SOCHI silver medallist David Murdoch has been denied the chance to represent Great Britain at his fourth consecutive Olympic Games after curling selectors opted to make Pyeongchang 2018 a Muirhead family affair.
Brothers Thomas and Glen Muirhead will both form part of a men’s squad skipped by 24-year-old Kyle Smith while their older sister Eve, the bronze medallist in Sochi, once again leads the women’s team.
The announcement, made yesterday at the Royal Highland Show in Edinburgh, is a blow for Murdoch, 39, who secured the sixth-place finish at the World Championships in April that ensured Britain qualification.
But the selectors chose to side with Smith, who earned a higher position in the season-ending World Curling Tour rankings and also led the first British team to reach a Grand Slam final in Cranbrook last November.
Smith said: “Receiving that phone call about our Olympic selection is probably one of the best experiences I have had and it is still a bit surreal and hasn’t really sunk in yet.”
Eve Muirhead’s team was selected automatically for Pyeongchang having fulfilled the three key criteria of holding the top British ranking on the World Curling Tour.
Muirhead, who will be competing in her third Games, said: “It’s been four years of hard work to stay ahead of other domestic rivals and to stay world class.
“Although we knew we had the results to meet the selection criteria, it is still an anxious wait until you get the call and it feels like a huge privilege to represent Team GB at another Games.”
The full men’s curling squad for Pyeongchang consists of Smith as skip along with Thomas Muirhead, Kyle Waddell and Cammy Smith, with Glen Muirhead as alternate.
The women’s team features Eve Muirhead as skip alongside fellow Sochi medallists Anna Sloan, Vicki Adams and Lauren Gray, with Kelly Schafer as alternate.
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