Great Britain’s women can win curling bronze at best after a semi-final defeat to Sweden, who will meet hosts South Korea in Sunday’s final.

Eve Muirhead, Anna Sloan, Vicki Adams and Lauren Gray suffered a 10-5 loss to Anna Hasselborg’s Sweden at Gangneung Curling Centre.

A short final shot from skip Eve Muirhead in the seventh end gifted the Swedes a three against the hammer and effectively ended the semi-final contest.

Muirhead had gone into the game full of confidence after a superb win over pre-tournament favourites Canada in their final round-robin match.

But the British rink were always up against it as Sweden capitalised on some ponderous play to establish an early lead.

Muirhead briefly drew her team level after the fifth but her dismal seventh meant that once again she will have to be content with bronze at best. They finished with bronze four years ago in Sochi.

Japan will be Saturday’s opponents in the bronze bout, after South Korea edged to an 8-7 win in a tight contest in the other semi-final.

The hosts held the upper hand throughout, but Japan scored two in the ninth end and a South Korea mistake in the 10th gave them another to force an extra end. But South Korea held their nerve to prevail.

Switzerland took bronze in the men’s event with a 7-5 win over Canada, who finish without a medal for the first time from the men’s and women’s team competitions.

Canada did win the mixed doubles event which is new to the Games.

The men’s final between Sweden and the United States takes place on Saturday.

Russian Alina Zagitova won the women's figure skating title, aged 15
Russian Alina Zagitova won the women’s figure skating title, aged 15 (Mike Egerton/PA Images)

Fifteen-year-old Alina Zagitova won the Olympic ladies’ figure skating title at the Gangneung Ice Arena on Friday, earning the first gold of the Games for the Olympic Athletes of Russia.

Zagitova held on to beat compatriot Evgenia Medvedeva by just over a single point after a pair of mesmerising free skates which earned identical scores of 156.65. Kaetlyn Osmond of Canada was a distant third.

Zagitova had gone into the free skate narrowly ahead of 18-year-old Medvedeva after a world record score in her short programme routine on Wednesday.

Germany, having already accounted for Sweden, pulled off an even bigger shock by knocking defending champions Canada out of the men’s ice hockey with a 4-3 semi-final win.

Earlier the Olympic Athletes of Russia swept aside the Czech Republic 3-0 in the other last four encounter.

Kelsey Serwa won the women’s ski cross ahead of fellow Canadian Brittany Phelan at Phoenix Snow Park.

Fanny Smith of Switzerland took bronze, while Briton Emily Sarsfield was fourth in her quarter-final heat after coming second in her first round heat.

Holland’s Kjeld Nuis won the men’s 1000m long-track speedskating gold medal ahead of Havard Lorentzen of Norway and Kim Tae-yun of South Korea.