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Sweden Beats South Korea to Win Women's Curling Gold Medal at 2018 Olympics

Adam Wells@adamwells1985X.com LogoFeatured ColumnistFebruary 25, 2018

GANGNEUNG, SOUTH KOREA - FEBRUARY 25: Sofia Mabergs, Agnes Kochenhauer, Sara McManus of Sweden and Anna Hasselborg of Sweden in conversation during the Women's Gold Medal Game between Sweden and Korea on day sixteen of the PyeongChang 2018 Winter Olympic Games at Gangneung Curling Centre on February 25, 2018 in Gangneung, South Korea.  (Photo by Harry How/Getty Images)
Harry How/Getty Images

Sweden's dominance in women's curling continued with an 8-3 victory over South Korea to win the gold medal at the 2018 Pyeongchang Games. 

World Curling @worldcurling

Congratulations @TeamHasselborg! Sweden win the women’s Olympic #gold medals #curling #PyeongChang2018 #Olympics #SWE @SWEOlympic @svenskcurling https://t.co/0hEhQZCaP6

Leading by two heading into the seventh end, Sweden was able to put the match away with three points thanks to Anna Hasselborg knocking South Korea's stone out of the second ring to give her team three stones in the house. 

South Korea, competing in its first ever gold-medal match at the Olympics, struggled to find a breakthrough against the powerhouse Swedish team. It did take an early 1-0 advantage in the first end, but couldn't find an answer after Sweden took the lead two ends later. 

Hasselborg and Sofia Mabergs were outstanding in the win, as they were throughout the Olympics. The duo combined to throw 35 game stones, finishing with 17 draws and 18 takeouts. Mabergs was 100 percent perfect in both categories. 

This match followed a similar pattern as Sweden's semifinal win over Great Britain. The Swedish team started slow, settling for a 3-3 tie after five ends, before turning things on down the stretch with five combined points in the sixth and seventh ends. 

After a methodical start against the South Korean team, Sweden was finally ready for its breakthrough moment in the seventh end. 

When Sweden tacked on an additional point after the ninth end to take an 8-3 lead, South Korea conceded the match. 

Anna Fifield of the Washington Post captured the moment when South Korea went to Sweden to concede defeat:

Anna Fifield @annafifield

The South Korean women’s curling team has conceded to Sweden. But they won the silver and the hearts of their nation. https://t.co/I65mDGWofu

Despite finishing one win short of the gold medal, South Korea had an outstanding run in front of its home fans. Considering this was only the country's second Olympic appearance in women's curling, after debuting in 2014, a silver medal is a huge win. 

There's also no shame in coming up short against Sweden. This marks the country's fourth straight appearance in the gold-medal match at the Olympics and third win during that span. Its only lost during that span was against Canada in 2014.