I’m somewhat ambivalent to sporting comebacks.
I am, I admit, invariably interested in any sporting great coming out of retirement. But I’m also well aware that, more often than not, sporting comeback are not what anyone would call a unmitigated success.
Look at almost any sport and there’ll be an example of a former great returning to the competitive arena - and it going less than well.
But there’s also a few success stories. From basketball player Michael Jordan retiring in 1993 before returning to the NBA two years later and going on to win three more NBA championships with the Chicago Bulls to Kim Clijsters hanging up her racquet in 2007 to start a family before returning to the tennis court in 2009 and winning her maiden grand slam title just weeks into her comeback, there are examples of comeback going very, very well.
It's this unpredictability of sporting comebacks that makes me quite so interested in the most significant one Scottish sport has seen for quite some time; the comeback of Eve Muirhead.
The Perthshire native is Britain’s greatest-ever curler. Her list of achievements is unparalleled, with Olympic, World and European titles to her name, plus a raft of Grand Slam and national titles.
When, in 2022, Muirhead, after nearly a decade of trying, achieved her lifelong dream of becoming Olympic champion, it came as little surprise that her victory was followed by the announcement that she was to retire. After all, she’d won everything there was to win in her sport and so it was easy to understand that her motivation to continue had waned.
Muirhead seemed to settle into retirement comfortably, with her role as Chef de Mission for Team GB for the 2026 Winter Olympic taking up the bulk of her time and it was easy to assume that, following the conclusion of the Milan/Cortina Olympics earlier this year, Muirhead would be offered yet another high-profile role in sport.
Which is why her announcement last month that she was returning to elite curling took quite so many people, myself included, by surprise.
The 36-year-old is, she revealed, targeting a place at the 2030 Winter Olympics in mixed doubles.
Her comeback will begin in earnest next week, when she takes to the ice for the Scottish Curling Mixed Doubles Championships alongside her playing partner, and fellow Olympic medallist, Bobby Lammie.
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Eve Muirhead: I want to enjoy this comeback, but I also want another Olympic gold
Muirhead is, she says, back in the sport with the intention of having fun. But, unsurprisingly for anyone who knows her, she’s also back with the target of becoming Olympic mixed doubles champion.
I’d not claim to be particularly close to Muirhead, but I’ve come to know her relatively well in the decade-or-so since we first met and it didn’t come as any surprise to me that she’s returned with high ambitions. As one of the most competitive people in Scottish sport, I’d have been astonished if she’d not set herself lofty targets at which to aim in this comeback.
So, it goes without saying that Muirhead is back with the aim of reaching the very top once again. The more interesting question, then, is will this comeback be a success? Or will Muirhead become yet another name to add to the list of athletes whose comebacks have been somewhat underwhelming?
Of course, only time will tell as to what degree of success Muirhead can achieve second time around. Certainly it will be very difficult, if not impossible, to match the success she achieved in the first portion of her career.
But if anyone in Scottish sport can mount a successful comeback, it’s Muirhead. Physically, she’s in as good shape as she’s ever been (and she’s always been one of the fittest curlers in the history of the game) and mentally, Muirhead is tough as nails.
Aged only in her mid-thirties, Muirhead remains on the young side for a curler, although she insists this comeback will last only until the 2030 Olympics, respective of the ultimate result.
So, on paper at least, the signs indicate that Muirhead has everything in her armoury needed to make a success of this comeback. For curling, her return is a gift, with the 2022 Olympic champion by far the most recognisable name in her sport in this country, and she remains one of the most widely-known sportswomen in Scotland.
Sport owes no individual anything, but it would be welcomed by so many if Muirhead could make a success of this comeback.
Whatever happens over the next four years, there will be many interested observers following Muirhead’s comeback and it’ll be thrilling to find out if she join the select group of athletes who’ve made successful comebacks.
AND ANOTHER THING…
The BBC has, traditionally, provided stellar sports coverage across the board.
And while the corporation’s ability to broadcast the major sporting events live has waned in recent years - slowly but surely, the BBC has lost live broadcast rights The Open, Masters and Ryder Cup; Formula 1; the Commonwealth Games and almost all of the major tennis and cricket events - the BBC Sport website and BBC sports bulletins have always been considered an excellent source of information about most, if not all, sports.
Of course, football is king and has invariably dominated the headlines across BBC Sport. But a lot of other sporting results and features were in there too, albeit lower down the pecking order.
This comprehensive coverage, however, is on the verge of coming to a halt.
This week, it emerged that the BBC is make significant cuts to its sports coverage. It will drop the sports bulletins on its TV news channel and make many senior journalist roles redundant, with around 40 job losses expected.
It is immediately extremely clear what areas of sport will be most severely hit, and that’s so-called “minority sports”. By this, I really mean everything and anything that’s not football.
The focus for the BBC seems now to be entirely on clicks. So, the stories that get the most clicks are deemed a success and those which do not quite match the level of engagement of, say, the latest Arsenal, Manchester City or Liverpool developments are now, it seems, considered surplus to requirements.
This move by the BBC is, on so many levels, disgraceful and short-sighted.
Firstly, the BBC is supposed to be a public service broadcaster. Public service is not providing primarily football coverage to the detriment of all else.
I, and many others, maintain there is an appetite for coverage of athletics, cycling, swimming and many other “minority sports” but the damage caused by the decreased visibility of being omitted from BBC Sport's coverage will be devastating for these sports. And, if covered properly, there absolutely is a ready and willing audience keen to engage with “minority sports”.
Eliminating, or even just significantly reducing, coverage of these sports from the BBC will cause untold damage to both these sports as a whole, and to many athletes.
It is not public service broadcasting to focus on only a narrow section of sport. Shame on the BBC for this decision.
