Winter Olympics: Why coming out was the start point for Mouat's Olympic double gold bid

Bruce Mouat says telling his team-mates he is gay "was possibly the best thing I ever did for my career".

The Scot has led his curling rink on an upward curve in the past few years, to the point they head into the Winter Olympics as the world's number one ranked side.

Mouat and mixed doubles partner Jen Dodds could become the first British athletes to win two golds at the same Winter Olympics, too, as they head to Beijing as world champions alongside their commitments in the men's and women's events.

Mouat's rise is down to many things - skill, determination, and composure are just a few. But he's clear that being true to himself has also been a big factor.

"It was something I was scared to do at the time," the 27-year-old says. "I had been playing in juniors for a couple of years and I wasn't really getting the success I was looking for.

"I always felt that we were good enough and the only thing that I could really put my thumb on was me not being truthful to who I was with the guys I was playing with.

"We were obviously all teenagers - they all wanted to talk about girls and I just wasn't able to participate in that conversation. And I'd always kind of hid away and shied away from that.

"But after seeing how people could live their life as a gay person it encouraged me to do it because you were seeing so many people having success and still being happy. It was a very freeing experience for me."

Having already come out to friends and family, telling his team-mates was the final hurdle, and he credits the wider curling community for their support.

His advice to others who might be struggling to be themselves openly is to lean on those close to them.

"I've never actually thought of myself as a role model for doing it," Mouat says. "It was just what I wanted and needed to do to get the best success possible. Obviously I would support anybody who wants to do something similar to what I did.

"If anybody ever needs help with it, find the few people you are closest with and make sure you have that security blanket. If anybody ever does have a bad reaction please make sure you have those core people you can go to and speak to and feel happy about who you are."

Mouat and his team - Grant Hardie, Bobby Lammie and Hammy McMillan - were in blistering form throughout 2021, winning two of the sport's prestigious grand slams and finishing as runners-up in the World Championships in a Tour bubble in Calgary.

They ended the year by storming to their second European title in preparation for Beijing. As skip, Mouat's calm demeanour has been a key part of the team's efforts and he has been marked out as one of the world's best players.

"I guess in curling terms, I have a bit of a poker face," Mouat laughs. "I don't try and give much away. I try to appear calm but on the inside it is definitely not calm.

"It is a lot of nerves and I like to listen to music and stuff to kind of calm myself before the event. But yeah, on the ice, I find myself in a different zone."

A tough competitor, Mouat was a keen swimmer at school and was eventually forced to choose between that and curling after his teacher complained he was falling asleep in class while fitting both in either side of school.

Mouat hails from Edinburgh, and started at Gogar Park Curling Club in the city when his dad spotted a newspaper advert from the club looking for junior members.

"A year after we had started, the Winter Olympics of 2002 were on, which obviously was a great success for Rhona Martin and her team [winning gold]," Mouat says. "So it was quite easy to get into the sport after seeing that."

It was at the same club that Mouat met Dodds, now his playing partner in the mixed doubles. The pair have been friends since they were six years old, and won the world title together in Aberdeen last year.

"She's a very energetic and fun person to be around and the relationship we've built over the last three or four years [playing] now it's something we enjoy," he says.

"Doing well would be very special and would mean a lot to our club back home as well. Everyone at Edinburgh curling has been so great to us and supported us throughout our careers way before we became potential Olympians.

"Hopefully it'll motivate people to take up the sport. That would be something to cherish for a long time."

So could Mouat complete a historic double in Beijing and take both the men's and mixed doubles titles?

"I would accept one medal to be honest. Just to be there is quite special in itself. I'm realistic in my own expectations - hopefully in both. But if I'm doing it in one event then I'll be extremely happy."