U21 women finish fourth at curling champs

Both the New Zealand women and men have achieved their best ever placings at the junior B world championships in Finland.

The under-21 women finished fourth at the championships, while the men claimed fifth.

Both teams were made up of Otago players, from Dunedin and the Maniototo.

The women, who's previous best finish was fifth, claimed its key win against Italy 7-4 in their quarterfinal.

They then ran into a strong China team last night, where they were beaten 4-1 in the semifinal.

That left them to play Norway in the bronze medal match, the winner advancing to the top flight world championships in Scotland.

They were edged 5-4 however, missing out on qualifying by the narrowest margin.

It was the best result the team has had at the championships, topping the fifth placings from 2004 and 2016.

Meanwhile the men were beaten in their quarterfinal 7-4 by Russia and finished fifth.

That was an impressive jump from their previous best of ninth, achieved in 2003.

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