BOA Announce Team GB Curlers for Vancouver 2010
17 Dec 2009
Team GB will be sending both a men’s and women’s curling team to the Vancouver 2010 Olympic Winter Games in February.
The Team GB curlers in Vancouver will be:
Men:
David Murdoch (skip),
Ewan MacDonald,
Peter Smith,
Euan Byers,
Graeme Connal
Women:
Eve Muirhead (skip),
Jackie Lockhart, Kelly Wood,
Lorna Vevers,
Karen Addison
The men’s team, who narrowly missed out on a medal at the last Olympic Winter Games in Turin, will enter the Olympic competition in Vancouver as reigning World Champions after defeating host nation Canada in the final in April 2009.
The women’s team are led by 19-year-old skip Eve Muirhead who won three World Junior Championships in a row with Scotland from 2007 to 2009.
Andy Hunt, Team GB Chef de Mission said:
“In recent Olympic Winter Games, curling has provided some special moments for Team GB. It’s a sport with centuries of tradition for us and the curlers selected today will form an integral part of our team in Vancouver.
“Competing in Canada will provide an extra spur – it’s only when you go there that you realise the depth of affection that Canadians have for curling. They will be formidable opponents, but they won’t be alone - the recent European Championships showed that standards across the sport are extremely high.
“In David and Eve, Team GB has two highly skilled skips leading talented, dedicated and experienced teams. The British Olympic Association will do everything it can to support them and I wish them well in their final preparations.”
Commenting on their selection:
David Murdoch said:
“I can’t wait for the Olympics to start. It’s the pinnacle of our sport, the competition that everybody wants to be involved in. The Games in Turin ended in such a frustrating way, when we missed out on a medal by the narrowest of margins, and I’m very keen to have another opportunity to compete for an Olympic medal with Team GB. We go as World Champions, but we know the competition will be very tough, particularly from the host nation. Curling is hugely popular in Canada, so we know there will be a lot of interest in our event.”
Eve Muirhead said:
“It’s been a long-held ambition of mine to compete at an Olympic Winter Games for Team GB, and it’s very exciting to have been selected as Skip to the women’s team. We’ve gelled very well as a unit, and had some excellent results, so it’s about doing everything we can to make sure that we hit peak form at exactly the right time. We’ve got a huge amount of talent and experience in our team – and we’re all very keen to get to Vancouver, and get on with competing.”
Chris Hildrey, British Curling Chairman, said:
"I'd like to congratulate these athletes on their selection to Team GB as we enter the final stages of preparation for medal success in Vancouver. The passion, commitment and professionalism they have displayed over recent months has been admirable and with their selection now confirmed, they will be able to focus efforts on achieving the ultimate goal in Vancouver, whilst hopefully enjoying the Olympic experience."
Notes to Editors:
The Vancouver 2010 Olympic Winter Games take place from 12-28 February in Vancouver and Whistler in Canada. Today, there are 57 days until the Opening Ceremony.
The seven sports on the Olympic programme for 2010 are: biathlon, bobsleigh, curling, ice hockey, luge, skating and skiing. The 15 disciplines are: biathlon, bobsleigh, skeleton, curling, ice hockey, luge, figure skating, short track speed skating, speed skating, Alpine skiing, cross country skiing, freestyle skiing, Nordic combined, ski jumping, snowboard.
For the Vancouver 2010 Olympic Winter games Team GB is likely to consist of approximately 50 athletes across six sports (biathlon, bobsleigh, curling, luge, skating and skiing) and 11 disciplines (biathlon, bobsleigh, skeleton, curling, luge, figure skating, short track speed skating, alpine skiing, cross country skiing, freestyle skiing, snowboard). Currently Team GB has qualified 25 quota places in 4 sport disciplines.
Further Team GB team announcements for Vancouver will take place during January 2010.
The British Olympic Association (BOA) is the National Olympic Committee for Great Britain and Northern Ireland. Its role is to prepare our nation’s finest athletes for and lead them at the summer, winter and youth Olympic Games. The BOA delivers extensive elite level support services to Britain’s Olympic athletes and their National Governing Bodies throughout each Olympic cycle and, in the UK, is responsible for the development and protection of the Olympic Movement.
For more information, or for interview requests, please contact Adam Parsons in the BOA Communications Team on
adam.parsons@boa.org.uk / 020 7842 5722 / 07740 818549