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Vicky Wright

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Vicky Wright
MBE
Curler
Other namesVictoria Drummond
Born
Victoria Wright

(1993-08-15) 15 August 1993 (age 31)
Dumfries, Scotland
Team
Curling clubLeswalt CC, Leswalt, Scotland
Curling career
Member Association Scotland
 Great Britain
World Championship
appearances		2 (2018, 2021)
European Championship
appearances		3 (2018, 2019, 2021)
Olympic
appearances		1 (2022)
Medal record
Women's Curling
Representing  Great Britain
Olympic Games
Gold medal – first place 2022 Beijing
Representing  Scotland
European Curling Championship
Gold medal – first place 2021 Lillehammer
Silver medal – second place 2019 Helsingborg
Scottish Women's Curling Championship
Gold medal – first place 2018 Perth
Gold medal – first place 2020 Perth
Silver medal – second place 2016 Perth
Silver medal – second place 2017 Perth
Silver medal – second place 2019 Perth
Bronze medal – third place 2014 Perth
World Junior Curling Championships
Silver medal – second place 2013 Sochi

Victoria Drummond[1][2] MBE (born 15 August 1993), better known as Vicky Wright is a retired[3] Scottish curler from Stranraer,[4] and 2022 Olympic Champion in women's curling,[5] playing third on Team Muirhead.

Career

[edit]

Before playing for Muirhead, Wright curled for Hannah Fleming. She was the alternate for Scotland at the 2013 World Junior Curling Championships, where the team won a silver medal.[6] She won the 2018 Scottish Women's Curling Championship as lead for Fleming to qualify for her first World Championship.[7] At the 2018 World Women's Curling Championship, the team struggled, finishing the round robin with a 5–7 record.[8]

For the 2018–19 season, Wright joined team Muirhead as the alternate. She played for the team at the first leg of the 2018–19 Curling World Cup as Muirhead had a hip injury.[9] They finished in sixth with a 2–4 record.[10] She played in her first European Curling Championships at the 2018 European Curling Championships. The team had a disappointing performance, finishing with a 4–5 record and missing the playoffs.[11] At the 2019 Scottish Women's Curling Championships, the team qualified for the final but lost to Sophie Jackson 11–7.[12] Wright also played in the International Mixed Doubles Dumfries that season with Craig Waddell where they lost in the quarterfinals.[13] To finish off the season, Team Muirhead won the 2019 WCT Arctic Cup.[14]

The following season, Wright replaced Vicki Chalmers on the team due to Chalmers stepping away from competitive curling. The team won their first event of the 2019–20 season, the 2019 Cameron's Brewing Oakville Fall Classic.[15] At the 2019 European Curling Championships, the Muirhead rink reached the final where they lost to Sweden's Anna Hasselborg, claiming the silver medal.[16] In early January, they won the Mercure Perth Masters.[17] Team Muirhead claimed the 2020 Scottish Women's Curling Championship by defeating Maggie Wilson 8–3 in the championship game.[18] The team was set to represent Scotland at the 2020 World Women's Curling Championship before the event got cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic.[19][20] In Grand Slam play, they played in three events and qualified in one of them, the 2019 National where they lost in the quarterfinals to Jennifer Jones.[21]

Due to the ongoing pandemic, a limited number of tour events were held during the 2020–21 season. Team Muirhead did play in a series of domestic events put on by the British Curling Association, where they won the January Challenge event and finished runner-up to Team Gina Aitken in the Elite Finals.[22][23] Wright and her mixed doubles partner Grant Hardie lost in the final of the December event to Jennifer Dodds and Bruce Mouat. A "curling bubble" was set up in Calgary, Canada in the spring, which hosted several events, including the 2021 World Women's Curling Championship and two slams.[24] Team Muirhead competed in both the 2021 Champions Cup and the 2021 Players' Championship, failing to qualify at both events. The next week, the team represented Scotland at the World's, finishing with a disappointing 6–7, in eighth place.[25]

Because of Scotland's disappointing finish at the 2021 World Championship, the country was relegated to compete in the 2021 Olympic Qualification Event to earn their spot in the 2022 Winter Olympics. To maximize its chances of securing Olympic qualification, British Curling implemented a squad system for nine of its top-level female curlers, five of which would make the team for the 2021 European Curling Championships and the Olympic Qualification Event.[26] The nine players alternated teams and lineups throughout the five tryout events they competed in: the 2021 Euro Super Series, the 2021 Saint Petersburg Classic, the 2021 The Challenger, the 2021 Women's Masters Basel and the 2021 Curlers Corner Autumn Gold Curling Classic. Wright had successful results at each of the five events, winning The Challenger and finishing runner-up at the Saint Petersburg Classic. She also made the semifinal of the Euro Super Series. On 25 October 2021, British Curling officially announced its team for the European Championship: skip Eve Muirhead, Wright at third, second Jennifer Dodds, lead Hailey Duff and alternate Mili Smith. It was the same lineup that claimed the title at The Challenger.[27] Prior to the Europeans, the new look Team Muirhead competed in the WCT Tallinn Ladies Challenger where they went undefeated to claim the title.[28]

At the European Championship, the team was the class of the field, finishing 8–1 through the round robin and qualifying for the playoffs as the number one seed. In the semifinal, they defeated Germany's Daniela Jentsch 7–4 and then went on to win the gold medal by defeating Sweden's Anna Hasselborg by the same score. It was Scotland's first European women's title since 2017.[29] Their win at the European Championship secured their spot as the British team for the Olympic Qualification Event.[30] There, the team posted a 6–2 record through the round robin, finishing tied for first with South Korea's Kim Eun-jung and Japan's Satsuki Fujisawa. The tie for the first Olympic spot was broken by draw shot challenge totals, which Great Britain had the best of between the three rinks. This earned the team direct qualification into the Olympic Games without having to play in the qualification games.[31] On 23 December 2021, Muirhead, Wright, Dodds, Duff, and Smith were officially named to the British Olympic team.[32]

At the Games, the British team had mixed results through the round robin. Always remaining in the middle of the pact, the team won their last round robin game over the ROC to finish with a 5–4 record, tied for third with Japan's Fujisawa and Canada's Jennifer Jones. Once again, due to draw shot challenge tiebreaking totals, the team qualified for the playoffs, this time as the third seed.[33] In the semifinal, they faced Sweden's Hasselborg in a rematch of the 2021 European final. Things did not get off to a good start for the team, giving up four points in the first end. They managed to battle their way back, however, stealing a single in the fifth end to tie the score at five-all. After taking four in the ninth end for a commanding 11–8 lead, Sweden scored three in the tenth end to tie the game and force an extra end. There, Muirhead secured the single point for a 12–11 victory and a spot for the team in the gold medal game.[34] In the final, the British team was dominant against Fujisawa's Japanese team, never trailing en route to a 10–3 victory and the Olympic gold medal.[35] The "golden girls" ended their incredible season with a quarterfinal finish at the 2022 Players' Championship.[36]

On 17 May 2022, Wright announced her retirement from the sport.[37]

Wright was appointed Member of the Order of the British Empire (MBE) in the 2022 Birthday Honours for services to curling.[38]

Personal life

[edit]

Wright studied nursing at Glasgow Caledonian University, and works as a nurse[39] at Forth Valley Royal Hospital in Larbert.[40][41] She is married to fellow curler Greg Drummond.[1] In her youth she was also a swimmer. She currently lives in Stirling.[42]

Teams

[edit]
Season Skip Third Second Lead Alternate
2011–12[43] Jennifer Dodds Rebecca Kesley Mhairi Baird Vicky Wright
2012–13 Jennifer Martin Hazel Smith Vicky Wright Mhairi Baird
2013–14 Jennifer Martin Hazel Smith Vicky Wright Mhairi Baird
2014–15 Lauren Gray Jennifer Dodds Vicky Wright Mhairi Baird
2015–16 Lauren Gray Jennifer Dodds Vicky Wright Mhairi Baird
2016–17 Hannah Fleming Jennifer Dodds Alice Spence Vicky Wright
2017–18 Hannah Fleming Jennifer Dodds Alice Spence Vicky Wright Sophie Jackson
2018–19 Eve Muirhead Jennifer Dodds Vicki Chalmers Lauren Gray Vicky Wright
2019–20 Eve Muirhead Lauren Gray Jennifer Dodds Vicky Wright
2020–21 Eve Muirhead Vicky Wright Jennifer Dodds Lauren Gray Sophie Sinclair
2021–22 Eve Muirhead Vicky Wright Jennifer Dodds Hailey Duff Mili Smith

References

[edit]
  1. ^ a b "Forth Valley nurse Vicky Drummond receives MBE to go with curling gold medal". The Falkirk Herald. 18 January 2023. Retrieved 7 March 2024.
  2. ^ "Le Gruyère AOP European Curling Championships 2019" (PDF). World-curling-federation.s3-eu-west-1.amazonaws.com. Retrieved 2 July 2022.
  3. ^ @VickyWright14 (17 May 2022). ""It is with much pride I announce my retirement from full time curling"" (Tweet) – via Twitter.
  4. ^ "Dumfries and Galloway curlers take Team GB through to Olympic gold medal game". ITV. ITV News Border. 17 February 2022. Archived from the original on 17 February 2022. Retrieved 9 March 2022.
  5. ^ "2021 World Women's Curling Championship Media Guide" (PDF). Curling Canada. Retrieved 30 April 2021.
  6. ^ "2013 World Junior Curling Championship". World Curling Federation. Retrieved 2 September 2019.
  7. ^ "2018 Scottish Women's Curling Championship Final Match Report". Scottish Curling. Retrieved 2 September 2019.
  8. ^ "2018 World Women's Curling Championship". World Curling Federation. Retrieved 2 September 2019.
  9. ^ "Perthshire Curler Eve Muirhead to undergo surgery". Daily Record. 6 April 2018. Retrieved 2 September 2019.
  10. ^ "2018–19 Curling World Cup – First Leg Teams". Curling World Cup. Archived from the original on 9 September 2018. Retrieved 2 September 2019.
  11. ^ "2018 European Curling Championship". World Curling Federation. Retrieved 2 September 2019.
  12. ^ "2019 Scottish Women's Curling Championship". CurlingZone. Retrieved 2 September 2019.
  13. ^ "Wright/Waddell 2019 International Mixed Doubles Dumfries". CurlingZone. Retrieved 2 September 2019.
  14. ^ "WCT Arctic Curling Cup finished in Dudinka, Russia". Arctic Cup. Retrieved 2 September 2019.
  15. ^ "2019 Cameron's Brewing Oakville Fall Classic". CurlingZone. Retrieved 26 July 2020.
  16. ^ Cheyenne Boone (23 November 2019). "Sweden women defend European title on last stone thriller". World Curling Federation. Retrieved 11 November 2020.
  17. ^ "2020 Perth Masters Finals". Perth Masters. Retrieved 11 November 2020.
  18. ^ "Team Muirhead – Scottish Curling Women's Champions 2020". Scottish Curling. 15 February 2020. Retrieved 11 November 2020.
  19. ^ The Canadian Press (12 March 2020). "World Women's Curling Championship Cancelled". The Sports Network. Retrieved 11 November 2020.
  20. ^ "World Women's Curling Championship 2020 cancelled in Prince George, Canada". World Curling Federation. 12 March 2020. Retrieved 11 November 2020.
  21. ^ "Video: – 2019 National Women's Quarterfinals – Eve Muirhead vs Jennifer Jones". CBC. Retrieved 11 November 2020.
  22. ^ "British Curling NCA January Challenge – Women's". CurlingZone. Retrieved 9 May 2021.
  23. ^ "British Curling NCA Women's Elite Finals". CurlingZone. Retrieved 9 May 2021.
  24. ^ "Women's Worlds added to bubble". Curling Canada. 5 March 2021. Retrieved 9 May 2021.
  25. ^ Jackie Spiegel (9 May 2021). "World Women's Curling Championship 2021: Results, standings, schedule and TV channel". Sporting News. Retrieved 9 May 2021.
  26. ^ "British Curling Athletes For Season 2021-22". British Curling. 12 July 2021. Retrieved 21 March 2023.
  27. ^ "World champs Dodds and Muirhead included in Scotland team for Euros". British Curling. 25 October 2021. Retrieved 21 March 2023.
  28. ^ "2021 Tallinn Ladies International Challenger". CurlingZone. Retrieved 21 March 2023.
  29. ^ "Week ends in golden glow for Scottish women at Euros". British Curling. 27 November 2021. Retrieved 21 March 2023.
  30. ^ "Title win sets golden girls up for Olympic Qualifier". British Curling. 29 November 2021. Retrieved 21 March 2023.
  31. ^ "Scotland women qualify for Beijing 2022, while Japan, Korea and Latvia secure play-off spots at the OQE". World Curling Federation. 16 December 2021. Retrieved 21 March 2023.
  32. ^ "Team GB selects women's curling team for Beijing 2022". British Curling. 23 December 2021. Retrieved 21 March 2023.
  33. ^ "Great Britain and Japan women complete play-off picture". World Curling Federation. 17 February 2022. Retrieved 21 March 2023.
  34. ^ "Japan and Great Britain advance to the women's Olympic final". World Curling Federation. 18 February 2022. Retrieved 21 March 2023.
  35. ^ "Great Britain women capture Olympic gold in Beijing". World Curling Federation. 20 February 2022. Retrieved 21 March 2023.
  36. ^ Jonathan Brazeau (16 April 2022). "Einarson fends off Fujisawa to advance to Players' Championship semifinals". Grand Slam of Curling. Retrieved 21 March 2023.
  37. ^ George Walker (17 May 2022). "Another Young Curling Champion Retires". Sports Illustrated. Retrieved 17 May 2022.
  38. ^ "No. 63714". The London Gazette (Supplement). 1 June 2022. p. B26.
  39. ^ "2020 World Women's Curling Championship Media Guide" (PDF). Curling Canada. Retrieved 9 March 2020.
  40. ^ "Scottish Champ Vicky Wright Rejoins NHS Front Line". British Curling. 23 March 2020. Retrieved 23 March 2020.
  41. ^ Westerby, John (24 March 2020). "Great Britain curler Vicky Wright joins the coronavirus fight". The Times. Retrieved 24 March 2020.
  42. ^ "Vicky WRIGHT". 2022 Winter Olympics. Archived from the original on 19 February 2022. Retrieved 19 February 2022.
  43. ^ "Vicky Wright Past Teams". CurlingZone. Retrieved 11 November 2020.
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