Eve Muirhead and Team GB's sole gold medallists: "We just didn't give up"

For Eve Muirhead, it was a case of 'fourth time's a charm' at the Beijing 2022 Olympic Winter Games.

In 2018, Muirhead and her rink finished in fourth place with the Scottish skip saying after she did "feel like I’ve got a little bit of unfinished business to do at the Olympic Games".

With a whole new team alongside her, the 31-year-old managed to achieve her goal with a comprehensive 10-3 victory over Japan to take gold.

Muirhead: "They helped me become a better curler and person"

"Without these girls being so strong, this dream would not have come true," Muirhead said. "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."

The Scottish foursome of Muirhead, vice-skip Vicky Wright, lead Hailey Duff and second Jen Dodds were certainly too strong for Japan in the final after coming through an extra-end thriller against defending champions Sweden in the semis.

"Nobody likes to do it the easy way, do they? So we thought we would do it the tough way," the 31-year-old said.

"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 team."

Team GB: A curling powerhouse

Team Muirhead's title was the one and only gold that Team GB won at Beijing 2022, with the only other medal courtesy of Bruce Mouat's men's curling team.

Mouat's rink went down to Sweden on Saturday, with Muirhead's women taking gold the following day.

"I'm so proud of the girls, how we played today, because if you can bring your A-game in the Olympic finals that just shows how great and what fantastic abilities we all have," Muirhead said.

"To stand on the podium and get that gold medal around your neck is honestly a moment I'll never forget."

Dodds: 'I'm speechless'

Jen Dodds had a grueling Winter Olympics schedule, playing the maximum amount of matches possible - 22 - across both the mixed doubles and women's tournaments in the Ice Cube.

Her mixed doubles partner Mouat and Sweden's Oskar Eriksson also played 22 matches in Beijing.

There was disappointment for Dodds and Mouat in the mixed doubles as they went down to Eriksson and Almida de Val in the bronze medal match, but women's gold more than made up for it.

"I don’t think it’s going to sink in for a while,” Dodds said. "I’m speechless.

"I’m so proud of these girls and the way they played in that final and the whole week. We built on every game, we got more confidence every game.

"Hopefully that was slightly less stressful than the semi-final for all our families."

Whatever amount of stress was experienced by the teams and their family will have been worth it as Team GB head home heroes who have cemented their curling legacies and inspired a new generation of British curlers.