It’s not every day that you get to speak with a medal-winning Olympian, so we were pretty pumped to have a chat with Eve Muirhead, a Scottish sports star who has excelled in the curling world. We asked her a bit about why she got into the sport, if it’s moving away from its “old person’s game” label and her advice for young people keen to get into curling…
What was your inspiration to get into curling?
I started curling when I was about nine years old at my local Pitlochry ice rink. My dad really got me into it [Gordon Muirhead competed in the Winter Olympic games in 1992]. From a young age, I remember my mum dragging me and my brothers along screaming and shouting to ice rinks to watch him compete! The first time he showed us how to play, I just got hooked and wanted to keep playing continually from a young age.
What kind of response did you get from your family and friends when you started this sport?
From my family- well we are from a sporty, curling background anyway, it’s gone back generations. So they weren’t surprised. It’s very rare to get someone outwith a curling family to become a world-class curler. With my friends it was different, with me leaving class early to train. Some people thought it was pretty sad that I was curling, but you just had to get on with it for a minority sport. But I’m glad I stuck it out and stuck to my guns.
Do you think that curling still has an “old person’s game” image attached to it?
I think that will always be attached to it, but it is changing, definitely. If you were to look at the average age nowadays it’s so much lower than what it was. This is not just in Scotland but in every curling nation. It will always have that connection but at a high level it’s definitely got younger people now. The average age of our team is about 24 or 25 now. For a curler you’ve got to be pretty fit!
You won the Women’s Curling Championship in 2013. What was that like?
From a young age I’ve always wanted to win the world championship. I wanted to be the best. It was a life-time changing event, it was amazing. It’s a feeling I’ll never forget and a feeling I hope to have again. There was a great deal of hard work and dedication but when you feel that relief for making a milestone goal, it was great.
How did that experience compare with winning a bronze at the Sochi Winter Olympics in 2014?
Both experiences relate. We were going to Sochi as World Champions and as a team we liked that pressure. All that experience helped, and we put that experience in the bank if you know what I mean.
Do you think that schools need to include more sport for pupils?
Schools are a lot better than what they used to be. I wish I had the kind of sports that schools provide nowadays. There are so many chances for kids to get involved with out there and it’s a case of making sure they take that on board and get involved with it. We’re doing better as a nation but we need to capitalise of the hype surrounding a sport when it gets it.
Are there any Scottish sports stars that you admire or look up to?
Within Scotland you’ve got your big stars like Andy Murray but one of the people I look up to is Jessica Ennis. I was lucky enough to see her compete in the London Olympics. She’s definitely one of my heroes.
You do a lot of training every day. How do you switch off from curling?
It’s hard. I guess switching off is something you need to get good at. It’s spending time with friends, going shopping, just the usual stuff. I’ve got my own flat now, so it’s getting bits and bobs for that and doing some decorating. Seeing family is important, as in the winter when you spend so much away from home competing at games.
Do you have a mantra for life?
Never, never, never give up!
What tips do you have for young people wanting to get into sport as a career?
It’s mainly about not having a go once, and then giving up. And not worrying about what everyone else is thinking. It does take hard work and it does take time. You’ve got to set yourself small goals and try to make these goals each time.
Follow Eve on Twitter, @evemuirhead
