As Eve Muirhead, the Scottish curler, helped lead Great Britain to a bronze medal at the Olympics, some were wondering whether she has a boyfriend.
As it turns out, Muirhead does not. She said last year that there’s lots of sacrifices involved in professional curling, such as spending money on competition amid funding woes and waking up early to practice most mornings at 6:30 a.m.
She told the Daily Record that she doesn’t have a boyfriend at this time, though she added:
“I’m not saying you can’t have a boyfriend because you are a curler.
“You just can’t go out partying every weekend. We are athletes, we train all year round. Obviously, there are occasions when you can take time out and enjoy yourself but nine times out of 10 you’re training that night or the following morning.
“You get used to it. I’m doing the sport I love and I wouldn’t be curling full time if I didn’t enjoy it. My ultimate aim is to win a medal at the Olympics – and I know how much it will take to be Olympic champion.”
Muirhead and her teammates are exceptional among the curling world because they are full-time athletes, funded by an agency in Scotland. The tough workload is evidenced by the fact that Rhona Martin, now known as Rhona Howie, who works with the team, got divorced. She told the Daily Mail that there is a lot of pressure on her athletes.
Howie’s advice to her athletes, though, was to enjoy it: “They’ve got to enjoy it. Some people will say, ‘Enjoyment? No - it’s about competition.’ But there has to be some enjoyment, too, and they’ve just got to keep level-headed and focus on what they need to do.”
