Eve Muirhead to return at Scottish Mixed Doubles Championship with Bobby Lammie
Eve Muirhead will make her competitive curling return on Thursday in Aberdeen at the Scottish Mixed Doubles Championship after revoking her retirement, partnering Bobby Lammie. The 36-year-old is entering her first competition in four years.
Muirhead and Lammie were the world mixed doubles champions in 2022, and Lammie is a twice Olympic silver medallist; the pair hope the reunion will begin a four-year campaign that culminates in the Alpes 2030 Games. They enter the domestic event as the big-ticket pairing, having never lost a competitive game, but arrive as a target for a stacked field.
Muirhead says she has been gripped by a combination of excitement and nerves as she prepares for her comeback. "We can't put too much pressure on ourselves," Muirhead told BBC Sport Scotland. "I need to remember I've been away for over four years now and I'm just back into it. "I know our competitive side is going to come out but we need to put things in perspective as well. We've got to remember that it's a long project that we're in."
While the duo know each other's games well, limited ice time has been a factor because Lammie is Stirling-based and Muirhead trains in Preston. However, they meet up every couple of weeks and believe they are in a good place for their return. That preparation underpins their decision to contest the Scottish championship together.
"We've got pressure on us and eyes on us as a combination but I think we've got to forget about that and just go out and be us," Muirhead said. "That's what we did when we when we won the Scottish Champs in 2022 and went on to win the worlds. "But the standard of teams in Aberdeen is very, very high - probably one of the strongest ever in a Scottish champs - so it's going to be tough. We just need to curl how we know we can and make sure and do the small parts right and the rest will take take care of itself."
Six round-robin games across Thursday, Friday and Saturday — and potentially a play-off later that day — will decide if Muirhead and Lammie reach Sunday's semis and final, with a selection of their matches streamed live on the BBC.