US Beats Russians 6-5 To Open Olympic Curling Defense

BEIJING (AP) — The U.S. beat the Russian team 6-5 to open their title defense at the Beijing Winter Olympics.

John Shuster delivered the reigning Olympic curling champions a routine draw with the final rock in the extra end Wednesday night at the Ice Cube curling venue.

CURLING IS COOL, FOOL 🥌

Thanks for ridin' with us, @MrT. #usacurling | @TeamShuster pic.twitter.com/YkQsMxdnZ6

— USA Curling (@usacurl) February 5, 2022

The Americans would have won it in regulation except for a Russian rock that was just millimeters closer to the center of the scoring target. And the Russians had a chance in the 10th for the two points that would have delivered a regulation victory, but skip Sergei Glukhov’s final shot nicked a guard and slid helplessly to a stop out of the scoring area.

The 2022 Beijing Winter Olympics

Just a year after Japan’s summer Olympics, the Games are back for a winter show in Beijing, China. The unusually short gap between Games is due to the ongoing Coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic. Strict precautions and enforced virus prevention protocol are in place to help keep athletes, coaches and personnel safe. 

Beijing is the capital of China, with a population of more than 20 million people and the first city to host both a Summer and Winter Olympic games. It is one of the largest cities in the world and 15 hours ahead of Mountain Time. There are 13 different venues in and around Beijing that will be used for the Winter Olympics. A total of 109 events will be held in 15 different sports, and there will be a lot of Utah locals competing for medals. Keep up to date with them at our Olympic headquarters.

Follow along on social for Olympic stories, news and medal updates. 

• KSL Sports Instagram
• KSL Sports Twitter
• KSL Sports Facebook

Follow our Olympic team for special coverage and exclusive content. 

• Sam Farnsworth
• Alex Cabrero
• Debbie Worthen