Muirhead hurting after bronze defeat
But Shire curler says she prefers to look ahead
Team Muirhead were defeated by Japan Eve Muirhead is sure her team will bounce back from missing out on a medal at the Winter Olympics.
The Blair Atholl skip faced off against Japan for bronze on Saturday morning but was defeated 5-3 in a closely fought battle in PyeongChang, South Korea.
Muirhead, who won bronze four years ago in Sochi, attempted to secure victory in the 10th end by taking a two as Team GB supporters watched on in anticipation.
But the end did not go to plan for the Perthshire curler and allowed the Japanese to take their place on the podium.
“The shot was there for the game and as a skip you’re going to try to play that shot to win. We win as a team, we lose as a team,” Muirhead said.
“As skip, it’s me that misses the shot, but it’s a full-on team effort out there. Any other day I guarantee that shot would’ve come off. This week we’ve just been the wrong side of the inch.
“Every game you lose is hard. This time around it is very hard. It’s really difficult to reflect on it just now.
“We’ve still got quite a few tournaments left. We’ve got our world play-off when we get home and a couple of grand slam events as well.
“We’ve got to be straight back into it. That’s sport. I love curling. That’s why I do it.”
Muirhead’s words were mirrored by vice-skip Anna Sloan who insisted they could still hold their heads up high.
She said: “In an Olympic Games, they always say that fourth place is the worst place to be. It’s raw and it’s hurting right now.
“We gave it our all out there to be honest, we couldn’t have done any more. As much as the result didn’t go our way, that’s sport.
“We’re going to come away with pride for the way we have conducted ourselves, the way we have trained, the way we’ve tried to get the best out of each other throughout not just the Olympic Games but also the four years that have been leading up to this moment.”
Team GB won five medals in total at this year’s Winter Olympics.
Chef de mission Mike Hay, who grew up in Perthshire, believes there is plenty to be optimistic about as the athletes head into the next Olympic cycle.
He said: “We want to get into that top 15 and we feel we have individuals that can win gold medals for us.
“A number of sports will have learned from their experiences and come back stronger for Beijing.
“We’re asked to make history every time we go to the Games these days but there is a point in time when you can’t do that.
“However, I think we’ve got a lot of headroom in winter sports.”