Emphatic win for Muirhead's team
Great Britain's women's curling team recorded the first win of their Sochi 2014 Winter Olympics campaign in emphatic style on Tuesday by defeating the United States 12-3 inside six ends in their second round-robin fixture.
Looking to bounce back from Monday's 6-4 loss to Vancouver 2010 gold-medallists Sweden, Eve Muirhead's rink of Scottish world champions made a solid start against the Americans before registering seven points in the fourth end to surge 9-1 ahead.
The US pulled back two points in the fifth, but GB then added three more in the following end, prompting their opponents to concede defeat, their third in three games.
Team Muirhead's fourth-end tally was a new Olympic record, with it being the most points scored by either a men's or women's rink in a single end since curling, in its current format, was introduced to the Games programme in 1998.
And asked how it felt to be an Olympic record holder, Muirhead said: "You are going to take it, aren't you?
"I'm surprised actually a little bit that it is a record. But hey ho - we can say we are record-holders!"
The 23-year-old, who is the only one of her rink with Olympic experience from before Sochi having skipped a different GB side in Vancouver, added: "For me, there have been sevens thrown around, but for the girls to score a seven in their first Olympic win is fantastic.
"I think it was really important that we came out tonight and got that win on the board after yesterday, and it was definitely more like Team Muirhead.
"The four of us really pulled together and played well.
"Things aren't perfect just yet - we can still get better. But with the way we go about championships, we seem to start off slightly slow and then get better and better, so we can definitely build."
GB's next fixture is Wednesday's clash with Canada, winners of two out of two games so far.
Muirhead said: "We will go back tonight and have another good debrief like yesterday. Yesterday we learned a lot and really put that into our game today, changing a few bits.
"We know we are going to have to come out sharp against Canada. They have two wins and look like they are playing really well. It is going to be a tough game.
"I think we were a wee bit more relaxed tonight. For the girls, it is their first Olympic Games - it was their first Olympic curling game out there yesterday, and everyone was going to be a wee bit edgy.
"But I think now we have bedded in."
