Olympics Golden Girls Return to British Curling
Eve Muirhead and Vicky Drummond, the women who marshalled Team GB’s epic gold medal victory at the Beijing Winter Olympics are both returning to British Curling in an enormous double boost for the sport.
The skip and vice skip of the Olympic title winning team, who both stepped away from curling following that triumph will not be working as teammates this time around however, as they focus fully on the mixed doubles discipline, within a programme that is now run by the newly created Sport Org.
For Drummond though, there was another partnership to consider since husband Greg has, in the interim become British Curling’s Olympic Head Coach and while the pair now have other family considerations following the birth of daughter Sophie, he has been entirely supportive of her decision.
Drummond made national headlines even before enjoying Beijing glory when she returned from a World Championship bid (in 2020) that had to be aborted due to the Covid pandemic to immediately resume duties on the NHS front line in the battle against the virus and it will consequently once again be a case of looking to juggle her two careers.
And with daughter Sophie now two years old, she believes the environment is now right to do so, her on-going love of the sport having been evident to television viewers when she took on a starring role of a different kind at this year’s Milan-Cortina Games as a commentator and pundit.
“When I stopped curling back in 2022 it was the right decision,” said Drummond.
“I needed time away and at that point I was fully convinced I was completely retiring but a part of me at probably the start of 2024 was like I really miss this sport.”
Initially returning in a coaching capacity, the desire to get back on ice remained and that work with the BBC at those recent Games helped convince her.
“After watching the guys and supporting them and commentating on them all for a few weeks I knew there was still a really big spark inside of me and I really wanted to go back and give it a shot, then a number of conversations with Greg and Dave Leith (British Curling’s Performance Director) made it a possibility,” Drummond explained.
Re-energised after her break from the sport, she also returns with a fresh perspective.
“As an athlete you can sometimes get bogged down by the nitty gritty and things that aren’t such a big deal and being away from sport you see life from the other side and you see how good life was being an athlete and all the support that you have doing things to help you,” Drummond observed.
“Having this opportunity to go back into it I am fully aware of and grateful for the chance to be back playing and have that support network and it is very much about chasing my dreams and showing Sophie how you can juggle everything.
“I will still be working in intensive care throughout this so there will be a lot of moving parts and it will be a lot about good planning and being organised.
“We are very lucky that we have brilliant family support who are always happy to help out and they are very excited to get behind this idea and support my aspirations, so it is about being prepared for what is coming over the next few months.
“I want to enjoy this process and still be the best version of me and it will be very different to before when I was curling and working at the hospital, but now I have a whole new aspect of being a mum.
“That is your number one priority, so being a mother and Sophie will always come first before anything else, but I hope it will all merge and gel really well together and she is really excited as she loves being in the curling rink and has her wee curling brush and hopefully it will inspire her to take up curling in the future.”
She knows, however, that this second phase of her curling career, switching focus from the team game to mixed doubles, is set to provide a very different challenge, which is a further stimulus.
“I just really want to get back to the level of good fitness and a really good technical level and really gel and mix with my new mixed doubles partner Euan (Kyle) which I am really excited about,” she said.
“We went to primary school together and went to the same curling club as well so it is really great to be playing with him and it has been great so far and we will give it a go and see what happens.
“I am really excited to be back on the ice with Eve too and technically now we are competitors but it is good to go back through this process with her.
“It feels like old times stepping back on the ice and training together and it is fun and I am glad she is taking this opportunity to come back as well.
“You just never know what will happen with two returning athletes that have the drive to be the best and if we can push others on too it will get us all off to a flying start in this Alps cycle.”
Four-time Olympian Muirhead meanwhile makes her return having also taken on a very different role in Milan-Cortina, where she led Team GB as its Chef de Mission.
She has gone through a similar process, with no regrets about taking time out as a player but having also realised that the desire to compete remains.
“Being back on ice in Stirling about halfway through the session I realised just how much I have really missed it and I guess you don’t really know that until you get back on the ice, so this does all feel really exciting,” she said.
“Having taken the time away I have since relocated and I have had another job with the British Olympic Association but I have always had my foot in the top end of elite sport.
“I am still doing a lot in the world of curling so I think being around that competitive and fast-moving environment I have realised I still have that fire inside of me and I still have that competitive edge and if anything it is bigger than ever.”
Again like Drummond, she noted that the way that the British Curling programme has evolved has helped encourage her to make this decision.
“To get the opportunity from British Curling to do this de-centralised and to do mixed doubles I never thought I would get that opportunity,” said Muirhead.
“They have been amazing and so supportive and so encouraging and big thanks to them for giving me this opportunity, so I feel that this is a chance that I cannot really miss.
“In terms of timing, at the start of a cycle is a right time and I do feel I have another Olympic cycle in me.
“When I took the time away I really needed it and it was a time to recharge batteries and sometimes that can allow you to come back even stronger.
“If you look at the world’s leading elite athletes just now like Serena Williams and Lindsay Vonn who have done that and they have come back to the world’s stage and sometimes it brings you back stronger.”
Having achieved all she already has and with an already deep understanding of elite sport having been further broadened by her time as Team GB Chef de Mission, Muirhead consequently feels readier than ever to add to a glittering array of achievements which include two Olympic medals, a full set of World Championship medals, three European Championships golds and a World Mixed Doubles title with Bobby Lammie.
“In the team game I think I have accomplished what I set out to do at the start of my career, be world champion and be Olympic Champion, but in mixed doubles I still feel like there is some unfinished business as such,” she said.
“Having won the World Championships with Bobby we have never had the chance to play at an Olympic Games and of course that is the ultimate goal.
“In terms of aspirations this season it is not about chasing results or numbers at all, this is a season to get back into a lot of hard training and get the rhythm back with myself and Bobby and work very hard technically and physically and get myself back to curling fit.
“However, generally I think I am probably the fittest I have ever been and the last couple of weeks I have been on ice that has shown with thankfully not as many aches and pains as I thought I would get.
“So, it is now about working very closely with British Curling and the support services to make sure I stay in good shape and get curling fit.”
British Curling has confirmed their mixed doubles pairings for the 2026/27 season which also includes another Beijing Olympic Champion, Jen Dodds.
Mixed Doubles Pairings on the World Class Programme:
Lisa Davie / Mark Watt
Jen Dodds / Orrin Carson
Vicky Drummond / Euan Kyle
Sophie Jackson / Duncan McFadzean
Katie McMillan / Angus Bryce
Eve Muirhead / Bobby Lammie
Sophie Sinclair / Robin Brydone
Laura Watt / Kyle Waddell
The skip and vice skip of the Olympic title winning team, who both stepped away from curling following that triumph will not be working as teammates this time around however, as they focus fully on the mixed doubles discipline, within a programme that is now run by the newly created Sport Org.
For Drummond though, there was another partnership to consider since husband Greg has, in the interim become British Curling’s Olympic Head Coach and while the pair now have other family considerations following the birth of daughter Sophie, he has been entirely supportive of her decision.
Drummond made national headlines even before enjoying Beijing glory when she returned from a World Championship bid (in 2020) that had to be aborted due to the Covid pandemic to immediately resume duties on the NHS front line in the battle against the virus and it will consequently once again be a case of looking to juggle her two careers.
And with daughter Sophie now two years old, she believes the environment is now right to do so, her on-going love of the sport having been evident to television viewers when she took on a starring role of a different kind at this year’s Milan-Cortina Games as a commentator and pundit.
“When I stopped curling back in 2022 it was the right decision,” said Drummond.
“I needed time away and at that point I was fully convinced I was completely retiring but a part of me at probably the start of 2024 was like I really miss this sport.”
Initially returning in a coaching capacity, the desire to get back on ice remained and that work with the BBC at those recent Games helped convince her.
“After watching the guys and supporting them and commentating on them all for a few weeks I knew there was still a really big spark inside of me and I really wanted to go back and give it a shot, then a number of conversations with Greg and Dave Leith (British Curling’s Performance Director) made it a possibility,” Drummond explained.
Re-energised after her break from the sport, she also returns with a fresh perspective.
“As an athlete you can sometimes get bogged down by the nitty gritty and things that aren’t such a big deal and being away from sport you see life from the other side and you see how good life was being an athlete and all the support that you have doing things to help you,” Drummond observed.
“Having this opportunity to go back into it I am fully aware of and grateful for the chance to be back playing and have that support network and it is very much about chasing my dreams and showing Sophie how you can juggle everything.
“I will still be working in intensive care throughout this so there will be a lot of moving parts and it will be a lot about good planning and being organised.
“We are very lucky that we have brilliant family support who are always happy to help out and they are very excited to get behind this idea and support my aspirations, so it is about being prepared for what is coming over the next few months.
“I want to enjoy this process and still be the best version of me and it will be very different to before when I was curling and working at the hospital, but now I have a whole new aspect of being a mum.
“That is your number one priority, so being a mother and Sophie will always come first before anything else, but I hope it will all merge and gel really well together and she is really excited as she loves being in the curling rink and has her wee curling brush and hopefully it will inspire her to take up curling in the future.”
She knows, however, that this second phase of her curling career, switching focus from the team game to mixed doubles, is set to provide a very different challenge, which is a further stimulus.
“I just really want to get back to the level of good fitness and a really good technical level and really gel and mix with my new mixed doubles partner Euan (Kyle) which I am really excited about,” she said.
“We went to primary school together and went to the same curling club as well so it is really great to be playing with him and it has been great so far and we will give it a go and see what happens.
“I am really excited to be back on the ice with Eve too and technically now we are competitors but it is good to go back through this process with her.
“It feels like old times stepping back on the ice and training together and it is fun and I am glad she is taking this opportunity to come back as well.
“You just never know what will happen with two returning athletes that have the drive to be the best and if we can push others on too it will get us all off to a flying start in this Alps cycle.”
Four-time Olympian Muirhead meanwhile makes her return having also taken on a very different role in Milan-Cortina, where she led Team GB as its Chef de Mission.
She has gone through a similar process, with no regrets about taking time out as a player but having also realised that the desire to compete remains.
“Being back on ice in Stirling about halfway through the session I realised just how much I have really missed it and I guess you don’t really know that until you get back on the ice, so this does all feel really exciting,” she said.
“Having taken the time away I have since relocated and I have had another job with the British Olympic Association but I have always had my foot in the top end of elite sport.
“I am still doing a lot in the world of curling so I think being around that competitive and fast-moving environment I have realised I still have that fire inside of me and I still have that competitive edge and if anything it is bigger than ever.”
Again like Drummond, she noted that the way that the British Curling programme has evolved has helped encourage her to make this decision.
“To get the opportunity from British Curling to do this de-centralised and to do mixed doubles I never thought I would get that opportunity,” said Muirhead.
“They have been amazing and so supportive and so encouraging and big thanks to them for giving me this opportunity, so I feel that this is a chance that I cannot really miss.
“In terms of timing, at the start of a cycle is a right time and I do feel I have another Olympic cycle in me.
“When I took the time away I really needed it and it was a time to recharge batteries and sometimes that can allow you to come back even stronger.
“If you look at the world’s leading elite athletes just now like Serena Williams and Lindsay Vonn who have done that and they have come back to the world’s stage and sometimes it brings you back stronger.”
Having achieved all she already has and with an already deep understanding of elite sport having been further broadened by her time as Team GB Chef de Mission, Muirhead consequently feels readier than ever to add to a glittering array of achievements which include two Olympic medals, a full set of World Championship medals, three European Championships golds and a World Mixed Doubles title with Bobby Lammie.
“In the team game I think I have accomplished what I set out to do at the start of my career, be world champion and be Olympic Champion, but in mixed doubles I still feel like there is some unfinished business as such,” she said.
“Having won the World Championships with Bobby we have never had the chance to play at an Olympic Games and of course that is the ultimate goal.
“In terms of aspirations this season it is not about chasing results or numbers at all, this is a season to get back into a lot of hard training and get the rhythm back with myself and Bobby and work very hard technically and physically and get myself back to curling fit.
“However, generally I think I am probably the fittest I have ever been and the last couple of weeks I have been on ice that has shown with thankfully not as many aches and pains as I thought I would get.
“So, it is now about working very closely with British Curling and the support services to make sure I stay in good shape and get curling fit.”
British Curling has confirmed their mixed doubles pairings for the 2026/27 season which also includes another Beijing Olympic Champion, Jen Dodds.
Mixed Doubles Pairings on the World Class Programme:
Lisa Davie / Mark Watt
Jen Dodds / Orrin Carson
Vicky Drummond / Euan Kyle
Sophie Jackson / Duncan McFadzean
Katie McMillan / Angus Bryce
Eve Muirhead / Bobby Lammie
Sophie Sinclair / Robin Brydone
Laura Watt / Kyle Waddell