If you’re suffering from a bout of post-Beijing blues, or pre-London impatience, never-fear, because the greatest show on earth is back as the summer Games’ twin sister is blowing into town from the far West. 

Yes, douse your withdrawal symptoms with snow and soothe your cravings with ice, because the Winter Olympics are here. 

And, with the event being hosted in beautiful Vancouver, ably backed up by the Whistler-Blackcomb mountain range, North America’s finest winter resort, be prepared to feast your eyes on a buffet of cold-weather action.

Scotland will be well represented in Canada – nearly half of the 43-strong British team selected to slip, slide and skate their way to victory, hail from north of the Border.

Paramount among them are the two skips of the male and female curling teams – David Murdoch and Eve Muirhead.  Both have savoured success at the very top of the world game, and the odds are in favour of them doing it again.

Murdoch, from Lockerbie, has twice been world champion, in 2006 and 2009, though he will be hungry to gain his first Olympic medal alongside experienced team-mates Ewan MacDonald, Peter Smith, Euan Byers and Graeme Connal.  Nothing but a win will do for the current world champs.

Perth’s Muirhead, meanwhile, is one of the youngest skips in British curling history, leading her nation into the Olympic arena at just 19-years old.  But with former skip Kelly Wood to back her up, and Jackie Lockhart, Lorna Vevers and Annie Laird making up the all-Scottish team, they are expected to be right up there amongst the medallists.

Another Scottish pair expected to excel in Vancouver are ice-dancing siblings John and Sinead Kerr.  The duo have been practising together their whole lives, and are now one of the top pairings in the world ice-dance circuit.

Finishing 10th at the 2006 Winter Games in Turin, John and Sinead’s stock has steadily risen, finishing 3rd in Europe and 7th in the world last year.   They are consistent performers and considered to be genuine medal contenders, but the fate of ice-dancers lies in the hands of the judges, so keep your fingers crossed, and if you’re there, cheer louder than everyone else for them!

On the slopes, watch out for Scotland’s most experienced winter Olympian, Lesley McKenna.  She was hitting the half-pipe before most of us even knew such an event existed, and with this likely to be her third and final Games (having competed in Turin 06 and Salt Lake City 02), the Aviemore snowboarder will be keen to go out with a flourish.

Across the great snowy divide between boarders and skiers, this year Scotland will only have one person flying the Saltire on skis – Andy Noble – after a generation of drama with McKenna’s cousins, Alain and Noel Baxter, along with Finlay Mickel.

The Olympic rookie from Edinburgh has big footsteps to fill and faces a difficult task, not helped by the collapse of Snowsport GB and in turn, his funding.  But the Slalom and Giant Slalom specialist is targeting a top 20 finish, with a view to stepping into medal contention by the time the Russian Games roll round in 2014!

So sit back and prepare for two weeks of chilly Olympic action from February 10th – and cheer on your heroes from Scotland and Team GB!

RO

See the links on the right side of this page to read about more of Scotland’s Winter Olympians – including bobsleigh racer Gillian Cooke, and cross-country skiers Andrew Young and Andrew Musgrave.

Scottish athletes representing Team GB at the Olympic Winter Games in Vancouver:

ALPINE SKIING
Andy Noble

BOBSLEIGH
Gillian Cooke

CROSS COUNTRY SKIING
Andrew Musgrave
Andrew Young

CURLING

Men
David Murdoch (skip)
Ewan MacDonald
Peter Smith
Euan Byers
Graeme Connal

Women
Eve Muirhead (skip)
Jackie Lockhart
Kelly Wood
Lorna Vevers
Annie Laird

ICE DANCING
John Kerr
Sinead Kerr

SHORT TRACK SPEED SKATING
Elise Christie

SNOWBOARD HALFPIPE
Ben Kilner
Lesley McKenna

WHEELCHAIR CURLING
Michael McCreadie
Aileen Nelson
Jim Sellars
Tom Killin
Angie Malone

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