Who are the Scots heading to the Winter Olympics?
Last updated on .From the section Winter Olympics
| 24th Winter Olympic Games |
|---|
| Hosts: Beijing, China Dates: 4-20 February |
| Coverage: Watch live on BBC TV, BBC iPlayer, BBC Red Button and online; listen on BBC Radio 5 Live and BBC Sounds; live text and highlights on BBC Sport website and mobile app |
Scottish athletes will make up more than a third of the 50-strong British team heading to the Winter Olympics at the beginning of February.
Among the 19 Scots, there are familiar names such as curler Eve Muirhead, who will compete in her fourth Games, but also plenty of athletes making their Olympic debuts.
Here, BBC Scotland introduces those representing the nation in China as part of the Great Britain squad.
Alpine skiing
Scottish representatives make up half of Team GB's alpine skiing contingent - and both are featuring at their second games.
Charlie Guest will go in the slalom and aim to improve on her 33rd place from Pyeongchang four years ago.
She came very close to quitting the sport altogether in the aftermath but has bounced back strongly to record the best form of her career, including a 13th place in a World Cup event in Austria this month.
Alex Tilley will also compete in the slalom and giant slalom events having failed to finish at the last games. The Aberdeenshire skier will join Guest, Billy Major and Dave Ryding in the team event, in which Team GB managed fifth last time out.
Cross-country skiing
Andrew Musgrave is back for a fourth Olympics, having finished seventh in the skiathlon in 2018 - Britain's best result in the sport. He says he is "confident" of a medal this time, having managed fourth place in a World Cup event earlier this season.
Andrew Young is also part of the group who have relocated to Norway and will be emulating his former Huntly Nordic Ski Club team-mate with an appearance at a fourth Olympic games. His previous best finish in an individual Olympic event is 37th in the 15km classic in 2014.
James Clugnet is the third member of the team and has a slight Scottish connection, having also had a stint at the same ski club under the auspices of Snowsport Scotland. He qualifies for Team GB through his English mother, having been born in France.
Curling
The sport that holds the most likely chances of a medal for Scotland's athletes. Of the 10 curlers going to Beijing, only Muirhead has been to an Olympics before.
This will be the 31-year-old's fourth Games, with her best performance coming in Sochi in 2014 when she led the women's team to a bronze medal. Muirhead will be joined this time by Vicky Wright, Jen Dodds and Hailey Duff, with Mili Smith coming as alternate.
The rink was only established as a unit last year but won the European Championship in December before coming through the nerve-shredding Olympic qualifier and will now target the podium.
Bruce Mouat will skip the men's side, which consists of Grant Hardie, Bobby Lammie, Hammy McMillan and Ross Whyte (alternate).
The group also won the European Championship in December, having finished as runners-up in the World Championship while also claiming two of the sport's prestigious grand slam titles last year. They arrive in Beijing as the top-ranked men's side in the world, so a medal is a realistic prospect.
Meanwhile, Mouat and Dodds also have the chance to secure an historic double gold when they compete in the mixed doubles before the team events get under way. The pair are childhood friends and won the world title together in Aberdeen last year.
Figure skating
Dundee skater Natasha McKay will make her Olympic debut and has two chances to make an impression. She goes in the short programme on 15 February and then the free skate two days later.
Ayrshire's Lewis Gibson will also compete at the Games for the first time, having been inspired to try the sport after watching the TV show Dancing on Ice. He will partner Lilah Fear in the ice dance.
Freestyle skiing
Seventeen-year-old Kirsty Muir is the youngest member of Team GB. At just 13, she was among the best freestyle skiers in Britain, last year got her first World Cup podium and finished sixth at the World Championships to add to two junior world medals and a Youth Olympics silver.
The journey - which started aged three on the dry slope in Aberdeen - will continue at a first senior Olympics as she competes in the slopestyle and big air events, in between studying for her school exams.
Short track speed skating
With Elise Christie now retired, Kathryn Thomson is flying the flag for Scotland in speed skating. The 25-year-old from Irvine will compete in the 500, 1000 and 1500m in Beijing, which will be her second Olympics.
Her focus will be improving the 24th place she secured in Pyeongchang four years ago over the shortest distance.
