SCOTTISH curler Vicky Wright has retired from full-time curling.
The 28-year-old was vice-skip in Eve Muirhead’s gold medal-winning team, who won Team GB’s only gold at the 2022 Beijing Winter Olympic games.
Wright announced her decision on Twitter today, saying: “Curling has taken me to many corners of the world and introduced me to some amazing people.
“I will be forever grateful for the lifelong friends I have made because of curling.
“Over the years I have played with many fantastic teammates, each one of them unique in their own way. I want to thank them all for helping me to be the curler I am today.”
Wright, a nurse at Forth Valley Royal Hospital, received a hero’s welcome when she returned to work following the games.
She took the time to thank her colleagues for their support: “I want to pay special credit to my colleagues at Forth Valley Royal Hospital. Without their unwavering support, my curling journey would not have been possible.
“The reception I received on my return from Beijing is something I will remember forever.
Team Muirhead defeated Japan 10-3 in the gold medal game, twenty years after Rhona Martin’s ‘Stone of Destiny’ in Salt Lake City. The team also triumphed representing Scotland at the European Curling Championships at the beginning of the season in Lillehammer, Norway.
Nigel Holl, Executive Performance Director of British Curling paid tribute to Wright. He said: “The level of commitment required of modern curlers who aspire to achieve on the global stage now requires full-time commitment, so for Vicky to maintain that as she has, while still working as an NHS Staff Nurse has been a truly exceptional achievement.
“All the more so because of the turn-around that was required this season for our women to embark on what has been the greatest season in the history of British and Scottish curling, bringing home European, World and Olympic titles.
“We are extremely proud of and grateful to all of them for bringing us that success and we wish Vicky every success and happiness as she moves on to the next stage of her life.”
