"When Eve Muirhead led the Great Britain women's curlers to Winter Olympic gold in 2022, the Guardian hailed her as the Iron Lady because she appeared indestructible. It didn't matter that she had failed initially to qualify for the Games. Or that she had Covid before the last-ditch tournament that finally secured their place. Or that Team GB's women lost four of their opening eight matches in Beijing and were 4-0 down against Sweden in the semi-finals. Somehow she always found a way."
"Behind the scenes, though, it was a very different story. As Muirhead has revealed in her new autobiography, Ice Queen, she had severe depression just seven months before the Olympics. Indeed, her mental health was so bad that her psychologist would have signed her off work for half a year if she was in an office job. People think that I'm this kind of strong, steely-eyed competitor, which I am, yes, Muirhead says. But we're all human, aren't we?"
"We're in great shape, she says. Look at the recent results and how we won nine world championship medals in the last kind of winter season the most we've ever had leading into a Games. As a nation, we are on the upward curve when it comes to winter sports, which is really exciting. Few understand the glory and pain of elite sport better than Muirhead, who went to four Winter Olympics as an athlete, winning bronze in Sochi as well as gold in Beijing."
Eve Muirhead endured severe depression seven months before winning Olympic gold for Great Britain in 2022, with mental health so poor that a psychologist would likely have signed her off work for six months. She faced setbacks including initial failure to qualify, Covid before a last-ditch qualifying tournament, and early match losses at Beijing, yet recovered to lead her team to gold. Her perfectionism caused intense self-criticism after mistakes. She embraces a softer side and speaks openly about her experiences to help other athletes. At 35 she serves as Team GB chef de mission for Milan Cortina and highlights improving British winter-sport results.
Read at www.theguardian.com
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