Team GB's curlers are aiming to build on their success at the Beijing 2022 Winter Olympics, where they secured two of the nation's only two medals. Bruce Mouat's men's rink narrowly missed out on gold to Sweden, while Eve Muirhead's women's rink clinched the title with a win over Japan. Now, with the Milano Cortina Games approaching, British curling hopes are high across all three disciplines.
UK Sport has set an ambitious target of four to eight medals for Team GB, and curling remains a key area of strength. Mouat and Jennifer Dodds, who won silver in mixed doubles last year and are former world champions, lead a strong campaign. Mouat's men's squad has held the world No 1 ranking for over a year and has won two world and two European titles since Beijing.
The women's team, however, sees only Dodds returning from the victorious Olympic quartet. Rebecca Morrison now skips the rink, with Sophie Jackson, Sophie Sinclair, and alternate Fay Henderson completing the lineup. Dodds, who will play third, acknowledges the shift in her role and the value of experience. "I don't think I've ever been as nervous as I was in game one in Beijing, but it's recognising that and being like, it's okay to be nervous," she said. "We started playing curling because we love the sport and you shouldn't forget that even if you're at the Olympics."
Team GB's chef de mission, Eve Muirhead, is similarly optimistic about the curlers' prospects. "Bruce and the boys are world No 1 just now, they've won a couple of grand slams this season," she told The Independent. "Mixed doubles wise, Jen and Bruce, they're not short of experience. The women's rink have had a good season, of course four of them are going to be first-time Olympians, so I think it's a case of leaning on Jen and getting a bit of her experience and expertise."
Dodds sees Muirhead's presence as an additional asset. "It's always useful having someone in a team that has been there before," she said. "We had Eve last time, so we could ask for advice from her, and we have that again as she's chef de mission this time." The mixed doubles competition begins two days before the opening ceremony, and Dodds faces a demanding schedule with only a couple of days off across the 19-day event. But she remains confident: "In my mind, the hard work's done. We are in such a good position, physically and mentally."
