The Olympic berth, which was achieved by advancing from the group stage, was the main focus, with the high placing the cherry on the cake as Kaldvee and Lill defeated even hosts Canada 7:5 in the first phase of the playoffs at the competition, held in Fredericton, New Brunswick.

They pushed eventual winners and Olympic champions Italy to an extra end before going out by just one point, 7:6.

On returning to Estonia and touching down at Tallinn Airport Monday, Kaldvee said: "Italy really played very well, they executed the last two shots perfectly. The Italians told us afterward that we were the only ones who managed to give them a headache and they were afraid they would lose that game."

"The emotion is really good, seeing all the people at the airport who supported our Olympic journey is really wonderful," she went on.

Her playing partner Lill said this was: "A great reception, we realize ourselves that we've done quite a good job. Second place and fourth place in consecutive years is quite something."

"At the Olympics, we'll have our backs against the wall right from the start. Everyone has earned their place, they're very good, and from here on it's only about pushing harder and continuing to train," Kaldvee noted.

"We clung to that spot with our fingernails and teeth to make it to the Olympics. We knew it would be hard to get there and that motivated us to fight for every stone until the end in every game," she added.

Going forward, Lill said: "There's a lot to learn — we can fine-tune a lot about how we play, but above all, stability. We have the skills, but we need to be stable in every game and play every game as well as we did against Italy or Canada."

"I really felt in the semifinal that we should reach the final, we played quite a good game and it was one of the highest-level games I've ever played," he added.

--

Follow ERR News on Facebook and Twitter and never miss an update!