Winter Olympics: Eve Muirhead keeps cool to edge out world champions China

Published on Wednesday 17 February 2010 23:24

GREAT Britain skip Eve Muirhead took the pressure in her stride as she delivered the winning stone to beat world champions China in their opening round robin match.

• British skip Eve Muirhead en route to a win over world champions China

David Murdoch's British men also got their first win on the board last night, sweeping France aside 9-4 in their second round-robin match to make up for an opening defeat to Sweden. Next up, they face Switzerland.

Muirhead, Jackie Lockhart, Kelly Wood and Lorna Evers had been hoping to score a surprise win against the traditionally slow-starting Chinese, skipped by Bingyu Wang, and they did just that, clinching a 5-4 victory in an extra 11th end.

Making her Olympic debut, Muirhead, 19, had the hammer, or final stone at the end of the 11th and with a Chinese stone in the scoring position but the British skip took it out and left hers closest to the button to score the winning point and seal victory.

"I've skipped for several years now so that's what you have to do, especially in an atmosphere like that with thousands of people watching and back home," said Muirhead. "You get used to the pressure to be honest. Most of these games are going to come down to the wire and these shots are going to have to be made, so I'm delighted I made it."

The skip said a victory over the Chinese in their opening match of nine round-robin games was a significant boost at the start of Britain's Olympic campaign.

"We're delighted with that, especially against Wang, the world champions," Muirhead said. "To get off to a good start is crucial for us and if you don't these games come back to haunt you at the end of the week. So I'm delighted with that and on my Olympic debut. It was great out there, a brilliant atmosphere and a buzz about the place."

China had taken the lead with a point in the second end but Muirhead's team began to take over. A point in the fourth levelled the scores, although there had been a chance of three, but the fifth end saw the British move into a 3-1 lead.

The Chinese added a point in the eighth to narrow the gap at 3-2 but Muirhead's final stone of the ninth end, sealed an extra point to push the British 4-2 up.

The two-point cushion was not enough, however, and the Chinese sent the match into an extra end as their hammer knocked Muirhead's stone out of the button, the innermost circle, and left the world champions with the tying points. Not that Muirhead was troubled and she added: "We felt like we were in control. Once our pre-game nerves went away after the first few stones, that was us, we played some good shots."

Overnight, Britain were next set to play defending champions Sweden, skipped by Anette Norberg, who beat Switzerland 8-7 after an extra end for their second victory of the Olympic tournament.