‘A dream come true’ – Eve Muirhead guides Team GB to Winter Olympics curling gold

Eve Muirhead described winning gold at the Beijing Winter Olympics as a ‘dream come true’ as their curling triumph saw them pick up Team GB’s first and only gold of the Games.

The Great Britain team of Muirhead, Vicky Wright, Jen Dodds and Hailey Duff thrashed Japan 10-3 in Sunday’s final with the skipper winning her first gold at the fourth attempt.

‘It’s a dream come true,’ Muirhead said.

‘Without these girls being so strong, this dream would not have come true.

‘They helped me become a better curler, and a better person.

‘Together we are a very, very strong unit and I think today we proved that.’

It was third time lucky for Muirhead, who had lost Olympic semi-finals in 2014 and 2018, with her team narrowly overcoming Sweden 12-11 in an extra end just to reach the final this time round.

The tournament was far from straight forward though – they suffered four defeats from nine in the group stage and needed other results to go their way to progress.

Muirhead, 31, praised her team’s resilience throughout the tournament as they became the first Team GB side to win curling gold since Rhona Howie (Martin) managed the same feat in Salt Lake City 20 years earlier.

‘Nobody likes to do it the easy way, do they? So we thought we would do it the tough way,’ Muirhead added.

‘As a team we showed a lot of resilience. We are very strong and very fit. And I think being physically fit helps you be mentally fit.

‘It shows that if you can be as strong at the beginning of a tournament as at the end of a tournament, then you have a good chance.

‘As a team, there were moments where you doubt yourself. You doubt whether you will make those play-offs, but we never gave up. We just didn’t give up, and I think that shows the incredible strength of this