It has been a rollercoaster journey in curling for Vicky Wright in the last 10 months.
From the tension of the qualification journey – Scotland missed out in May and had to get through December’s last qualifier with a tie breaker – to the euphoria of winning gold at the Winter Olympics, the journey had it all.
The Dumfries-born athlete said: “It’s been the most up and down, emotional, highs, lows rollercoaster of a journey I’ve been on.
“We came through the qualifier in December getting the top spot on a draw shot and we knew we’d achieve it and we believed in ourselves. But to get that spot and come back and know we were going to the Olympics a new challenge started.”
This Winter Olympics gold medal run had the same themes from qualifying to the final – lows were followed by highs but ultimately the team would find success – even if they did it the hard way.
Team GB sat on a 4-4 record after a surprise defeat to China but wins over the Russia Olympic Committee, combined with other results going their way, meant they secured a semi-final berth. But the semi-final against Sweden was possibly one of the most stressful matches with Great Britain winning 12-11 in an extra end.
Vicky added: “We got out there and expected every game to be like a final. We didn’t know how it was going to go. There were eight teams in the women’s field in the top 10 at that point.
“We knew we had to beat Russia and have a good draw shot. Thankfully nobody actually told me how important that draw shot was in the last game against Russia because I was on it and it was my best one all week so I’m glad nobody told me that!
“Watching the final games, knowing we needed things to go our way, was nerve-racking. It was crazy. I feel really sorry for all of the parents and everyone back home watching the semi-final because it wasn’t easy to watch!
“It’s been a journey I’ve loved and wouldn’t change it for the world. It’s borderline easier playing than watching because you feel like you have a bit of control. I said to the girls after the first end, ‘Buckle up it’s going to be a bumpy ride’ and it was.”
The final was a tense affair until the seventh end when Eve Muirhead’s shot scored four and the end was in sight for the women.
It may have been tense for the millions of people watching around the country – but for the Dumfries-born curler it was a blast.
Vicky said: “That was the first moment where we felt we were starting to get closer to the line. The full game we felt in control and I said to the girls that this is the most fun game of curling I’ve ever played.
“If you can’t enjoy an Olympic final then why am I doing it?
“We stuck to the plan and never got ahead of ourselves until the game was over.
“It was emotional. I was in floods of tears.”
It has been a whirlwind since the team returned too. For someone not accustomed to media interviews, and despite being asked the same questions all day for a week, Wright shined through interviews as brightly as her gold medal.
She said: “It’s overwhelming. We were in a bubble over there so we didn’t fully appreciate what was going on over here. When we got off the plane the reception we got was a wow moment then getting off the plane in Edinburgh and seeing family was a lot.
“I’m not used to doing anything like this (interviews) and here we are doing them left, right and centre.”
But this week Vicky swapped the Team GB gear for her nursing uniform as she returned to Forth Valley Royal Hospital in Larbert near Falkirk. And she couldn’t be any happier.
And closer to home she can enjoy one-upping husband-to-be Greg Drummond, who won silver as part of Team Murdoch at Sochi 2014.
She said: “I was back to work on Tuesday.
“I couldn’t wait to go back in and have a day of normality whatever that’s going to be. It’s something I’m used to doing and what I’ve trained to do so I’ve been looking forward to going back. Domestic bragging rights are the best thing ever, it’s up there with the gold medal! I can use this for a lot of years to come.”
