Hammy McMillan Reflects on Olympic Silver as British Curlers Vow Return
Hammy McMillan confessed he could scarcely bring himself to glance at his Olympic silver medal on Saturday evening, following a narrow defeat in the men's curling final. The British team, comprising skip Bruce Mouat, Grant Hardie, Bobby Lammie, and McMillan, watched their match against Canada slip away after conceding a costly three points in the penultimate end, ultimately falling 9-6.
Emotional Aftermath and Positive Outlook
Having also secured silver in Beijing four years prior, the crestfallen British athletes were visibly distraught in the immediate aftermath. However, after sharing drinks with loved ones and getting some rest, McMillan adopted a more optimistic perspective on their accomplishment.
He told the Press Association: "I think it was pure, raw emotion. We worked so hard the last few years to get the gold and to come that close, I know myself I let it out and there's probably some really ugly photos of me on that podium!"
"There's a photo of Kyle (Waddell, alternate) putting his arm around me as I really was struggling to hold it together, but this morning we're sitting here as two-time Olympic silver medallists, so for us it's something to be really proud of."
Medal Ceremony and Team Resilience
Reflecting on the medal ceremony, McMillan added: "They put it round my neck and I didn't know what to think. I wanted that gold so much, but with it round my neck I didn't know where to look. I didn't know anything really, it's all a bit of a blur."
"We sat in the changing room, we all had a beer and said, 'let's go out and enjoy our night'. The time for being sorry for ourselves, we said, 'let's park it'. All our family and friends have travelled to watch us, they're here to celebrate and we had an amazing night last night."
For Bruce Mouat, this marked a second disappointment at the Cortina Olympic Curling Stadium, having previously finished fourth in the mixed doubles competition with Jennifer Dodds, mirroring their result from Beijing.
Praise for Team Captain and Future Plans
McMillan praised Mouat's resilience: "Bruce is incredibly resilient. That's two Winter Games now in a row that unfortunately he's not come away with a medal in the mixed doubles but his character, how he holds himself, how he is able to put himself back together to focus on the men's, it's incredible to see how he does it. Bruce has had 22 games of curling (in 18 days), that's insane."
The British players will now take a brief break before competing against each other in the inaugural Rock League, a six-week mixed-gender regional tournament. Mouat explained: "In April the boys and I all go play in our professional curling league, so we will be competing against each other so that's pretty exciting. We're in four different franchises out of the six and it's going to be fun competing against each other rather than as team-mates."
Ambitions for Future Gold and Expert Support
McMillan expressed his intention to pursue gold again, contingent on Mouat's willingness to retain him. David Murdoch, Britain's 2014 silver medallist and current high performance director for Curling Canada, voiced strong confidence in the team's ability to rebound.
Murdoch said: "They're an amazing team, they're amazing humans and they'll be back. They are so good. The Olympics is the toughest field going and the environment is extremely hard to produce your best. I know what it feels like and I've the greatest sympathy for them but equally I have got the greatest respect for them. I do feel it's tough to get through, but that's sport at the end of the day. We're all here fighting for the top of that podium."
