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Figure caption,Emotional Grant Hardie and Bruce Mouat as GB miss out on gold again
ByRichard WintonBBC Sport Scotland- Published1 hour ago
Three members of Team Mouat have signed on to try to win an elusive Olympic curling gold medal together after consecutive silvers - but Grant Hardie has opted to leave the world's leading rink after nine hugely-successful years as a quartet.
It had been thought that Hardie, 34, might step away from the sport to pursue a career in engineering after losing a second Olympic final in Italy in February.
However, he has decided to continue as a full-time curler and will instead skip his own rink - Team Hardie - along with April's world bronze medallists, Ross Whyte and Euan Kyle, plus Craig Waddell.
Robin Brydone - who also won global bronze in the United States this year - will replace Hardie as the third in Team Mouat.
"Obviously, it was a really difficult decision," Hardie told BBC Sport Scotland. "But I felt, if I was going to carry on, I needed something different, a challenge to get my teeth into and keep me motivated.
"Playing third to Bruce [Mouat] for the last nine years has been amazing, but skipping is always something that's been a goal of mine, so I'm going to do that."
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'There were a few tears'
Hardie leaves with two Olympic silvers, two World Championships and a couple of European crowns, as well as a record 12 Grand Slam titles. And with memories and bonds to last a lifetime.
Several emotional chats with team-mates Mouat, Bobby Lammie and cousin Hammy McMillan have presaged this announcement, with the latter warning he has already been doing the rounds of their family to claim their support in the new era.
McMillan's uncle - Hardie's dad - was his first port of call. The claim is delivered in jest - with Lammie insisting it's never too soon for the jibes - and there has been no fallout.
Indeed, the quartet will be together later on Monday at the Pride of Scotland Awards, with Hardie, McMillan and Lammie going on a golf holiday later in the week before the cousins depart for a last-minute trip to the World Cup.
"Most curling teams last about four years, but we've lasted nine," McMillan said. "And it's been a brilliant nine years, even if it's a sad ending."
But were there a few tears, just like on the podium in Cortina?
"It's kind of a touchy subject, because I'm still getting a slagging for that, but there were a few tears, yeah," Hardie admitted.
"We had so much success together and so many great memories, so it's hard to walk away from that.
"The easy thing might have been to just say, 'you know, let's carry on, keep working on things, we'll get back there in four years and get the right medal'. But I didn't want the next four years to be entirely about that one moment, one medal."
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Figure caption,Team GB have to settle for silver as Canada triumph in men's curling final
Brydone brings 'new eyes' to Team Mouat
Hardie will continue to throw third in his new rink, with Whyte staying on the final two stones despite relinquishing his own skip duties.
And the Dumfries native's target now is to usurp his former team-mates as the best team in Scotland and represent Great Britain in the 2030 Olympics.
At one stage last season, Team Mouat, Team Whyte and Team Waddell - another Stirling-based quartet - were all inside the global top 10, but only one can be put forward to compete at a Games.
"In an ideal world, we'll kick on and be the top team in Scotland," Hardie added. "There's no denying that Bruce's team is still going to be every bit as strong and there's going to be a great challenge to see who can come out on top.
"The ultimate goal is obviously the Olympics in four years time, but we need to come out of the blocks pretty hot and set ourselves up to try and get to the world championships in March."
Team Mouat have their own designs on that place, though.
Brydone is regarded as one of the best thirds in curling right now and his new team are hopeful that he can not just fill the void left by the analytical Hardie but also bring a new dimension to a rink that had been almost unbeatable pre-Olympics.
"It has kind of sparked an excitement for us, too," Mouat said.
"It brings some new energy and a new set of eyes to the team," Lammie added. "We've got our own ways after working together so long, so bringing someone in who might have fresh ideas would be good for us."
Henderson to skip women's team
Meanwhile, Duncan McFadzean, who was previously a member of Team Whyte, will meanwhile focus primarily on mixed doubles along with Sophie Jackson.
Jackson's former teammate, 2022 Olympic Women's Champion and 2021 World Mixed Doubles Champion Jen Dodds, will also be concentrating solely on mixed doubles.
Fay Henderson will skip the only women's team on the British Curling World Class Programme, once again lining up with Lisa Davie, Laura Watt and Katie McMillan, as well as Sophie Sinclair.
