Bruce Mouat secures unique treble in Sweden and admits 'it's been a rollercoaster'

Edinburgh’s Bruce Mouat was delighted to clinch his third consecutive European Curling Championships title after Scotland sealed a 5-4 victory over Switzerland's Team Schwaller in the gold medal match in Ostersund, Sweden.

Vice skip Grant Hardie saw his stunning triple takeout in the ninth end cancelled out by Switzerland's Benoit Schwartz for the steal, setting up a thrilling 10th. It was all wrapped up for the Olympic silver medallists after Edinburgh skip Mouat produced two fine shots for the victory, capping off a tournament that also ended in bronze for Scotland's women.

“Being three out of three means a lot to us. There's not a lot of skips that will be able to show that record,” Mouat told British Curling. “There's been some amazing pressured shots throughout the event and in that game especially Grant's amazing shot at the ninth end to give us a really good opportunity was great and obviously the last two at the 10th end to secure the win means a lot. I don't think I've ever made two better shots in the 10th end to win a championship, so I'm very excited.”

He added: “It was a calm panic, if there's such a thing. You play a lot games with situations like this and you get used to it. It's been a rollercoaster, probably not our best European performance, but to win after playing a couple of slack games, it feels amazing.”

Scotland´s team (from left) coach Michael Goodfellow, Kyle Weddall, Hammy McMillan, Bobby Lammie,Grant Hardie and Bruce Mouat pose with their gold medals after their victory in the men's gold medal at the European Curling Championships. Picture: Mats Andersson/Getty

Mouat's rink, comprising Hardie, Bobby Lammie, Hammy McMillan and alternate Kyle Waddell, earned a spot at April's world championships in Ottawa, Canada. The women's side, who will return to Sweden in March to kick-start their own worlds campaign, featured a new-look line-up following the retirements of Olympic gold medal winners Eve Muirhead and Vicky Wright, with Edinburgh’s Jennifer Dodds choosing to focus on mixed doubles with Mouat.

Hailey Duff was the sole familiar face from Muirhead's rink to feature in Ostersund, though did so as an alternate. Aberdeen's Rebecca Morrison skippered Scotland to European bronze in her rink's first senior major championships, with Gina Aitken, Sophie Sinclair and Sophie Jackson rounding out the side.

“We're going to enjoy a wee celebration and celebrate with the girls on their amazing bronze medal," added Mouat. “We're incredibly proud of what they did and it's been another good week for Scotland.”