Curling

The British Olympic Association announced its Vancouver 2010 men's and women's curling teams, Thursday.

David Murdoch, Ewan MacDonald, Peter Smith, Euan Byers and Graeme Connal were named to the men's tean, while Eve Muirhead, Jackie Lockhart, Kelly Wood, Lorna Vevers and Karen Addison will compete in the women's event.

"In recent Olympic Winter Games, curling has provided some special moments for Team GB. It's a sport with centuries of tradition for us and the curlers selected today will form an integral part of our team in Vancouver," said Andy Hunt, the Chef de Mission of the British Olympic team.

The naming of Murdoch to the team was no surprise after he defeated Kevin Martin at the world championships to take the title, earlier this year.

Murdoch also narrowly missed out on a medal at the 2006 Olympic Winter Games in Turin after losing the bronze medal match to the United States, and is eager for the opportunity to make up for that near miss.

"I can't wait for the Olympics to start. It's the pinnacle of our sport, the competition that everybody wants to be involved in," Murdoch said, "The Games in Turin ended in such a frustrating way, when we missed out on a medal by the narrowest of margins, and I'm very keen to have another opportunity to compete for an Olympic medal with Team GB.

"We go as World Champions, but we know the competition will be very tough, particularly from the host nation. Curling is hugely popular in Canada, so we know there will be a lot of interest in our event."

Hunt also acknowledged the importance of competing on Canadian soil, where the sport of curling is extremely popular.

"Competing in Canada will provide an extra spur - it's only when you go there that you realize the depth of affection that Canadians have for curling," he said, "They will be formidable opponents, but they won't be alone - the recent European Championships showed that standards across the sport are extremely high."

Muirhead, who won three World Junior Championships with Scotland from 2007 to 2009, is just 19.

"It's been a long-held ambition of mine to compete at an Olympic Winter Games for Team GB, and it's very exciting to have been selected as Skip to the women's team," Muirhead said, "We've gelled very well as a unit, and had some excellent results, so it's about doing everything we can to make sure that we hit peak form at exactly the right time. We've got a huge amount of talent and experience in our team - and we're all very keen to get to Vancouver, and get on with competing."