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It’s the ‘Wright’ time to go

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By Euan Maxwell
Sport
It’s the ‘Wright’ time to go

DUMFRIES-BORN Olympics champion Vicky Wright has retired from curling to fully focus on her nursing career and family life.

The 28-year-old played a pivotal part of the women’s team that won Olympic gold in Beijing, the nation’s first in the sport for 20 years.

Wright stated after the “most incredible experience” in being victorious that she had “much pride” in announcing her retirement from full-time curling.

She added: “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.

“Over the years I have played with many fantastic teammates, each one of them unique in their own way. I want to thank them all for helping me to be the curler I am today.”

Wright began her curling journey aged 12, tasted success at a junior level as an alternate to the Scottish team that won silver at the 2013 World Junior Championships.

But she made her name for herself when she joined Eve Muirhead’s rink as an alternate for the 2018-19 campaign.

Wright was part of the team that secured European silver in 2019 but with the addition of Jennifer Dodds and then Hailey Duff for the 2021-22 season the rink reached new heights, taking European gold at their first major Championship together.

At the start of the coronavirus pandemic Wright, who studied nursing at Glasgow Caledonian University, returned to the NHS frontline at NHS Forth Valley Hospital, and continued to do so even when she was playing top level curling.

Wright added: “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.

“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 when I kept up my shift work as an NHS staff nurse during a global pandemic.

“To turn up at training in the final few months of preparation for the Games on the back of a night shift was a privilege, not a chore.”

Tributes for Vicky poured in across all corners of the sport, including her skip Muirhead.

She said: “It took a lot of encouragement and persuasion to show Vicky she was one of the best players in the world.

“Vicky is always someone we go to if we’re not feeling great because we get great advice, but she’s someone who just cares so much about everyone.”

However, Wright has hinted she hasn’t thrown her last stone.

She said: “Although I am retiring from full time curling, I hope not to be a stranger to the game.

“I plan to keep my eye in and play some games with my friends and who knows you might see us on the ice at an event next season!”

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