Jackie Lockhart backs Eve Muirhead to recover

Published on Tuesday 23 February 2010 22:25

BRITISH curling veteran Jackie Lockhart has backed teenage skip Eve Muirhead for a long and successful Olympic career after her steep learning curve in Vancouver.

The 19-year-old led Team GB for the final time at the Vancouver Olympic Centre on Tuesday as they bowed out of the tournament with a record of three wins and six defeats to miss out on a semi-final place.

The British quartet lost 6-5 in extra ends to hosts and gold-medal favourites Canada but team-mate Lockhart, a world championship-winning skip for Scotland in 2002, believes Muirhead can only be stronger for the experience.

"It will stand her in great stead," Lockhart, 44, said of the current skip, pictured below.

"It would have been lovely for us to come out and win and finish on a huge high but you learn so much from defeats that it makes you a much better person than when you win a game.

"I firmly believe in that and that's why you've got to look ahead."

Muirhead's team came into the Olympic competition ranked seventh in the world and are likely to finish the tournament in a similar position.

Lockhart, who has played on four British teams at Winter Games in 1992, when curling was only a demonstration sport, 1998, 2006 and 2010, believes there is much more to come from the Scottish teenager.

"It's a huge learn for her and hopefully she'll recover from this and move on because she has so many years in front of her," Lockhart said.

"She's got fantastic potential considering that she's 19 years old at the minute. There's many people who wouldn't have reached that level until they're 30, never mind 19, so you've got to be positive knowing that she's still got lots, lots more in her and I think we should keep an eye on her."

The British camp were left to rue an extra-ends defeat to the United States as the point at which the momentum swung against them in the round robin tournament.

After a strong start, which saw them beat world champions China and European champions Germany as well as losing narrowly to defending Olympic champions Sweden, they lost their last five matches.

While Muirhead has accepted responsibility for slack shots against the Americans and also Denmark, Lockhart has sympathy for her skip.

"Having been a skip myself I know what it's like," she said. "There's times when your skip will save a team and there's times when your skip's not going to play well and you're going to have to take it.

"We've given it our best and sometimes you've got to ride with luck and sometimes you've got to ride with good play. Things just didn't happen for us this week. I think the games that probably will help are the ones we should have won, the USA game.

"I don't know what happens in curling because we go out confident and positive every day and it's a strange thing. Curling's a mental sport and there could be one shot that doesn't work for you and then you battle with yourself and how you're feeling. It's a strange sport and there's so many elements to it. Sometimes it works for you. Sometimes it doesn't."

Meanwhile, David Murdoch steered Great Britain's men towards a semi-finals spot. Murdoch, Ewan MacDonald, Pete Smith and Euan Byers continued their improving form with an 8-2 win over Germany and went into last night's clash with already-qualified Norway knowing a win would confirm their last-four spot. The worst they could end up with his a play-off.

"That was a really solid performance, the type of form that we expect from ourselves," said Murdoch. "We're glad to see it's happening, that's been three solid games and the team usually does that by the time it gets to the end of the week in major championships.

"I think there's still a little to go, I don't think we're maxed out yet but we're certainly coming into the type of form we're looking for.

"You don't want to peak at the start of the week. This is the business end of the week we're getting into and it's good to see that every one of us is playing great shots."