Their paths to Olympic gold were uncannily similar and both Rhona Howie and Eve Muirhead are also in sync in hoping that the latest British Olympic gold medal success will prove another powerful force for good in championing the benefits of women’s sport. 
Little more than two weeks since Muirhead followed her former coach to the top of the Olympic podium and since the premiere on the BBC of ‘The Last Stone’ - a film marking the 20th anniversary of Howie’s success in Salt Lake City - British Curling brought the two women who have skipped Team GB rinks to gold medal glory together at the National Curling Academy in Stirling to mark International Women’s Day.
The mutual respect was evident in the course of their reflective chat on their achievements and their impact in the broader context of the development of women’s sport.
Rhona on the parallels between their respective wins:
“Watching all the games I always knew Eve and her team were going to be there or thereabouts and (laughing) five wins and four losses is definitely the way to go at an Olympic Games.
“However we had two play-off games in the one day before the semi final. Nowadays they use the draw shot challenge which is good and is a different format, but the same principles apply 5-4 finish, semi final and final and gold medal and thank you and goodbye.
“It shows that how you get there doesn’t matter you just need to get that final win. Eve has obviously been at semi finals before, but to get to that first final and win it convincingly was a massive achievement and I was always convinced they were going to do it. There was something I don’t know I just knew and it was so special to be there to see it and commentate on it but to just be there.”
Eve on what their victories mean for women’s sport:
“When my team and Rhona’s team won gold that is ten female athletes that have really made a huge difference in sport in Great Britain and I think that sends out a huge and fantastic message. We need more women involved in sport but hopefully we are examples of the fact that we are capable of winning medals and capable of leaving legacies and making history. 
“More women commentating on sport, being around sport and being involved in sport and being part of the coaching set ups, it is just great to start seeing more female voices being involved in a lot of sports from football, golf, from rugby to curling.
“Having Rhona and Jackie (Lockhart, Scotland’s 2002 Women’s World Championship winning skip) in the commentary box out at the Olympics was great and it is not just curling it is any sport that women enjoy and it is not just about making you physically stronger, physically fitter, it is also a very great mental boost.”
Rhona on watching Eve’s development:
“It was destiny I guess coaching Eve, but Eve has always been very determined, very motivated and very committed to training.
“To be at her fourth Olympics proves she is never ever going to give up and that is a strong mental attitude that Eve has.
“She was never ever going to give up until she won that Olympic gold and she has achieved her dream and it is proof that having dreams as a youngster you know you can achieve.
“So it is about never ever giving up on anything. It is about getting that message to school kids, not just curling but everything in life… never give up on what you want to achieve, because I lost so many Scottish finals in my career and bronze medal matches and I could have just as easily have walked away, but I didn’t and you have just got to have that attitude and self belief that you can do it.”
Eve on the challenges encountered in chasing her dreams:
“The last year leading to this point has been very tough. Obviously the coronavirus and pandemic has not been easy for anyone and we went out to the World Champs last year in a very strict bubble in Calgary in Canada and we didn’t manage to qualify Great Britain for a spot at the Olympic Games.
“We failed to finish in that top six and we came home from that and felt horrendous and it was a feeling that I wanted to throw the curling shoes away and didn’t really know what to do. I kind of took a little bit of a step back and took some time to myself and British Curling made a change to a squad system and for myself I thought that was a new challenge. 
“I always like to have challenges in front of me and that was a challenge that I accepted to commit to and accepted to give it my all.
“The top five athletes then came out of that process and from that day on we can look back with two gold medals around our necks from the Europeans and the Olympics and we topped the event we competed in to qualify Great Britain for the last three spots at the Olympics.
“So it has been a complete whirlwind and I guess my message from that is never give up. Take some time and reflect on what you believe you can do better, but keep fighting and keep putting in the hours that you need to put in. Hard work does 100% pay off.”
Rhona on how curling has developed since her 2002 Olympic triumph:
“The sport has moved on huge amounts in the 20 years since I won. When I went there were 33 member associations in the World Curling Federation and now there are 64, which shows the sport is growing so fast around the world.
“It is a massive boost to see women taking part in sport wherever you are and at any age and of any ability. When I won it was a different set up in the whole training and facilities front compared to what we have now.
“So everything is different and everything has moved on in the sport but the rest of the world has moved on too so Great Britain has to keep to keep moving on too or we will fall behind and the fact that Eve has now won 20 years later is a phenomenal boost for the sport and yet again women are dominating.”
Eve on what’s to come: 
“Hopefully, pending selection, out to Geneva for the World Mixed Doubles! It is one gold medal I don’t have and I love playing alongside Bobby (Lammie). He does a lot of sweeping, unlike me and I am looking forward to the Players Championship as well and it will be nice to get back to a bit of normality between now and then, some training between those big events will be very important and just enjoy this moment.”
Rhona on what’s to come:
“People said to me at the time an Olympic gold medal is for life and world championship titles are just for a year, but I always felt yeah whatever and didn’t really think about it. But you do appreciate how an Olympic gold medal does change people’s perceptions and Eve’s still competing and still hopefully got worlds and Europeans in her for the next few years and we will go back to another Olympics so she is taking over that mantle for the sport and absolutely I think she has a lot more left in her. But her determination has come through and for any woman of any age or ability then we are living proof that you can achieve what you want.
“It is crazy… it took a long time to understand how much it had really impacted, but now 20 years down the line Eve has still got this to go through.
“But you have to enjoy every single minute of this success because you have earned it and you need to enjoy it and do what you want to do with what you have done. 
“Going forward it is special to be part of. As a youngster you watch all the other sports on TV and they are big sports and all of a sudden all these people from these sports know who you are and they want to talk about curling and you are thinking wow – curling is up there, so that is really special.”
“Our wee minority sport is put on the map just because of the Olympic Games and for me we want that every year at the Europeans and Worlds because we are successful all the time but we seem to just get picked up every four years rather than really enjoying the success we have in the sport every year in our sport.”
#IWD2022 #InternationalWomensDay
Check out Sky Sports, STV and BBC Sport Scotland for their interviews today.
