Olympic curling champion Eve Muirhead comes out of retirement aiming to make 2030 Winter Olympics - 'Unfinished business'

Team GB's Olympic curling champion Eve Muirhead has announced that she is to come out of retirement after four years with the aim of qualifying for the mixed doubles event at the 2030 Winter Olympics in France.

Muirhead retired from curling after winning gold as the skip of the women's team at the 2022 Games in Beijing, China.

She then served as Team GB's chef de mission at the Milano-Cortina 2026 Olympic Games.

And she said that time spent leading the team at this year's Games reignited her passion for competing once again, explaining: "I feel the love for the sport is back."

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The 36-year-old said in a Team GB interview: "When I decided to come out of retirement, I was scared, but I was also really, really determined."

"The opportunity was there, and it would have been silly not to take it. I just can't wait to get the shoes back on, and push really hard for the ultimate goal, which is the Alpes 2030.

"My ultimate goal is to get back to the Olympic Games. I know it's going to be tough, because there is such a great pool of players within British Curling. Four years ago, I didn't know if I would retire, and then I did. I thought it was the best decision I've ever made.

"But I now realise that once you get a bit fed up of something, you need to take a step to the side, put it to bed for a while, and eventually the love will come back for it. That is what happened for me."

Muirhead's gold in Beijing came in her fourth Winter Olympics, having previously won bronze in the same event in Sochi in 2014.

During her three years away from the ice, Muirhead has participated in a number of fitness events, including CrossFit and HYROX.

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On her decision to step away from curling in 2022, Muirhead said: "I most definitely needed a break, and I'm very glad that I did.

"I think stepping away and being the chef de mission gave me a lot of different challenges, a lot of tough situations, you've got to make some big decisions.

"It's probably made me more grown up. I've learned a lot from what I've done in those three years. If I hadn't taken that time off, I wouldn't have been able to come back with the extra fire to do well again.

"Having done the full circle, being an athlete for several years, then chef de mission and coming back into being an athlete, it's taught me a lot and probably given me a different perspective on being an athlete and a curler. I do believe I'm probably the fittest I have been."

But now she is seeking to add a mixed doubles gold to her catalogue in 2030 alongside Bobby Lammie, who won silver in the men's team event in Italy earlier this year.

Muirhead described a mixed doubles medal as "unfinished business" and that her pairing with Lammie has "potential as a team".

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She is not the only British curler to come out of retirement recently, with Vicky Drummond also choosing to get back on the ice after winning gold in Beijing.

Like icons from other sports, Muirhead is keen to show "that it is possible to take a break, a step to the side, and come back".

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She said: "Especially women, people can step away, they can have families, they can relocate and then there is the option to have another job as well and then come back.

"People who know me, know that I never do anything half-hearted. It is something I took a lot of time to think about, and I can't wait to get back and get competing again.

"There have been a few female athletes who have taken a break and probably surprised a few people and come back. Serena Williams is one, Lindsey Vonn is another. I am not putting myself in the same bracket as them, but I think it's showing that it is possible.

"Sometimes it makes you come back a better person, a better athlete, you are more driven."

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