Curling Round-Robin Early Wednesday Results at Olympics 2018

Kevin Koe got Canada's quest for gold off to the best possible start at the 2018 Winter Olympics in Pyeongchang, South Korea, as the men's curling team earned two wins on Wednesday in round-robin competition.   

The quartet of Koe, Marc Kennedy, Brent Laing and Ben Hebert are the big favourites for the title, and they showed why with impressive wins over Italy and Great Britain. Sweden, who are expected to be their biggest rivals for the prize, were also able to get a couple of wins on the board.     

The women's competition also got underway with a set of matches on Wednesday, with Sweden and Great Britain both picking up emphatic victories.

Here are the results from another jam-packed day at the Gangneung Curling Center and a recap of some of the standout moments.

Wednesday Curling Results

Men's Round Robin

Session 1

Denmark 5-9 Sweden

Canada 5-3 Italy

South Korea 7-11 United States

Switzerland 5-6 Great Britain

Session 2 

Canada 6-4 Great Britain

South Korea 2-7 Sweden

Switzerland 4-7 Italy

Norway 4-6 Japan

Women's Round Robin

Session 1

Japan 10-5 United States

OAR 3-10 Great Britain

Denmark 3-9 Sweden

Switzerland 2-7 China

For the schedule in full, visit the Pyeongchang 2018 website.

Wednesday Recap

Natacha Pisarenko/Associated Press

Given they've won gold in the last three Winter Olympics, the Canadian men's team have a proud reputation to protect over the coming days.

Koe's squad set a brilliant precedent with that in mind, as they were methodical. While they did fall behind against Italy in the fourth end, 1-0, they injected some quality into the occasion late—including a two-point eighth end—and pulled away from their opponents.

After that 5-3 win, they faced a potentially tricky clash with Great Britain. They made it look decidedly straightforward, however, with two-point first and third ends leaving them in total control.

CBC's Devin Heroux praised the Canadian foursome's ability to frustrate their opposition:

Meanwhile, the CBC Olympics Twitter account picked up on the concentration of the Canadian captain:

After the interval, Team GB fought back and chopped down the deficit with some smart play. But Canada showed their mettle, and while they weren't at their best, they handled the crucial moments much better than their rivals.

Elsewhere, Norway didn't have the best day, as Japan defeated them 6-4. However, the team did lighten the mood on the ice with their Valentine's Day-themed trousers, per Anthony D'Orazio:

Canada are also favourites to win gold in the women's event, although the spectators will have to wait until Thursday to get a glimpse of them.

Some other medal contenders had the chance to show what they're capable of, though, and Great Britain in particular were excellent, beating the Olympic Athletes from Russia 10-3. 2014 Olympic bronze medalist Anna Sloan praised their effort:

Sweden are also expected to do well at the Games and had few issues against Denmark, winning in routine fashion. The women have a busy Thursday. The Swedes will face Canada in the third round-robin session at 8:05 p.m. Korean time, and many anticipate the encounter will be a preview of the gold-medal match.

The United States, meanwhile, have a lot of work to do, as they slumped with their loss to Japan.