Eve Muirhead made it “third time lucky” after steering the Team GB women’s curling team through a dramatic semi-final at the Winter Olympics.
In a contest that swung back and forth from the first end to the last, the Brits emerged victorious against the reigning champions Sweden with an extra-time 12-11 victory.
The Perthshire skip and Courier columnist is already assured of becoming a double Olympic medallist and upgrading her Sochi 2014 bronze.
But, after losing semi-finals in the previous two Games, she now has her sights set only on gold against Japan in Sunday’s Beijing final.
WE ARE GOING TO THE OLYMPIC FINAL!!!!!@TeamGB @Olympics @BritishCurling | #TeamGB #Curling #Beijing2022 pic.twitter.com/2Y4g9OJ3km
— Team Muirhead (@Team_Muirhead) February 18, 2022
“Third time lucky!” she said.
“I’ve lost two semi-finals and I was desperate to win this one.
“These opportunities don’t come around too often.
“I’m so proud of these girls. All week we’ve dug deep.
“It’s such a team game out there.
“We’ve got tomorrow off.
“We’ll take tonight to celebrate among ourselves, support the men in their final and then get our feet in the ground.
“No-one likes going away with the silver medal – believe you me, we’ll be fighting hard for gold.”
Forfar’s Hailey Duff
Team Muirhead features young Forfar curler, Hailey Duff, who set up the last end perfectly with her first two stones for the team.
“We knew we had to focus going into the last end and make sure we got the win,” she said.
“I managed to make it easier and the team then did their job.”
The alternate for Teaam Muirhead is Guildtown’s Mili Smith and Eve was keen to include her in the semi-final celebrations.
“Mili’s been such a big support all week,” she said.
“She’s here until 1 o’clock at night helping us match stones and there’s so much going on behind the scenes.
“She’s been fantastic.”
EVE MUIRHEAD AT THE OLYMPICS: Hopefully we’re taking the Rhona Martin route to curling glory
