After thrilling the nation, Team GB curlers look to Milano Cortina 2026

Curling provided Great Britain with its only two medals of the Olympic Winter Games Beijing 2022 with Bruce Mouat's men's team silver followed by gold in the women’s for Eve Muirhead's rink.

With their families unable to join them in Beijing, watch parties were organised around the country, including in Edinburgh where Mouat’s partner Craig Kyle, mother Marie, coach Gregg Drummond and other friends, colleagues and supporters gathered at Curl Edinburgh.

Hammy McMillan's mother Lorna and Bobby Lammie's mum Katie, meanwhile, gathered at a hotel in their hometown of Stranraer.

Mouat’s team had already guaranteed Team GB its first medal of the Games heading into the final against Sweden on Saturday (19 February).

Ultimately, Sweden beat Great Britain 5-4 after Mouat missed his difficult hit and roll shot in the first extra end, leaving one red stone untouched in the button.

At the watch party in Edinburgh, Mouat’s family and friends rode every shot from the highs to the lows.

Kyle told PA, "To be here with friends and family was great, the support from everybody was amazing.

"Everybody came to watch and it'll mean a lot to Bruce as well, having everyone here together - especially as we couldn't be there.

"We'll be there in four years, there's definitely gold in that team but it's just the small margins."

In Beijing, Mouat was also disappointed but proud of his team’s efforts.

"We've been preparing for this for about five years and this is the moment we were hoping to have that win, so we're very disappointed," he said.

"It was a great week from us. We played really well throughout the tournament. We were hoping to have that performance today. It was pretty close but we gave them too much of a head start."

Looking to the future, the 27-year-old Scot said they’ve got big plans between now and Milano Cortina 2026.

"We're still reasonably young, we're still going to try and get as far as we can in the sport," he said.

"We've still not won the World Championship so that's definitely a goal, and we'd love to be back here in four years' time."

While the men’s final would ultimately end in disappointment for Team GB, the women made sure there would be gold medals returning to Scotland.

On the final day of Beijing 2022 Winter Olympics, Muirhead's foursome overwhelmed Japan 10-3 to take Britain's first curling gold since 2002.

For Muirhead, who made her Olympic debut at Vancouver 2010 as a 19-year-old, the victory was a long time coming.

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

"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."

Muirhead, 31, has had to overcome her fair share of adversity since making her Olympic bow in 2010.

After winning bronze at Sochi 2014, Muirhead skipped the women's team to fourth at PyeongChang 2018 before having career-saving hip surgery later that year.

She points out how the strength of her teammates, both physically and mentally, made all the difference this time around.

"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,” stated Muirhead.

"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."

For Muirhead’s parents, who were watching Sunday’s final unfold back in Scotland, the magnitude of what their daughter has achieved may take a while to hit home.

Her father Gordon told The Courier: “It just feels very surreal at the moment. It hasn’t sunk in. It’s very weird – it’s something you hope for but you don’t expect.”

“It was Eve’s dream and now she’s done it.”

Gordon light-heartedly added that the semi-final win over defending champions Sweden was “horrendous” to watch.

"When you are curling you feel you are in control. But it was easier to watch the final – they were more in command.

"We had about an hour’s sleep last night, so we are a bit knackered."