Curling news - Eve Muirhead and new team ‘a lot more comfortable’ after difficult season
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ByEurosport
Updated 27/09/2019 at 13:39 GMT
Eve Muirhead has said that she and her new team are ready to go and feel they are in a good place ahead of the new season.
Eve Muirhead of Great Britain directs her team during Women's Round Robin Session 9 on day 10 of the PyeongChang 2018 Winter Olympic Games at Gangneung Curling Centre on February 19, 2018 in Pyeongchang-gun, South Korea
Image credit: Getty Images
29-year-old Muirhead took some time off ahead of the 2018 Winter Olympics in Pyeongchang to have surgery on her hip after years of playing through pain.
The result was a tough showing in South Korea and during the 2018-19 season as Muirhead adapted following surgery.
This came as her team lost stalwarts Anna Sloan and Vicki Chalmers, causing more teething problems for Muirhead.
“Last year was a funny season for us,” said Muirhead in an interview with World Curling.
I wasn’t 100 per cent fit which didn’t help and also we had a new combination of players. We didn’t really find our feet as quickly as we wanted to.
“For myself, I didn’t have a great season. Last year and of course the seasons before, I had been playing with a lot of pain in my hip and it’s difficult to mentally prepare for this but really all I can do is be in the best physical shape that I can.
“Playing now with a fraction of the pain that I had before has made things a lot easier. I’ve built a lot of confidence on my hip over the summer working with physios. That’s made a big difference.”
Towards the backend of last season Team Muirhead triumphed at the Arctic Cup and they’ve had a strong pre-season ahead of the new campaign.
“Overall as a new team and for me coming into this season after surgery, I’m feeling a lot better. Hopefully we can build on that going into the next competitions.
“This season we’ve spent a lot of work trying to iron out any issues. We’ve had a great pre-season and I think we’re a lot more comfortable in our positions this year.
“With Vicki retiring from the team, we’ve got a new lot of players but it’s important that we turn on the change in players as quickly as we can and that we make every player in the team as comfortable as possible.
“As a team we started doing that very well so far this season and I think the new line up is gelling really well. We’re all exceptional curlers. We can play some great curling and we need to be consistent with that and bring that to the top level.”
As an Olympic medallist and an athlete with the moniker ‘the future of curling’ when she burst onto the scene, Muirhead has always been under pressure.
She stressed that she doesn’t see things that way but is happy to do whatever she can in order to help develop and grow the sport she loves.
“I don’t really see myself as a role model for Scottish curling but people say I am and I love that. I think it’s really important for me to keep people motivated to get into the sport.
I think for myself the way I can push curling within Scotland is hopefully to keep doing well and win medals.
“Doing that keeps curling in the limelight and in the media. That then gets public interest. It’s great to be part of the sport and I absolutely love curling but to be viewed as a role model as such within it is something pretty special to me.
“I just hope I can continue that. When I retire from curling hopefully I can do something to keep the sport alive here."
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