Roaring Game loses another female star

Olympic champion Vicky Wright of Scotland has called it quits at age 28.

Her decision was confirmed today by her post on social media, in which she acknowledged “Curling has taken me to many corners of the world and introduced me to some amazing people. I will be forever grateful for the lifelong friends I have made because of curling.”

Wright played with Hannah Fleming in her junior and post-junior career before joining Eve Muirhead’s squad as alternate. She advanced to a full-time role when Muirhead’s longtime second Vicki Adams (now Chalmers) retired in 2019, at age 29.

After crushing disappointments at the end of the COVOD-wracked 2021 season, Wright qualified to maintain her position on Muirhead’s new coach-selected squad, along with second Jennifer Dodds. New lead Hailey Duff completed the lineup and the new foursome went on a tear, culminating in Olympic gold.

Wright made Scottish headlines prior to Beijing by returning to the front lines of the pandemic as a nurse.

She described her difficult schedule of hospital night shifts and Olympic training as “a privilege, not a chore.”

“My journey to this point has not been without challenges, mainly balancing the demands of training full time with working a few shifts per week in a highly pressured hospital environment,” her statement read.

“Having a strong perspective on life is something I pride myself on and I am incredibly proud of how I achieved my curling goals, particularly in this last year as an NHS Staff Nurse during a global pandemic.”

Wright will marry Greg Drummond, a former teammate of David Murdoch and British Curling’s mixed doubles coach, later this summer.

Women’s curling has suffered from a spate of recent athlete pauses and retirements, which include then-26-year-old Elena Stern of Switzerland, and 33-year-old Canadian Joanne Courtney.