By James Toney
In one year's time, an expectant nation will turn on their televisions and, once again, fall in love with curling.
They will earnestly debate the decision of the British skip to give up the hammer in the final end, send memes of the Norwegian rink’s trousers viral, and fume at the 'arrogance' of those not so nice guy Canadians.
It's a quadrennial rite of passage for armchair fans of the roaring game, only for the first time in 16 years, there will be no Eve Muirhead—her intense eyes blazing like blue chips of ice as she bellows 'hurry hard' at the 38-pound lump of granite grinding down the ice while her team-mates toil away in a blaze of brooms.
The Winter Olympics will not be the same.
Muirhead, who led her rink to women's curling gold in Beijing, stepped away from the sport three years ago and will instead lead an expected 50-strong Team GB delegation as Chef de Mission at the Games in Milan-Cortina, now just 365 days away.
The 34-year-old guided her team through a phalanx of permutations to win a first British curling gold in two decades. Now, she's studying spreadsheets and data to mastermind the huge logistical operation required to get to the Italian Alps competitive.
It's a role she's well-qualified to take on. She made her debut as a teenager in Vancouver, won bronze in Sochi, suffered disappointment in PyeongChang, and finally delivered on her ambition in Covid-zero China.
"I've had every possible experience of an Olympic Games—the highs and lows—I want to listen and share my experience and just be there as a support," she said.
"It's important the athletes get to do what they want to do. Our job is to give them what they need to perform under pressure. I've learned so much over the years, and I know how difficult and daunting it is.
"One year to go is a really exciting milestone, as that's when the tension builds up and qualification comes. I know what it's like in that pressure pot of qualification, and that's what everyone is going through in the next few months. Winter sports are very unpredictable—there are such small margins between winning and losing on the winter stage.
"When I came away from Beijing, I didn't think I was going to retire, but I also knew the hard work it takes to get to the top of the podium—it took me four Olympic cycles.
"I always wanted to be involved in sport, and it's been interesting to see the different requirements each athlete needs to perform. This role has been a new challenge, and I've loved it. I always set myself goals to achieve, and that's the athlete instinct in me. I've got a great team around me, and we have a lot of trust in each other."
The difference between being a champ and looking like a chump is fractional at the Winter Games, but £25m in UK Sport and National Lottery funding requires a return on investment measured on the medal table. Muirhead's gold and a silver for the men's curling team were the only dividends three years ago—an ultimately disappointing campaign compared to the five medals won at previous Games in 2018 and 2014.
"We're not putting numbers on our ambitions—it's unfair to put that pressure on athletes," said Muirhead, smoothly transitioning to her new diplomatic role.
Bobsleigh and skeleton, after a run of recent strong results on the world stage, are set to share the burden with curling when it comes to British medal expectations.
Italian organisers are currently working around the clock to complete the 1,650-metre sliding track in Cortina d'Ampezzo, with Lake Placid—3,957 miles across the Atlantic in New York—their bizarre back-up option.
Muirhead's former curling coach, Mike Hay, led Britain to their most successful Winter Games returns in Russia and South Korea and was famed for his attention to detail in logistics—but even he didn't need a plan for a Games staged potentially an ocean apart.
"We're quite calm about it, but we can't do anything about it," said Muirhead.
"Every time we've been there, we've seen progress made. They are working hard to make it work. If it doesn't go to plan, we change and tackle that. The team knows they need to compete on whatever track is put in front of them.
"The organising committee are doing monthly checks on the sliding, and all is up to speed, and they are very positive. We've got to work with what we have in front of us, but we trust the organising committee, and we're focused on sliding being in Cortina."
