The German curlers are in a European Championship final for the first time in 20 years and have secured their first medal in continental championships since bronze in 2008. At the European Championship tournament in Lohja, Finland, the team led by skip Marc Muskatewitz (Sinzheim) clearly won the semi-final against Norway with 8:2 and thus successfully took revenge for the 4:8 defeat at the start of the preliminary round.
In their first European Championship final since the sixth and last triumph in the men’s competition in 2004, the selection of the German Curling Association (DCV) will face either defending champion Scotland or last year’s third-placed Switzerland on Saturday (3 p.m.). The last time German curlers stood on a European Championship podium was 16 years ago when they came third in Örnsköldsvik, Sweden. Muskatewitz and Co. had already secured their ticket to the 2025 World Cup in Moose Jaw during the preliminary round.
Next year, the participants in the 2026 Winter Olympics in Milan and Cortina d’Ampezzo will be determined at the world title fights in Canada. The last time a DCV team took part in the Olympics was at the 2014 Games in Sochi, Russia. No German team qualified for the two subsequent Olympic competitions in Pyeongchang in 2018 and in Beijing in 2022.
After the false start in Lohja against Norway, the DCV team, which had traveled to Finland with outside chances, had completed its World Cup qualification early with five wins in a row. With an overall record of six successes and three defeats, Muskatewitz and his teammates moved into the semifinals as third in the preliminary round.
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