Another young athlete steps back
Another gold medal-winning Olympic curler, Mili Smith, is stepping away from the elite level of the sport.
The 24-year-old, who was the alternate for Eve Muirhead’s team during their 2022 dream season, is off to pursue a career as a primary school teacher.
Smith is the sister of Kyle and Cameron Smith, who competed at the previous Olympic Winter Games in PyeongChang. Their father is David Smith, who enjoyed a stellar curling career in the 1980s and 90s, winning the 1991 world men’s championship over Canada’s Kevin Martin in Winnipeg.
Mili Smith is now the second of the five 2022 champions to drop themselves from British Curling’s high-performance program.
Former teammate Vicky Wright, 28, announced her retirement from full-time play last month.
Smith will begin furthering her career in education at the University of Dundee in August.
“It has always been a dream of mine to get to an Olympic Games and now feels like a good time for me to focus on something different, as I have always planned on becoming a primary school teacher after curling,” Smith said.
“I have worked incredibly hard, and committed a big part of my life to curling, since I left school in 2016.
“I have been incredibly fortunate to be able to curl at this level and study and I graduated last year with a BSc in psychology from the University of Stirling.
“This past year has been one of the best. Looking back over this season I have made memories with the girls and coaches which will last a lifetime.”
During her junior career, Smith finished fifth at the 2016 Youth Olympic Games, won silver at the 2017 world junior championships and placed fourth at the 2019 Winter Universiade. She was also on a women’s team that placed 10th at the 2019 world women’s championship.
Smith didn’t get onto the ice in Beijing nor at the Olympic Qualifying Event. She competed in two of Muirhead’s matches at the 2021 European Championships, winning both.
“Looking back perhaps my few disappointments were not playing at an Olympics and not getting the chance to skip a team,” Smith said.
She won’t be giving up curling completely.
“Over the years my colleagues have become best friends and my coaches have helped me to learn a lot about myself and life both on and off the ice and I am very grateful to those I have worked with on the programme,” she said.
“I hope to play alongside some of them in the Scottish Mixed Doubles and also the Super League in Perth, so I will be keeping my hand in even when I start teaching and it is not the end, just a new beginning.”