Britain, China pick up victories in women's Olympic curling

SOCHI, Russia, Feb. 14 (UPI) -- Britain and China both won Friday to move into a tie for third place in the women's Olympic curling tournament.

The top two teams in the women's standings -- Canada and Sweden -- had the day off as the nine-game, round-robin tournament entered its final stages.

Canada is unbeaten in five matches and Sweden has a 4-1 record. The top four teams at the end of the round-robin portion of the event will earn a spot in the semifinals.

The British and Chinese teams improved their chances of reaching the semis with Britain downing Japan 12-3 and China defeating South Korea 11-3. Britain and China both have a 3-2 record while Switzerland fell to 3-3 with a 6-3 loss to Russia.

The Russians are also 3-3 while Japan and South Korea are 2-3.

Denmark earned its first victory of the tournament with a 9-2 triumph over the United States. Both the Danes and Americans are 1-5 and have dropped out of medal contention.