Callie Soutar and Ethan Brewster have earned a place in British curling lore with a golden triumph that makes them the first pair to win an Olympic Mixed Doubles medal for Team GB.
Just a week after their compatriots claimed Team GB’s first ever Winter Youth Olympic gold medal, Forfar 15-year-old Soutar and Aberdeen 16-year-old Brewster followed a near identical path as they recovered from a potential demoralising defeat in their second round-robin match to go unbeaten through the rest of the event before beating Denmark in a tense final.
Before this year’s competition, Team GB’s only curling medal at a Youth Olympics had been by Ross Whyte along with China’s Han Yu under the previous Mixed Doubles format which saw athletes from different nations paired up after the team event.
However, these triumphs in both events in Korea this time around are just the latest in a run of success that means Team GB and Scotland are currently reigning women’s Olympic Champions, men’s World and European Champions, women’s Junior World Champions, and men’s World University Games Champions as well as having won the men’s Junior World Championship two years ago and back-to-back Mixed Doubles World Championships with two different teams in 2021 and 2022.
The way players are feeding off one another was demonstrated at these Games by the effect the victory claimed by Logan Carson, Tia Laurie, Archie Hyslop and Holly Burke had on their teammates.
“The team event was great to watch last week and their final when the Danish stone rolled off and Great Britain were left lying to win gold, honestly it was an amazing feeling,” said Brewster.
“Seeing them win gold I think it inspired me a lot to try and do the same.
“Our campaign didn’t start off too well but towards the end of the competition I was feeling more inspired with other Team GB athletes winning medals and watching the figure skaters winning their bronze and knowing that we too could win a medal here was exciting.
“This really is a dream come true.”
While Brewster’s delight at knowing a medal was secure when they won their semi-final as he collapsed onto the ice, afterwards admitting that his legs gave out such was the sense of relief, he continued to feel the pressure before, during and after the final but paid tribute to his skip who, time and time again, came up with vital shots when they were needed.
She had delivered the decisive stone in the final end of their 6-5 win over Sweden in which they were never headed and having held the upper hand through most of the final, it was her last stone, the penultimate delivery of the match, that left Denmark’s Katrine Schmidt with too much to do to secure the two she and brother Jacob needed to take the match into extra time,
“Practice didn’t go too well but we brought it back and honestly winning that semi final was wonderful, just knowing that you were getting a medal,” said Brewster.
“Going into that final was a nerve wracking experience and my stomach was going a little bit but we kept our cool.
“To be honest I wasn’t too composed at that last end. I was seeing the Danish stones build up more and more and it was getting a little bit nerve wracking.
“However, Callie with her last stone made an absolute brilliant pistol and that is all you need.
“One shot needs to be made and she made it and boom we won gold.”
He also pointed to the role played by their coach whom he has known since infancy, Scott Andrews having played in two World Championship finals when Brewster’s dad Tom was his skip, before both were in the Team GB quintet that won silver at the 2014 Winter Olympics in Sochi.
“Its been an amazing experience knowing you were going to a place like Korea, so far away with a coach like Scott, somebody you already know so well,” said Brewster, who was just six years old when they won those first ever Olympic men’s curling medals.
“To be honest I couldn’t imagine having a better coach and coaching us so well and giving us words of wisdom, from the start the whole trip has been fantastic.”
In celebrating their achievements, the coach correspondingly had nothing but praise for the way the teenagers had performed on and off the ice.
“Both Callie and Ethan have been a joy to coach this week,” he said.
“The effort they have had to put in as a new team working through the challenges at an Olympic Games is very impressive and they have really deserved to come away with gold.
“They both listened to the advice I gave them all week, took it all on board and played some outstanding shots there today.
“Both of them made some absolute pistols and Callie threw a really nice draw with her final stone in the eighth end there to bring home the bling, so I am just a very happy coach today and quite emotional as I am just so proud of them and what they have achieved this week.”
Day 1
GB – Nigeria 15-0
Day 2
GB – Korea 2-11 
Day 3
GB – Czechia 8-3
Day 4
GB – Hungary 8-4
Day 5
GB – Canada 7-6
Quarter Final
GB – Germany 7-5
Day 6
Semi Final
GB – Sweden 6-5
GOLD MEDAL MATCH
GB – Denmark 7-6
Please click here for the schedule and results.
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Images: Team GB - Sam Mellish
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