Rhona Martin
Encyclopedia
Rhona Martin MBE
(born 12 October 1966, Ayrshire
, as Rhona Howie) is a Scottish
curler
who has skipped
the Scotland
women's team at both the European and World Championships, but is most famous as the skip of the Great Britain team that claimed the gold medal at the Olympic Winter Games in 2002.
team that won a silver medal at the European Championships
. With some significant changes in personnel, she returned to the championships in Chamonix the following year, where the team was narrowly edged out of the medal placings.
In 2000, Rhona's quartet finally broke through the psychological barrier of actually winning the Scottish championships, defeating the team led by former Olympic skip Kirsty Hay in the final, and were therefore entitled to represent Scotland at the World Championships
, held that year on home soil in Glasgow
. They performed well at the worlds, with a particular highlight being the defeat of the Canada
side skipped by Kelley Law
in the round-robin stage of the competition. However, Law earned her revenge against Scotland in the semi-finals, leading Canada to a 10-6 win, and Rhona's team were particularly disappointed to miss out on a medal of any colour by losing 10-5 to Dordi Nordby
's Norwegian
outfit in the subsequent play-off.
. Rhona had to wait anxiously as Ewart recovered from a slow start to string together an extraordinary sequence of wins, knowing that a gold for Scotland would take Ewart and her teammates to the Olympics, and a silver would result in a special play-off to decide the selection. However, Scotland were derailed in the semi-final by Sweden
, allowing Rhona to finally look ahead to her campaign in Salt Lake City.
Illness then came close to scuppering her chances, but she did make the plane journey, and she and her teammates found their Olympic form early, reaching the brink of qualification for the semi-finals by winning five out of their first seven matches. However, they failed to convert a golden opportunity against a USA team that came back to win with a steal at the death. This had a noticeably morale-sapping effect on Rhona, with the team succumbing with surprising ease to Germany
in the concluding round-robin match. The team's chances of progressing were thus taken out of their hands, with a Swiss
win over Germany now required to keep them in contention. That duly materialised, but they were still left with the daunting task of winning two successive tie-break matches just to reach the semi-finals. The prospect of a medal, which had days earlier seemed tantalisingly within reach, now looked very distant indeed.
However, Rhona and her team were surprisingly dominant in the first tie-break match against the multiple world championship-winning Sweden rink, and then claimed revenge against Germany to reach the semis. Awaiting them there was Kelley Law
's Canadian rink, who three of the Scottish team had lost to while playing for Scotland at the same stage of the 2000 World Championships. Rhona felt that this experience proved invaluable as they surged to a wholly unexpected win, which guaranteed them a medal. That medal then turned from a likely silver to an actual gold after Rhona successfully judged an incredibly difficult draw with her last stone in the final against Switzerland. The team of Rhona, Debbie Knox, Fiona MacDonald
and Janice Rankin
thus became Great Britain's first gold medallists in any sport at the Winter Olympics since Jayne Torvill
and Christopher Dean
danced to "Bolero" in 1984. Later that year, Martin was awarded an MBE for services to curling.
's rink in the three-match final of the Scottish Championships, played within days of their return to Scotland. However, Lockhart subsequently made headlines by winning the world championships for Scotland, and by selecting precisely the same stone used by Rhona to seal victory in the Olympics for her own winning delivery. The ubiquitous rock was dubbed the Stone of Destiny
, and is now housed in a Scottish sports museum.
In 2005, Rhona was back on the world stage, when her all-star team (including Lockhart at the second position) finished 5th at the European Championships.
Prior to the 2006 Winter Olympics
, it was reported that Martin was living on welfare and that her financial problems were causing her to live apart from her husband. Her husband Keith had recently had his computer business go "bad" and they were forced to move into government housing. Martin had considered quitting curling, but her two children encouraged her to stay. Martin skipped the British olympic team to the 2006 Winter Olympics
. Despite the team's best efforts, Rhona's squad were knocked out of the 2006 Winter Olympics
, even after beating the USA 10-4 in just 6 ends. The only thing that would have led them through was if Denmark had beaten Canada in their match, but this was not to be. The Danish team levelled at 8 - 8 but Canada took 1 in the last end, knocking the GB team out and depriving Rhona and her team of the opportunity to defend their Gold medal from 2002.
Rhona joined the BBC commentary team for the 2010 Vancouver Winter Olympics
, overseeing the curling along with Steve Cram
.
MBE
MBE can stand for:* Mail Boxes Etc.* Management by exception* Master of Bioethics* Master of Bioscience Enterprise* Master of Business Engineering* Master of Business Economics* Mean Biased Error...
(born 12 October 1966, Ayrshire
East Ayrshire
East Ayrshire is one of 32 council areas of Scotland. It borders on to North Ayrshire, East Renfrewshire, South Lanarkshire, South Ayrshire and Dumfries and Galloway...
, as Rhona Howie) is a Scottish
Scotland
Scotland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Occupying the northern third of the island of Great Britain, it shares a border with England to the south and is bounded by the North Sea to the east, the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, and the North Channel and Irish Sea to the...
curler
Curling
Curling is a sport in which players slide stones across a sheet of ice towards a target area. It is related to bowls, boule and shuffleboard. Two teams, each of four players, take turns sliding heavy, polished granite stones, also called "rocks", across the ice curling sheet towards the house, a...
who has skipped
Skip (curling)
The skip, in conjunction with the team, determines strategy. Based on the strategy, the skip holds the broom indicating where the player throwing must aim . When it is the skip's turn to throw, the vice-skip holds the broom...
the Scotland
Scotland
Scotland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Occupying the northern third of the island of Great Britain, it shares a border with England to the south and is bounded by the North Sea to the east, the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, and the North Channel and Irish Sea to the...
women's team at both the European and World Championships, but is most famous as the skip of the Great Britain team that claimed the gold medal at the Olympic Winter Games in 2002.
Early career
For a long time best known in Scottish curling circles for her uncanny knack of repeatedly failing to win the national championships at the final hurdle, Rhona finally won the right to appear in a major international championship in 1998, where she was skip of the ScotlandScotland
Scotland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Occupying the northern third of the island of Great Britain, it shares a border with England to the south and is bounded by the North Sea to the east, the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, and the North Channel and Irish Sea to the...
team that won a silver medal at the European Championships
European Curling Championships
The European Curling Championships are annual curling tournaments held in Europe between various European nations and hosted by the European Curling Federation. The European Curling Championships are usually held in early to mid December...
. With some significant changes in personnel, she returned to the championships in Chamonix the following year, where the team was narrowly edged out of the medal placings.
In 2000, Rhona's quartet finally broke through the psychological barrier of actually winning the Scottish championships, defeating the team led by former Olympic skip Kirsty Hay in the final, and were therefore entitled to represent Scotland at the World Championships
World Curling Championships
The World Curling Championships are annual curling events which showcase the world's best curlers, organized by the World Curling Federation. There are men's, women's and mixed championships. The men's championship started in 1959, while the women's in 1979...
, held that year on home soil in Glasgow
Glasgow
Glasgow is the largest city in Scotland and third most populous in the United Kingdom. The city is situated on the River Clyde in the country's west central lowlands...
. They performed well at the worlds, with a particular highlight being the defeat of the Canada
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
side skipped by Kelley Law
Kelley Law
Kelley Law formerly known as Kelley Atkins and Kelley Owen is a Canadian curler from Coquitlam, British Columbia...
in the round-robin stage of the competition. However, Law earned her revenge against Scotland in the semi-finals, leading Canada to a 10-6 win, and Rhona's team were particularly disappointed to miss out on a medal of any colour by losing 10-5 to Dordi Nordby
Dordi Nordby
Dordi Agate Nordby, , is a Norwegian right-handed curler from Snarøya. Nordby has amassed an array of medals in major international competitions over a career spanning three decades, including two world championship gold medals and two European championship gold medals.Having made her international...
's Norwegian
Norway
Norway , officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic unitary constitutional monarchy whose territory comprises the western portion of the Scandinavian Peninsula, Jan Mayen, and the Arctic archipelago of Svalbard and Bouvet Island. Norway has a total area of and a population of about 4.9 million...
outfit in the subsequent play-off.
2002 Olympics
The fourth-place finish at the Worlds seemed to leave the team well-placed to secure their place as Great Britain's representatives at the Salt Lake City Olympics in 2002, selection for which was based on performances in the European and World Championships over the whole four-year Olympic cycle. Crucially, though, changes in the team's line-up meant that the European silver medal in 1998 was discounted, and this left the door open for the team skipped by former world junior champion Julia Ewart, which represented Scotland at the 2001 World Championships in LausanneLausanne
Lausanne is a city in Romandy, the French-speaking part of Switzerland, and is the capital of the canton of Vaud. The seat of the district of Lausanne, the city is situated on the shores of Lake Geneva . It faces the French town of Évian-les-Bains, with the Jura mountains to its north-west...
. Rhona had to wait anxiously as Ewart recovered from a slow start to string together an extraordinary sequence of wins, knowing that a gold for Scotland would take Ewart and her teammates to the Olympics, and a silver would result in a special play-off to decide the selection. However, Scotland were derailed in the semi-final by Sweden
Sweden
Sweden , officially the Kingdom of Sweden , is a Nordic country on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. Sweden borders with Norway and Finland and is connected to Denmark by a bridge-tunnel across the Öresund....
, allowing Rhona to finally look ahead to her campaign in Salt Lake City.
Illness then came close to scuppering her chances, but she did make the plane journey, and she and her teammates found their Olympic form early, reaching the brink of qualification for the semi-finals by winning five out of their first seven matches. However, they failed to convert a golden opportunity against a USA team that came back to win with a steal at the death. This had a noticeably morale-sapping effect on Rhona, with the team succumbing with surprising ease to Germany
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
in the concluding round-robin match. The team's chances of progressing were thus taken out of their hands, with a Swiss
Switzerland
Switzerland name of one of the Swiss cantons. ; ; ; or ), in its full name the Swiss Confederation , is a federal republic consisting of 26 cantons, with Bern as the seat of the federal authorities. The country is situated in Western Europe,Or Central Europe depending on the definition....
win over Germany now required to keep them in contention. That duly materialised, but they were still left with the daunting task of winning two successive tie-break matches just to reach the semi-finals. The prospect of a medal, which had days earlier seemed tantalisingly within reach, now looked very distant indeed.
However, Rhona and her team were surprisingly dominant in the first tie-break match against the multiple world championship-winning Sweden rink, and then claimed revenge against Germany to reach the semis. Awaiting them there was Kelley Law
Kelley Law
Kelley Law formerly known as Kelley Atkins and Kelley Owen is a Canadian curler from Coquitlam, British Columbia...
's Canadian rink, who three of the Scottish team had lost to while playing for Scotland at the same stage of the 2000 World Championships. Rhona felt that this experience proved invaluable as they surged to a wholly unexpected win, which guaranteed them a medal. That medal then turned from a likely silver to an actual gold after Rhona successfully judged an incredibly difficult draw with her last stone in the final against Switzerland. The team of Rhona, Debbie Knox, Fiona MacDonald
Fiona MacDonald
Fiona MacDonald is a Scottish curler and Olympic champion, born in Paisley. She received a gold medal at the 2002 Winter Olympics in Salt Lake City.-References:...
and Janice Rankin
Janice Rankin
Janice Rankin MBE is a Scottish curler and Olympic champion. She received a gold medal at the 2002 Winter Olympics in Salt Lake City, with team mates Rhona Martin , Deborah Knox, Fiona MacDonald and Margaret Morton.-References:...
thus became Great Britain's first gold medallists in any sport at the Winter Olympics since Jayne Torvill
Jayne Torvill
Jayne Torvill, OBE is a British ice dancer. With Christopher Dean, she won a gold medal at the 1984 Winter Olympics and a bronze medal at the 1994 Winter Olympics.-Early life:...
and Christopher Dean
Christopher Dean
Christopher Colin Dean, OBE is a famous British ice dancer who won a gold medal at the 1984 Winter Olympics with his skating partner Jayne Torvill...
danced to "Bolero" in 1984. Later that year, Martin was awarded an MBE for services to curling.
Post-Olympic career
Perhaps drained by their win, the team lost to Jackie LockhartJackie Lockhart
Jacqueline "Jackie" Lockhart is a Scottish curler who has competed prolifically in major international competitions for Scotland, and for the Great Britain team that competes at the Olympic Winter Games.Having made her international debut at the 1983 European Championships, she went on to claim a...
's rink in the three-match final of the Scottish Championships, played within days of their return to Scotland. However, Lockhart subsequently made headlines by winning the world championships for Scotland, and by selecting precisely the same stone used by Rhona to seal victory in the Olympics for her own winning delivery. The ubiquitous rock was dubbed the Stone of Destiny
Stone of Scone
The Stone of Scone , also known as the Stone of Destiny and often referred to in England as The Coronation Stone, is an oblong block of red sandstone, used for centuries in the coronation of the monarchs of Scotland and later the monarchs of England, Great Britain and the United Kingdom...
, and is now housed in a Scottish sports museum.
In 2005, Rhona was back on the world stage, when her all-star team (including Lockhart at the second position) finished 5th at the European Championships.
Prior to the 2006 Winter Olympics
2006 Winter Olympics
The 2006 Winter Olympics, officially known as the XX Olympic Winter Games, was a winter multi-sport event which was celebrated in Turin, Italy from February 10, 2006, through February 26, 2006. This marked the second time Italy hosted the Olympic Winter Games, the first being the VII Olympic Winter...
, it was reported that Martin was living on welfare and that her financial problems were causing her to live apart from her husband. Her husband Keith had recently had his computer business go "bad" and they were forced to move into government housing. Martin had considered quitting curling, but her two children encouraged her to stay. Martin skipped the British olympic team to the 2006 Winter Olympics
2006 Winter Olympics
The 2006 Winter Olympics, officially known as the XX Olympic Winter Games, was a winter multi-sport event which was celebrated in Turin, Italy from February 10, 2006, through February 26, 2006. This marked the second time Italy hosted the Olympic Winter Games, the first being the VII Olympic Winter...
. Despite the team's best efforts, Rhona's squad were knocked out of the 2006 Winter Olympics
2006 Winter Olympics
The 2006 Winter Olympics, officially known as the XX Olympic Winter Games, was a winter multi-sport event which was celebrated in Turin, Italy from February 10, 2006, through February 26, 2006. This marked the second time Italy hosted the Olympic Winter Games, the first being the VII Olympic Winter...
, even after beating the USA 10-4 in just 6 ends. The only thing that would have led them through was if Denmark had beaten Canada in their match, but this was not to be. The Danish team levelled at 8 - 8 but Canada took 1 in the last end, knocking the GB team out and depriving Rhona and her team of the opportunity to defend their Gold medal from 2002.
Rhona joined the BBC commentary team for the 2010 Vancouver Winter Olympics
2010 Winter Olympics
The 2010 Winter Olympics, officially the XXI Olympic Winter Games or the 21st Winter Olympics, were a major international multi-sport event held from February 12–28, 2010, in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada, with some events held in the suburbs of Richmond, West Vancouver and the University...
, overseeing the curling along with Steve Cram
Steve Cram
Stephen "Steve" Cram MBE is a British retired athlete. Along with fellow Britons Sebastian Coe and Steve Ovett, he was one of the world's dominant middle distance runners during the 1980s. Nicknamed "The Jarrow Arrow", Cram set world records in the 1500 metres, 2000 metres and the mile during a...
.