shots by Sara Carlsson, and the 4-0 lead was a successful steal from Anette Norberg.

China tried to comeback, and got themselves on the board in the fourth end with Bingyu Wang leading by example, but it was to be in vain as good play from both Norberg in the sixth and Carlsson in the seventh ends put the game away. The last effort from China was thanks to their third: Yin Liu. but without making a bigger dent in the deficit they took the handshake.

Sweden go through to the final in two days time while China will tomorrow against thewinner of the 3/4 match in the morning.