Canada crushes curling foes to win gold at Youth Olympics

Canada's mixed curling team completed its dominant run at the Youth Olympics in Lillehammer, Norway finishing unbeaten and defeating the U.S. for gold on Wednesday morning. 

Canada, led by skip Mary Fay, won 10-4. 

The Canadians didn't seem to have much trouble with the American squad, as they jumped out to a huge 5-0 lead after the first end. the U.S. came back with two points in the second end, but the eighth and final end was unplayed after the Americans conceded the match with Canada leading 10-4. 

"We knew that we want to take the hammer and we knew that we want an easy two," said Canadian second Karlee Burgess of the first end. "But when we got a five, it was like, 'Wow. Let's just keep this going.'"

The Canadians, led by Fay (Chester, N.S.), third Tyler Tardi (Surrey, B.C.), Burgess, (Brooksfield, N.S.), and lead Sterling Middleton (Fort St. John, B.C.), finished the preliminary round with a perfect 7-0 record. They cruised past Turkey for a 10-2 win in the quarter-final round, and then beat Switzerland 7-5 in the semifinal to advance to the gold-medal match against the U.S. 

"These are the three best teammates that we could have had," said Middleton about the Youth Olympics experience. "We worked together, we picked each other up, all on the same level, and we got it done this week."

The YOG @TeamCanada celebrates their gold medal in curling. #Lillehammer2016 #iLoveYOG http://pic.twitter.com/T3PEUSrpid

— @jsablan

Fay and Burgess will be back on the international stage in a few weeks – representing Canada at the world junior curling championships in Copenhagen, Denmark.

"It's just hard to believe, it's hard to wrap your head around the idea that you brought the gold medal home for your country," Fay said. "I feel so lucky to live in Canada. It's an amazing place, so many amazing people. It's so amazing, I can't really put it into words."

Canada won bronze four years ago at the Youth Olympics in Innsbruck, Austria.

Here's how other Canadian athletes fared:

Alpine skiing

Men's giant slalom

• Justin Alkier (Barrie, Ont.), 22nd

Biathlon

Single mixed relay

• Tekarra Banser (Kelowna, B.C.)/Ben Churchill (Calgary), 13th

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