Bronze for GB! Muirhead's girls can't hold back tears after winning curling medal
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Eve Muirhead, joyfully, tearfully, established British Olympic history as Team GB’s women's curling quartet won a bronze medal in the Ice Cube on Thursday.
With the men’s team led by David Murdoch assured of at least a silver medal on Friday, Britain are guaranteed four medals from Sochi 2014, the greatest Olympic bullion from a Winter Games for 90 years.
‘The historians tell me that’s the most medals we have at won at the Winter Olympics since Chamonix 1924, so I’ll settle for that,’ smiled Lord Sebastian Coe, chairman of the British Olympic Association, and a man with an enviable Olympic pedigree, as an athlete, and the mastermind behind London 2012. He was rink side to watch history made.
Overcome: Anna Sloan hugs GB coach David Hay after they won a bronze medal in the curling
emotions: Eve Muirhead (left) can't hold back the tears with Anna Sloan and Claire Hamilton (right)
‘Thank goodness, I didn’t know that we could make history before my final shot!’ said Muirhead. ‘But to hear about that now that will make the stone live with me forever.’
Muirhead’s last stone, an out-turn draw to the button, brought Team GB a thrilling 6-5 victory over Switzerland. One of the first to congratulate the British girls, Muirhead, Anna Sloan, Vicki Adams and Claire Hamilton, all from Scotland, was Rhona Martin, who delivered Britain a gold medal in Salt Lake City 12 years ago with a shot that has passed into British Olympic history, as the Stone of Destiny. She hugged them one by one on the side of the rink as tears of relief and joy flowed.
The evening before there had been tears of a different kind after the British women had been eliminated from the gold medal final by Canada in the semi-finals. ‘Yesterday, everyone was devastated,’ admitted Martin, the national coach. ‘I’m really proud of the girls, it showed the huge character of this team.
‘We were sad and disappointed on Wednesday night. We had to have time to grieve a loss like that, and we had a full debrief, then got ready for the bronze medal match. Today, the girls were so calm.’
Muirhead, 23, added: ‘An Olympic medal, what a dream come true. We are a young team, and we have a massive future ahead of us.’
Celebrations: The GB team wave to their supporters after winning a bronze medal in Sochi
Eyes on the prize: Eve Muirhead rolls down a stone during the bronze medal match against Switzerland
Neatly, Muirhead side-stepped the political land mine surrounding the determination of Alex Salmond, leader of the Scottish National Party, to secure independence for Scotland in a referendum in September. ‘We are proud to represent Great Britain at the Olympics, and we are proud to represent Scotland in other competitions,’ said Muirhead.
She was swift to praise the contribution of coach, David Hay. ‘The difference he has made is night and day,’ said Muirhead. ‘He was brilliant after our loss to Canada – and he was inspirational again before today’s match.’
Muirhead was also appreciative for the message received from oarswoman Katherine Grainger, who, having won three Olympic silver medals, finally, and gloriously, won a gold at London 2012.
‘Katherine’s email meant so much, because we all knew she had been through a lot of disappointments,’ said Muihead.
Sir Chris Hoy, an Olympic legend from cycling, also played a role having been invited to give the curling team a motivational speech on the road to Sochi 2014. ‘Chris came and spoke to us, and all these factors help,’ said Muirhead. Her own toughness was also at the heart of this recovery. ‘Eve’s very strong,’ said Martin, a woman of some fortitude herself.
Muirhead said, dryly: ‘I know I come across stern-faced, and focused from what people see on the television. But inside, maybe, I am not as tough as I come across. At the end I just felt relief – a huge relief. I couldn’t imagine what it would be like to go home without a medal.’
Anxious wait: Muirhead with team-mate Anna Sloan as they try to decide what shot to play
Concentration: Switzerland skip Mirkam Ott delivers a stone down the rink
Switzerland’s skip Mirjam Ott must have felt the pain of defeat hardest. For she had been leading the Swiss team that Martin – now Howie – had condemned to defeat as more than six million watched at home in Britain as the Olympic final in Salt Lake City reached its climax at approaching 1.00 am. Like then, Ott could not have done more.
‘We battled, but Eve’s team was very strong today,’ said Ott. ‘Too strong to beat. Her last draw was very good.’
The medal swung towards Britain in the eighth end of 10, when they took two shots to lead 5-4. In the next end, they restricted Switzerland to scoring just one to level the score at 5-5. Crucially, the British team reclaimed the hammer – the right to the final shot.
Muirhead’s team played a tactically astute end to deprive the Swiss of any semblance of hope of capitalising on a mistake under pressure. And when it came to the last shot, Muirhead was the calmest person in the Ice Cube. As her stone – bearing the weight of 90 years of history – drew to a slow halt on the spot in the house she had set her sights on, the bronze medal was in British possession.
For Murdoch, the mission is to become Olympic champion on Friday to put a golden varnish on British curling. ‘David just has to control what he can control,’ said Martin. Then, she laughed impishly: ‘The 21st of February was the date I won in Salt Lake City, so no pressure Dave!’
Close: Sloan plays a stone during the tense match which GB won by the skin of their teeth
Hard work: Sloan and Vicki Adams (right) scrub as hard as they can to get a stone where they need
Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sport/winterolympics/article-2563702/sochi-2014-Bronze-GB-Muirhead-steers-curlers-medal-tense-finale-Swiss.html#ixzz2tubWktTp
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