GREG DRUMMOND TAKES OVER AS OLYMPIC HEAD COACH HEADING TOWARDS MILAN-CORTINA?

20230509 9TH MAY 2023

奧運會獎牌得主和兩屆世界錦標賽冠軍教練格雷格-德拉蒙德已被任命為英國冰壺運動的新任奧運總教練，并將立即開始他的新角色。

這位34歲的選手取代了他在2014年索契奧運會上的隊友大衛(wèi)-默多克，默多克在今年早些時候離開，成為加拿大冰壺協(xié)會的高性能總監(jiān)，他在擔任教練期間建立了令人印象深刻的聲譽，包括在2021年和2022年分別指導(dǎo)兩支隊伍在世界混合雙打錦標賽上獲得了金牌。

他沉浸在這項運動中，與他的妻子Vicky住在斯特林，離國家冰壺學院很近，Vicky是2021/22賽季贏得奧運和歐洲金牌的女隊的一員，在北京勝利后她退出了精英計劃。 作為球員時代的奧運會和兩屆世界錦標賽決賽選手，他也是四屆蘇格蘭冠軍，此前曾在公共部門從事財務(wù)工作，他將自己的球員生涯與完成商業(yè)和企業(yè)體育的學士學位結(jié)合起來，然后在2018年加入英國冰壺協(xié)會工作人員后，在國際體育管理的研究生學位上發(fā)展自己的教練生涯。

經(jīng)過緊張的面試過程，德拉蒙德現(xiàn)在負責一個系統(tǒng)，在這個系統(tǒng)中，他是在過去兩年中取得空前成功的一個組成部分，詹-多茲和布魯斯-穆特贏得的2021年世界錦標賽金牌是英國冰壺隊在過去兩年中在主要錦標賽中取得的第一個勝利。因此，他完全致力于創(chuàng)造這條金牌生產(chǎn)線的過程。 "他說："我們?nèi)〉玫木薮蟪晒ψC明了作為我們計劃一部分的所有運動員、教練員和從業(yè)人員所做的工作，而這是一個在此基礎(chǔ)上繼續(xù)發(fā)展的好機會。

"近期的目標是確保我們繼續(xù)成為一個領(lǐng)先的冰壺國家，這意味著要不斷地向前看，以確保我們通過一種運動員和工作人員都感到自豪的模式來提供和發(fā)展該計劃，并使他們感到有動力渴望成為提供這種卓越的途徑的一部分。" 在說這些話的時候，他敏銳地意識到，新的奧運周期剛剛開始一年，就有一些挑戰(zhàn)需要解決，尤其是在女子比賽方面，因為他的妻子是上個賽季結(jié)束時離開該計劃的那支北京冠軍隊的三名成員之一，還有英國比賽歷史上最出色的冰壺運動員伊芙-穆爾海德和米利-史密斯。

"不言而喻，我們經(jīng)歷了一個過渡期，一批運動員退役，新的運動員和教練加入，這是一個奧運周期結(jié)束時不可避免的變化期，"德拉蒙德說。 "然而，我們正處于一個新的奧運周期的早期，這是一個令人興奮的前景，也是一個我完全打算充分利用的機會，支持我們的運動員在冰上和冰下的發(fā)展，使他們能夠以世界級的表現(xiàn)提供良好和最大的潛力。

"這是一個積極的地方，也是這個奧運周期的一個偉大起點，因為我們旨在實現(xiàn)我們的目標和目的。起點是一個強大的起點，我們有一個強大的基礎(chǔ)。" 德拉蒙德從自己的球員時代起就目睹了英國冰壺運動的巨大變化，因此，他的新工作是這種經(jīng)驗和年輕活力的理想結(jié)合，認識到需要不斷尋求新的方式來增加系統(tǒng)的價值，同時在已經(jīng)完成的堅實工作的基礎(chǔ)上，特別是自2017年國家冰壺學院開辦以來。

"我從運動員過渡到績效教練，自從做出這一改變后，我從多年來管理多達20多名運動員中積累了知識和經(jīng)驗，"德拉蒙德說。 "我很喜歡成為一個專門的教練團隊的一部分，這將是我的第一個高級管理職位，但我很期待這個職位，尋求在過去四年所取得的成就的基礎(chǔ)上，在主要的錦標賽中取得成果。 "我希望看到下一個周期繼續(xù)取得全球成功，同時管理一個系統(tǒng)，看到我們所有的運動員茁壯成長，為持續(xù)的領(lǐng)獎臺成績做出貢獻。 "每屆奧運會之后，都有機會進行反思和重新評估，以確保我們的努力和對進程的應(yīng)用是朝著最好和正確的方向發(fā)展。 "在這個時候上任，隨著運動員和工作人員參與集體追求在米蘭-科蒂納及以后的比賽中取得獎牌和目標，我想確保每個人都為成為這個團隊和我們世界級項目的一部分而感到自豪。

"體育是一個快速變化的環(huán)境，像國家冰壺學院這樣的世界級設(shè)施的價值永遠不能被低估，它為我們的成功提供了一個平臺，我完全打算利用這一設(shè)施來達到最佳效果，因此我們每天都在不斷地創(chuàng)新和發(fā)展我們的工作。" 英國冰壺協(xié)會的執(zhí)行業(yè)績總監(jiān)Nigel Holl歡迎德拉蒙德進入他的新角色，因為他從眾多國內(nèi)和海外申請人中脫穎而出。 "他說："我不得不說，看到我們自己的教練在格雷格作為全職教練加入項目后的四年中不斷發(fā)展，我感到非常滿意和高興，尤其是因為這展示了其他人和我們的運動員在比賽生涯結(jié)束后可以獲得的機會。 "格雷格在2018年以運動員身份離開該計劃后，已經(jīng)學到了很多東西，他通過了一個嚴格的面試過程，該過程由一個有成就的、備受矚目的專家小組進行，其中包括英國體育部的教練顧問勞里-麥克唐納、2018年奧運會主帥邁克-海伊MBE、伊芙-穆爾黑德OBE、蘇格蘭冰壺協(xié)會臨時首席執(zhí)行官文森特-布賴森和我們自己的性能服務(wù)主管戴夫-利斯，他是他們的一致選擇。"

Olympic medallist and two-time World Championship winning coach Greg Drummond has been appointed British Curling’s new Olympic Head Coach and will begin his new role with immediate effect.

The 34-year-old replaces his 2014 Sochi Olympic teammate David Murdoch, who left earlier this year to become Curling Canada’s High Performance Director and does so having built an impressive reputation as a coach, including guiding two separate teams to gold medals at the World Mixed Doubles Championships in 2021 and 2022.?

Immersed in the sport, he lives in Stirling, close to the National Curling Academy, with his wife Vicky who was part of the women’s team that won Olympic and European gold in the 2021/22 season, before she retired from the elite programme following that Beijing triumph.

As an Olympic and two-time World Championship finalist in his playing days, he is also a four-time Scottish Champion who previously worked in public sector finance, having combined his playing career with completing a BA in Business and Enterprise Sport before undertaking a post-graduate degree in International Sports Management while developing his coaching career after joining the British Curling staff in 2018.

Following an intense interview process, Drummond now takes charge of a system in which he has been an integral part of delivering unprecedented success in the last two years, that 2021 World Championship gold medal win for Jen Dodds and Bruce Mouat having been the first of 10 victories in major championships for British Curling teams in the past two years. He is consequently fully committed to the processes that have created this gold medal production line.?

“The tremendous success we have enjoyed is testament to the work being done by all the athletes, coaches and practitioners that are part of our programme and this is a great opportunity to build on that,” he said.

“Immediate goals are to ensure we continue to be a leading curling nation, which means constantly looking forward to ensure that we keep delivering and developing the programme through a model that both athletes and staff are proud to be part of and in which they feel motivated to aspire to be part of a pathway that delivers such excellence.”

In saying so, he is acutely aware that just a year into a new Olympic cycle, there are challenges to be addressed, not least in the women’s game since his wife was one of three members of that Beijing winning team to leave the programme at the end of last season, along with the most decorated curler in the history of the British game, Eve Muirhead and Mili Smith.

“It goes without saying that we have experienced a transition period with a cohort of athletes retiring and new athletes and coaches coming on board which is the inevitable period of change at the end of an Olympic cycle,” Drummond observed.

“However we are early in a new Olympiad, which is an exciting prospect and an opportunity I fully intend to make the most of by supporting the development of our athletes both on and off the ice to a point where they can deliver well and to their utmost potential with world class performances.

“It is a positive place to be and a great launchpad for this Olympic cycle as we aim to realise our targets and goals. The starting point is a strong one and we have a strong foundation.”

Drummond has seen massive change in the British Curling set-up since his own playing days and consequently takes on his new job with an ideal combination of that experience and youthful energy, recognising the need to constantly seek new ways of adding value to the system, while building on the solid work that has already been done, particularly since the opening of the National Curling Academy in 2017.

“I made the transition from athlete to performance coach and since making that change I have built my knowledge and experience from managing upwards of 20 athletes over the years,” said Drummond.

“I have enjoyed being part of a dedicated coaching team and this will be my first senior management role, but one I am looking forward to, seeking to build on what I have achieved over the past four years, delivering results at major championships.

“I want to see the next cycle continue the global successes, while also managing a system that sees all of our athletes thrive and contributing to on-going podium results.

“After every Olympics there is an opportunity to reflect and re-assess to ensure our endeavours and application to the process is heading in the best and the right direction.

“Coming into the role at this point, with the engagement of athletes and staff in that collective pursuit of delivering medals and targets in Milan-Cortina and beyond, I want to ensure that everyone is proud to be part of this team and our world class programme.?

“Sport is a fast changing environment and the value of a world class facility like the National Curling Academy, which has provided a platform for so much of our success, can never be underestimated and I fully intend to utilise that facility to best effect so we are continually innovating and developing what we do on a daily basis.”

British Curling’s Executive Performance Director Nigel Holl welcomed Drummond into his new role after he emerged from a strong field of domestic and overseas applicants.

“I would have to say that it generates huge satisfaction and pleasure to see one of our own coaches developing as Greg has in the four years since he joined the programme as a full time coach, not least because it demonstrates the opportunities available to others and our athletes after their playing careers,” he said.

“Greg has learned the ropes since departing the programme as an athlete in 2018 and he came through a rigorous interview process conducted by an accomplished and highly regarded panel of expertise which included Laurie MacDonald, Coaching Advisor at UK Sport, 2018 Olympic Chef de Mission Mike Hay MBE, Eve Muirhead OBE, Scottish Curling interim Chief Executive Vincent Bryson and our own Head Of Performance Services Dave Leith and he was their unanimous choice.”

Images: Team GB/ David Pearce, WCF/ Richard Gray &Celine Stucki

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