Germany Stuns European Curling Powers
With files from World Curling
There were remarkable scenes in Lohja, Finland as Germany shocked Scotland 9-7 in the men’s final of the 2024 European Championships.
Marc Muskatewitz fired an 88 in shooting percentage against Scottish skip Bruce Mouat’s 71% as Germany claimed their first men’s title since 2004.
The Curling Channel-WCTV
Markus Messenzehl played second on that 2004 squad, and his son Felix now plays for Muskatewitz.
Benjamin Kapp—who fired 90% today—is the German third, and his father Andy won a pair of European titles in the 1990s.
It’s a stunning result for Germany, which also saw its women’s team win their way from the Euro B Division (played at Oestersund, Sweden) into next year’s A group.
World Curling graphic
Mouat’s crew had won the three previous European championships, and came into Lohja as the hottest men’s team in the world, having won two Grand Slam titles with undefeated records.
Uli Kapp—Andy’s brother and third—spoke with The Curling News in 2021, as a wave of youthful German players were first making their mark at the world championships.
They’re still youthful, but that group—with more new faces involved—are now champions.
Johannes Scheuerl is the German lead. Mouat was backed by Grant Hardie, Bobby Lammie and Hammy McMillan Jr.
Men’s bronze went to Norway’s Magnus Ramsfjell, who defeated Switzerland’s Yannick Schwaller by a 7-4 count.
Germany’s victory is sure to reverberate across the continent. European curling followers were already surprised to see powerful Sweden and Italy eliminated from the men’s playoff picture.
There were no surprises on the women’s side, as Switzerland’s Silvana Tirinzoni defeated Sweden’s Anna Hasselborg 8-4 to capture her second straight women’s title.
Tirinzoni, Alina Paetz, Carole Howald and Selina Witschonke are two-time champions while the back end also have two silver medals and a bronze since 2018.
Hasselborg was backed by Sara McManus, Agnes Knochenhauer and Sofia Mabergs.
Bronze in 2024 went to Scotland’s Rebecca Morrison, who scored a 6-4 victory over Stefania Constantini of Italy.
World Curling graphic
In addition to the German women, Czech Republic’s women’s team moves from the B Division to play in next year’s A Division.
On the men’s side, Denmark and Poland have also advanced into the 2025 A Division competition.
