Team GB name first athletes to Beijing 2022 squad
Six curlers have been selected to represent Team GB at the Winter Olympic Games, which begin in February.
Curling
The Beijing 2022 Winter Olympic Games start in less than five months time and today (Thursday 14 October), the British Olympic Association announced the first members of Team GB.
Six curlers have been named to the team. Bruce Mouat, Grant Hardie, Bobby Lammie and Hammy McMillan will all play in the men’s event, with Ross Whyte the alternate. Mouat will also pair with Jen Dodds in the mixed doubles event, the duo hoping to challenge in the latter rounds after the pair won World Championships gold for Scotland earlier this year.
All six curlers are making their Olympic Games debut.
The men’s side first competed together in 2017. In that short time, they have twice been on the World Championships podium – winning bronze and silver, in 2018 and 2021, respectively – and currently sit third in the world rankings. The squad will be hoping to challenge for medals.
“I’m absolutely delighted to finally get the news that we’re going to be heading to Beijing,” said Mouat.
“It’s so exciting and testament to the effort that all of us have put in over the last four years to get to this point. We’re obviously going to aim really high when we’re there and we’re hoping to come home with some medals."
Mouat will become the first British athlete to compete in two curling competitions at a Winter Games after the mixed doubles discipline was introduced to the Games for the first time in PyeongChang in 2018.
“In terms of the mixed doubles it’s all the more exciting to be able to play in both events. I don’t think I ever dreamed of being able to play in two Olympic disciplines when I was younger, just because it wasn’t a thing, so to have that opportunity now and to be the first British Olympian to do so makes it even better. It’s something I will have for the rest of my life and that’s something I’ll cherish.”
“To be selected for my first Olympics means so much,” said Dodds who is also part of the women’s team who have surprisingly not qualified yet but hope to do so at a last-chance qualification tournament in the Netherlands in early December.
“It’s obviously something we’ve been striving towards for years. Every cycle I’ve been in that’s been the goal, so it’s a great honour to be selected as part of Team GB for this one.
“It means a lot to be in the team with Bruce as well. We’ve known each other for so long. We started at the same club, so sharing this moment together is something really special.”
Commenting on selection, Team GB Chef de Mission for the Beijing Olympic Winter Games, Georgie Harland, said: “Being selected for your first Olympic Games is an incredibly exciting moment and it gives me great pride to announce our very first athletes to the team for the Games and welcome such a talented group of curlers to Team GB for Beijing 2022.
“Team GB have an established curling record at the Olympic Games and it’s fantastic to see our current World Champions providing us with representation in the mixed doubles discipline for the first time, while our men’s team is also currently ranked among the very best in the sport.”
Men’s Team
Bruce Mouat
Grant Hardie
Bobby Lammie
Hammy McMillan
Ross Whyte (alternate)
Mixed Doubles Team
Bruce Mouat
Jen Dodds