‘Several versions of success’ – but women’s curlers dream of medal

Team GB’s women curlers have “several versions of what success looks like” but will start their Winter Olympics in Cortina on Thursday dreaming of a medal, says Rebecca Morrison.

Britain are the defending champions in the event after winning gold in Beijing four years ago, but only Jen Dodds remains from that rink.

Consequently, they are not considered among the favourites in Italy this month, but European silver for the Scots in November, following on from a sixth-place finish in the Worlds in South Korea earlier in the year, suggests they are not far away.

“We’ve talked about this as a team and we would love to come away with a medal,” Morrison, who plays lead, says. “We know that’s a huge ask, so we’ve also been very real and said we’re not measuring success by a medal.

The team’s newcomers arrived on Sunday and had their first experience of the quirky Cortina Curling Stadium the following day, watching Dodds and Bruce Mouat lose in the mixed doubles semi-final.

And, while they share Dodds’ disappointment about missing out on bronze for the second Games in succession, Morrison says her team-mate’s experiences over the past week can help when the women start against China (18:05 GMT).

“It’s making me feel really encouraged that Jen herself is playing fantastic,” Morrison says. “She’s got a lot of information she can give us about the ice and the arena, which is fantastic for us.