Olympic champion Eve Muirhead has emphasised the role of her teammates after the women’s curling team won Great Britain’s only gold medal at Beijing 2022.
Muirhead led Britain to a convincing 10-3 victory against Japan in Sunday’s final to go one better then the men’s team, who won silver after losing out to Sweden the previous day.
Skipper Muirhead won team bronze in 2014 and finished fourth in 2018, while Vicky Wright, Jennifer Dodds, and Hailey Duff – plus alternate Mili Smith – secured gold at their first attempt.
Muirhead said on BBC Radio Two’s Zoe Ball Breakfast Show: “I think what we did great as a team is we enjoyed every moment of it.
“During that final game, Vicky, my third, came up to me and said: ‘Do you know what, I’m really, really enjoying this.’ When someone says that to you, it makes you relax.
“It makes you enjoy it and I think that shows as a team how much we enjoyed playing alongside each other, how much we enjoyed curling on the ice and practicing and training. It’s definitely been fun and I’m so glad to share this moment with them.”
Muirhead said it had not yet sunk in that she had finally won gold.
She added: “When you say those words, ‘Olympic champion’, it feels so surreal still. It’s been an absolute whirlwind for the last 48 hours. We’ve landed back here in London late last night and fly up to Scotland tonight to see our friends and family.
To bounce back and get that gold medal after a lot of trying feels like all those struggles, all those disappointments have been worth it
“So we’re really looking forward to that. It has been a journey, a roller-coaster, having got bronze back in Sochi and then a disappointing fourth place in Pyeongchang.
“To bounce back and get that gold medal after a lot of trying feels like all those struggles, all those disappointments have been worth it.”
Despite the scoreline in the final, Muirhead said she never felt the job was done until victory had been assured.
She added: “There was no moment when you think ‘we’ve done it’. Curling’s one of those sports that can turnaround so quickly.
“As much as the final scoreline was 10-3, it most definitely didn’t feel like that. It just takes a couple of minutes of lapsed concentration or a tactical error that can totally flip the scoreboard round.
“So until that last stone’s thrown, you never want to get complacent and think you’ve won it before you actually have.”
