Mission accomplished.
With ice water in her veins, Alina Patz delivered a perfect final takeout shot to put Switzerland into the history books clinching a 7-6 victory over Korea in the gold medal game at the world women’s curling championship in Prince George.
It was in front of a tournament-high 2,292 fans at CN Centre Sunday night.
Swiss skip Silvana Tirinizoni and her Zurich-based team become the first ever to win three consecutive world titles.
Tirinzoni told the media after the game the accomplishment will no doubt be savored.
“It’s hard enough to win one let alone three. I have no words for what just happened.”
“The first championship we had to fight was so tough, the second one was in a bubble and this one was after the Olympics so all three of them are tough and so special.”
Silvana Tirinzoni of @TeamTirinzoni talks about winning third straight world women’s Curling Championship after 7-6 win over Korea @worldcurling @CurlingCanada #WWCC2022 #curling #CityOfPG #PrinceGeorge #northernbc pic.twitter.com/KnMjnfQ2CJ
— My Prince George Now (@mypgnow) March 28, 2022
It’s been a whirlwind couple of months for Switzerland. During last month’s Winter Olympics in Beijing Tirinzoni’s rink went 8-1 in the round-robin only to come away empty-handed after losing the bronze medal game to Sweden’s Anna Hasselborg 9-7.
The road to Prince George didn’t get any easier as they had to win their way over here.
“When we came back from the Olympics we had to qualify for this first as we were not selected and that was tough. We had to win eight games to make it here but that also showed us we really wanted to go and fought through the nationals. Coming here, I thought maybe our team was a little tired but that was not the case as we shot the lights out some games,” added Tirinzoni.
Switzerland in many respects has become the country to beat during the women’s world’s winning gold in seven of the last ten tournaments including Prince George.
In 2012, Mirjam Ott upended Sweden’s Margaretha Sigfridsson in Lethbridge, Alberta to get the ball rolling.
Patz, who throws fourth stones for Tirinzoni was an alternate on that team.
After Scotland’s Eve Muirhead won it all in 2013, the Swiss enjoyed a three-year reign with Binia Feltshcer claiming the crown twice in 2014 and 2016, while Patz skipped her own team to victory in 2015.
“It’s awesome. We have such a great team as we stick together no matter what and it’s pretty sweet,” added Patz.
Alina Patz of @TeamTirinzoni chats with the media after Switzerland claims third straight women’s world curling championship @CurlingCanada @worldcurling #CityOfPG #PrinceGeorge #WWCC2022 #curling pic.twitter.com/qVgF7z3ehb
— My Prince George Now (@mypgnow) March 28, 2022
Also, Tirinzoni’s team is the third in tournament history to win the gold with an undefeated record.
Only Rachel Homan’s Ottawa-based rink in 2017 followed by Winnipeg’s Jennifer Jones and her squad out of the St. Vital Curling Club in 2018 pulled off the exact same feat.
Switzerland scored three in the second, followed by singles in the fourth, sixth, eighth, and tenth ends.
After falling behind 4-1 after four, Korea brought themselves back in it after picking up deuces in the fifth and the seventh, followed by a single in the ninth to tie the game.
Swiss second Esther Neuenschwander was the game’s top curler at 98%.
Earlier in the day, Canada, skipped by Kerri Einarson claimed the bronze medal with an extra-end 8-7 win over Sweden.
During the fifth end break, Bernie Sparkes was inducted into the World Curling Hall of Fame.
Sparkes won three Brier’s representing Alberta in 1966, 1968, and 1969 playing on a team skipped by Ron Northcott.
In 69’, that rink claimed the Brier with a perfect 10-0 round-robin record.
Why is this significant you ask?
The team they edged for the national championship was none other than Kevin Smale’s rink from the Prince George Curling Club, which also included Peter Sherba, Bob McDonald, and Pat Carr.
Sparkes also represented BC in the 1976 and 1978 Briers, claiming a silver and bronze medal in the process.
Total attendance for the nine-day championship was 34,773 – that equates to about 1,450 spectators per draw.
The final results