Salt Lake City curlers: Fiona MacDonald

Members of Britain's victorious Winter Olympics curling team reflect on their win in Salt Lake City in 2002 and assess the side's prospects for Turin in February.

Then

MacDonald, a former world junior champion, was the youngest member of the Salt Lake City team at 27.

Husband Ewan was in the men's team in Utah but missed out on a medal - and a cuddle, after Fiona spilled the beans on their "no nookie" rule during events.

It was like all our dreams fell into place in a split second. The medal ceremony is the moment that will never leave us. It was so special, realising we were out there representing our country in front of a sea of British flags.

We had no idea, thank goodness, about all the hype back home. I wouldn't say it has changed my life, but I'll always be able to say I'm an Olympic gold medallist.

I'm looking forward to being able to tell my baby son Jake all about it in future.

Now

MacDonald quit curling in January 2003 to concentrate on her career as an account manager at an Inverness bank and to start a family.

Ewan MacDonald will again be competing for the British men's team in Turin.

I'd achieved the pinnacle of my sport but I made a lot of sacrifices along the way. It was the right time for me to move on and have a bit of a normal life.

The new team are still going through an adjusting stage, getting to know each other and gelling on and off the ice.

I feel that you need to know your team very well, and I don't believe the timescale they've got is enough.

I hope it is, but certainly it took us a long time to gel.

It's important because you need to be able to read someone's moods and know when to give them a kick up the backside or a consoling hug.

But they know this is the team and they have to deal with that. They'll ruin their own chances of success if they don't.

As for the men, they're a young team but with a lot of experience at the highest international level so they've got everything going in their favour to do well.

Ewan dealt with a lot of disappointment after the last Olympics because the boys were expected to do better than the girls.

But he was very supportive of my win and it's his dream to come back with his own gold medal.

Interviews by Rob Hodgetts