Winter youth games: Menzies goes out of mixed doubles in quarter-final

Published on Monday 23 January 2012 00:19

SCOTTISH skip Duncan Menzies was left to reflect on a missed opportunity after he bowed out in the quarter-finals of the mixed doubles curling at the Winter Youth Olympics in Austria.

Menzies, whose British rink failed to make it out of the round-robin stage of the mixed team event in Innsbruck, was paired with Taylor Anderson from the US for the doubles. Despite winning their first two matches to reach the last eight, they failed to advance following a 7-4 loss to a Japan and Korean combination.

After bringing the curtain down on his campaign at the first-ever Winter Youth Olympics on Saturday, Menzies said: “I’m a bit disappointed with our results. The doubles event was a lot of fun and Taylor and I made a good pair but we just couldn’t come up with the shots when we needed them in the quarter-final. The team event was my fault as skip, I struggled to read the ice at the start of the competition and we left ourselves with too much to do.

“But the event as a whole has been a fantastic experience and hopefully I can learn from this. I want to be at an Olympics for real some day.”

Hamilton’s Rachel Hannen was the only other British curler still in action on Saturday but she bowed out one stage before Menzies in the last 16 in the morning session.

Elsewhere, alpine skier Paul Henderson missed a gate in the first run of the slalom, which ruled him out of overall contention. However, Henderson said: “I’m disappointed because I looked in pretty good shape for a top-ten finish. But in future competitions I should be much improved for the experiences I have had out here.”

• The British Olympic Association prepares and leads British athletes at the summer, winter and youth Olympic Games. It works in partnership with sport National Governing Bodies to enhance Olympic success and is responsible for championing the Olympic values.www.olympics.org.uk