Perthshire curling star Eve Muirhead will lead Team GB into the Winter Olympics after being named flagbearer in Beijing.
The Courier columnist has arrived in Beijing for her fourth Games appearance and is set to share flagbearing duties with Alpine skier Dave Ryding in Friday’s opening ceremony.
The duo will be at the head of the Team GB delegation in the ‘Bird’s Nest’ national stadium.
Muirhead, a former world champion and bronze medallist at Sochi 2014, returns with a relatively experienced rink to her fourth Olympics.
We've got our flagbearers! 🇬🇧@evemuirhead and @daveryding will lead Team GB as the Winter Olympics officially gets going.#TeamGB #Beijing2022
— Team GB (@TeamGB) February 3, 2022
She admits to having had plenty of doubts over her ability to reach a fourth Games after missing out on automatic qualification via the World Championships and needing to fight through a nail-biting qualifying tournament to secure her place.
But she said the challenges would make her participation in Beijing – and the honour of carrying the flag – all the more memorable.
Muirhead said: “To be asked to be one of the flagbearers at the opening ceremony is honestly a dream come true and something I never thought I would do.
“I never thought I’d go to a fourth Olympics either. It’s definitely been a rollercoaster to get here. I feel very honoured and privileged to carry the flag and it will be a memory I’ll never forget.”
