Six of the most promising young curlers in Scotland have been selected to join Olympic gold medallist Eve Muirhead as she leads Team GB to the Youth Olympic Games (YOG) in Korea.
Dumfries trio Logan Carson (16), Archie Hyslop (16) and Tia Laurie (16), Aberdeen’s Ethan Brewster (16), Wishaw’s Holly Burke and Forfar’s Callie Soutar are among 36 athletes selected by the British Olympic Association for the event which takes place between January 1 and February 2024 in Gangwon.
Team GB’s athletes, all aged between 15 and 18, will compete in 11 of the 15 sports on the programme: alpine skiing, biathlon, bobsleigh, cross-country, curling, figure skating, freestyle skiing, ice hockey, luge, short track speed skating and snowboarding.
YOGs play an important role in the development of young British athletes, providing crucial multi-sport event experience, building on Olympic values and guiding them towards realising their own Olympic ambitions.Gangwon 2024 will be the fourth winter edition of the YOG, following Innsbruck 2012, Lillehammer 2016 and Lausanne 2020. This year’s competition is the first winter YOG to be held in Asia, with over 1,900 athletes from 40 nations expected to participate.There will be a 50/50 gender split between female and male athletes competing across the province of Gangwon in the Republic of Korea, which already hosted the PyeongChang 2018 Olympic Winter Games.Four-time Olympian Muirhead, who led Team GB’s women’s curling team to gold as skip at Beijing 2022, heads up a British delegation for the first-time after announcing her retirement from competition last summer but with a YOG taking place in Asia for the first time, she can draw on the experience of having taken part in that Winter Olympics in Korea at PyeongChang before claiming gold across the Continent in Beijing last year.
This year’s selection of young athletes are following in the footsteps of many British Olympians who previously competed at this level, such as Muirhead’s Beijing 2022 teammates Mili Smith and Ross Whyte, who both competed at Lillehammer 2016; and Kirsty Muir, who won big air silver at Lausanne 2020 before becoming the youngest member of Team GB at Beijing 2022.Many of this year’s British delegation of young athletes are aspiring to their own success, and with the Milan Cortina 2026 Olympic Winter Games in the not-too-distant future, the winter YOG provides an invaluable opportunity to build their confidence when competing on the international stage.Montell Douglas, who made Team GB history by becoming the first British woman selected to compete in different sports at the Olympic Summer and Winter Games, will take on the role of the Ops & Athlete Services Coordinator for the winter YOG, using her unique experience to offer advice and support as the athletes come together as one Team GB.
Eve Muirhead, Team GB Chef de Mission for Gangwon 2024, said: “I am incredibly proud to be leading this year’s delegation for Gangwon 2024, and it is a huge honour to prepare the team for what is a formative event in their careers.“I’ve been to four Olympics with Team GB and have led a team throughout the majority of my curling career so I understand the emotions of performing on the world’s biggest stage. I’m thrilled I can share my knowledge and advice with these athletes dealing with the pressure at this level.”Montell Douglas, Team GB’s Ops & Athlete Services Coordinator for Gangwon 2024, said: “I’m really excited to be heading out to South Korea for this year’s Winter Youth Olympic Games in this role. It’s a real honour for me as I’ve had quite the journey competing in both a Summer and Winter Olympic Games for Team GB, and will be a nice full circle moment supporting this new delegation of athletes having their first experience of the Olympic movement.”
Tia Laurie, who has been selected for the Gangwon 2024 curling team, said: "I am extremely excited and so honoured to have been chosen to compete for Great Britain at the Youth Olympics. I cannot wait for the event to begin."Being chosen to represent Great Britain is a huge opportunity to gain valuable experience for my future curling development. I hope to take my experience from the Youth Olympics forward to help me in future curling, hopefully the Olympics one day."Ever since watching Team GB women win gold and meeting them with their medals at my home ice rink, it has inspired me to work really hard towards my goals in curling. I would love to follow in their footsteps at the Youth Olympics next year."Siddhartha Ullah, who has been selected for the Gangwon 2024 snowboarding team, said: “I’m so excited and honoured to represent Great Britain in the Youth Olympics and get British halfpipe snowboarding back on the map. I’ve heard from a few athletes that it’s more fun than the actual Olympics, so I’m looking forward to a great experience… and some good food in South Korea.”Team GB selection at Gangwon 2024: 
Alpine SkiingMolly Butler – aged 17 from GuildfordZak Carrick-Smith – aged 16, based in AlbertvilleBiathlonFull biathlon team to be announced in January 2024.BobsleighLennon Smith – aged 17 from MiddlesboroughCross-CountryElspeth Cruikshank – aged 16 from AberdeenThomas Duncan – aged 15, based in StavangerSophie Forth – aged 16 from HarlowCurlingEthan Brewster – aged 16 from AberdeenHolly Burke – aged 16 from WishawLogan Carson – aged 16 from DumfriesArchie Hyslop – aged 16 from DumfriesTia Laurie – aged 16 from DumfriesCallie Soutar – aged 15 from Forfar 
Figure SkatingTao MacRae – aged 17 from WestminsterAtl Ongay-Perez – aged 16 from TootingAshlie Slatter – aged 14 from CroydonFreestyle SkiingCharlie Cooper – aged 17 from WestminsterJake Dade – aged 17 from Great YarmouthAxel Rose Green – aged 17 from CambridgeIce HockeyLeilo Bellamy – aged 15 from Welwyn Garden CityJonas Bennett – aged 14 from SheffieldSam Ellis – aged 15 from SwindonRobbie Henderson – aged 15 from WishawEthan Lock – aged 15 from Merthyr TydfilKingston McKenzie – aged 14 from NottinghamJoel Meyers – aged 15 from NottinghamSam Miller – aged 15 from OxfordRicards Misins – aged 15 from NewhamJoshua Seeback – aged 14 from GuildfordDaragh Spawforth – aged 15 from PontefractHarry Vant – aged 15 from ChelmsfordTiago Worsfold – aged 14, based in SalvadorLugeKaia Hatton – aged 14, based in VancouverShort Track Speed SkatingWillem Murray – aged 16 from NottinghamFreddie Polak – aged 17 from NottinghamSnowboardingCharlie Lane – aged 16 from BrightonSiddhartha Ullah – aged 17, based in Los Angeles
