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David Matthew Murdoch (born 17 April 1978) is a retired Scottish curler from
Stirling Stirling (; sco, Stirlin; gd, Sruighlea ) is a city in central Scotland, northeast of Glasgow and north-west of Edinburgh. The market town, surrounded by rich farmland, grew up connecting the royal citadel, the medieval old town with its me ...
. As the Scotland
skip Skip or Skips may refer to: Acronyms * SKIP (Skeletal muscle and kidney enriched inositol phosphatase), a human gene * Simple Key-Management for Internet Protocol * SKIP of New York (Sick Kids need Involved People), a non-profit agency aidin ...
, he and his former team of
Ewan MacDonald Ewan MacDonald (born 17 November 1975 in Inverness, Scotland) is a Scottish curler. Representing Scotland, he is a three-time World Champion, playing second for Hammy McMillan in 1999 and playing third for David Murdoch in 2006 and 2009. He ...
, Warwick Smith,
Euan Byers Euan Byers (born 30 July 1974) is a Scottish curler. Byers started playing curling in 1983. He plays in first position and is right-handed. Byers is a double world champion and triple European champion. Teammates 2010 Vancouver Olympic Ga ...
and Peter Smith are the 2006 and 2009
World Curling Champions In its most general sense, the term "world" refers to the totality of entities, to the whole of reality or to everything that is. The nature of the world has been conceptualized differently in different fields. Some conceptions see the worl ...
. Representing
Great Britain Great Britain is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean off the northwest coast of continental Europe. With an area of , it is the largest of the British Isles, the largest European island and the ninth-largest island in the world. It is ...
, he has been skip at three
Winter Olympics The Winter Olympic Games (french: link=no, Jeux olympiques d'hiver) is a major international multi-sport event held once every four years for sports practiced on snow and ice. The first Winter Olympic Games, the 1924 Winter Olympics, were h ...
, Torino 2006, finishing fourth,
Vancouver 2010 )'' , nations = 82 , athletes = 2,626 , events = 86 in 7 sports (15 disciplines) , opening = February 12, 2010 , closing = February 28, 2010 , opened_by = Governor General Michaëlle Jean , cauldron = Catriona Le May DoanNancy GreeneWayne Gretz ...
, finishing fifth and
Sochi 2014 , ''Zharkie. Zimnie. Tvoi'') , nations = 88 , events = 98 in 7 sports (15 disciplines) , athletes = 2,873 , opening = 7 February 2014 , closing = 23 February 2014 , opened_by = President Vladimir Putin , cauldron = , stadium = Fisht Olympic ...
, where he won an Olympic silver medal. He currently serves as a coach, performance team manager and consultant for British Curling.


Sporting career


Junior

Murdoch is a two time World Junior Curling Champion – in 1995, as an alternate for
Tom Brewster, Jr. Thomas Brewster Jr. (born 10 April 1974) is a Scottish curling, curler from Aberdeen, Scotland. He is currently the coach of the Ross Paterson men's team. Career Brewster is a former World Junior Curling Championships, World Junior champion, ha ...
, and in 1996 as a lead for
James Dryburgh James Dryburgh (born 27 May 1975 in Inverness, Scotland) is a Swedish curler. He lives in Stockholm, where he is a physical education teacher. Dryburgh is a two-time World Junior Champion. Playing for his native Scotland, he won gold ...
. In 1998 he won a silver medal at the World Juniors as a third for Garry MacKay. By 1999, Murdoch had moved up to the position of skip, and led Scotland to a 6–3 record and fifth place at that year's world juniors. Four years later, he led Scotland to the European Championship title, beating
Peja Lindholm Peter "Peja" Rutger Lindholm (born 2 June 1970 in Östersund, Sweden) is a retired Swedish curler. Lindholm is currently a coach of the Chinese Curling Association.https://olympics.com/beijing-2022/olympic-games/en/results/curling/athlete-profi ...
's formidable Sweden team in the final.


Men's

In 2005, Murdoch went to his first ever
World Championships A world championship is generally an international competition open to elite competitors from around the world, representing their nations, and winning such an event will be considered the highest or near highest achievement in the sport, game, ...
. At the 2005 Ford World Men's Curling Championship his Scotland rink won the silver medal after losing to
Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tot ...
's
Randy Ferbey Randy S. Ferbey (born May 30, 1959) is a Canadian retired curler from Sherwood Park, Alberta. Ferbey is a six-time Canadian champion and a four-time World Champion. He currently coaches the Rachel Homan women's team. Born in Edmonton, Albert ...
in the final. The team's fine run of form ensured all four members a place in the Great Britain men's squad for the
2006 Winter Olympics The 2006 Winter Olympics, officially the XX Olympic Winter Games ( it, XX Giochi olimpici invernali) and also known as Torino 2006, were a winter multi-sport event held from 10 to 26 February 2006 in Turin, Italy. This marked the second t ...
, with Murdoch in the position of skip. At the Olympics, Murdoch and his team lost in the bronze medal match to
Pete Fenson Peter Fenson (born February 29, 1968 in Bemidji, Minnesota) is an American curler. He was the skip of the men's rink that represented the United States at the 2006 Winter Olympics, where they won the bronze medal, the first Olympic medal for th ...
of the United States. Two months later, Murdoch would avenge his defeat in 2005 by winning the gold medal at the 2006 World Men's Curling Championship. Murdoch defeated Canada (skipped by
Jean-Michel Ménard Jean-Michel Ménard (born January 19, 1976) is a curler from Aylmer, Quebec, Canada. Ménard is notable for being the first Francophone born skip from Quebec to win the Brier - Canada's national curling championship- which he did in 2006. In 202 ...
) in the final. In December 2006 he won the silver medal in the European Championships in
Basel , french: link=no, Bâlois(e), it, Basilese , neighboring_municipalities= Allschwil (BL), Hégenheim (FR-68), Binningen (BL), Birsfelden (BL), Bottmingen (BL), Huningue (FR-68), Münchenstein (BL), Muttenz (BL), Reinach (BL), Riehen (BS ...
, Switzerland, and followed that up with gold in
2007 File:2007 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: Steve Jobs unveils Apple's first iPhone; TAM Airlines Flight 3054 overruns a runway and crashes into a gas station, killing almost 200 people; Former Pakistani Prime Minister of Pakistan, Pr ...
. He successfully defended his title at the European Curling Championships 2008 against Norway's
Thomas Ulsrud Thomas Ulsrud (21 October 1971 – 24 May 2022) was a Norwegian curler from Oslo. He won a silver medal at the 2010 Winter Olympics, one World Curling Championship, two European Curling Championships, and fourteen Norwegian titles (Norwegian Men ...
. Murdoch and his team represented Scotland again at the
2008 World Men's Curling Championship The 2008 World Men's Curling Championship was held from April 4–13, 2008 at Ralph Engelstad Arena in Grand Forks, North Dakota in the USA. The 12-team tournament took place in the 11,643 seat hockey arena on the grounds of the University of North ...
, where he lost to Canada in the final. In 2009, Murdoch once again won a gold medal for Scotland at the World Men's Curling Championship, which was held in
Moncton, New Brunswick Moncton (; ) is the most populous city in the Canadian province of New Brunswick. Situated in the Petitcodiac River Valley, Moncton lies at the geographic centre of the Maritime Provinces. The city has earned the nickname "Hub City" because of ...
. On 17 January 2010, Murdoch's rink became the first non-Canadian team to win the
TSN Skins Game The TSN All-Star Curling Skins Game is an annual curling bonspiel hosted by The Sports Network. "Skins Game#Curling, Skins" curling had been developed as a way to make curling more interesting on TV during the time before the Curling#Free guard zon ...
. His team won $70,500 (£43,000) for the win. After the 2009–10 season, Murdoch's Olympic team broke up. In 2012, Murdoch teamed up with
Tom Brewster Thomas Brewster Jr. (born 10 April 1974) is a Scottish curler from Aberdeen, Scotland. He is currently the coach of the Ross Paterson men's team. Career Brewster is a former World Junior champion, having won the title in 1995. The Scottish t ...
's rink. The 2012–13 season saw them win the Edinburgh Invitational in late 2012 and the German Masters in Hamburg in January 2013. With Murdoch as skip, they won bronze at the 2013 World Championships. The team took bronze at the 2013 European Championships. In October 2013, he was selected to skip the Great Britain squad at the
2014 Winter Olympics , ''Zharkie. Zimnie. Tvoi'') , nations = 88 , events = 98 in 7 sports (15 disciplines) , athletes = 2,873 , opening = 7 February 2014 , closing = 23 February 2014 , opened_by = President Vladimir Putin , cauldron = , stadium = Fisht Olympic ...
. where he won a silver medal, losing to Canada's Brad Jacobs in the final. His 12 curling matches as skip of the Team GB men at the Sochi Olympics saw his last stones win crucial games including a vital play off against Norway in which his shot was dubbed by national press as ‘shot of the century’ to make the semi-finals and then a last shot against Sweden to secure a silver medal and Olympic final place. The silver medal was the first for Team GB men’s curling since the 1924 games. Curling coverage at Sochi was seen for 30 hours and was the most talked about sport on social media. However, Murdoch's rink endured what he described as "a difficult year" following the 2014 Olympics: they lost in the final of the Scottish Championships in February 2015 to defending champion and former team-mate
Ewan MacDonald Ewan MacDonald (born 17 November 1975 in Inverness, Scotland) is a Scottish curler. Representing Scotland, he is a three-time World Champion, playing second for Hammy McMillan in 1999 and playing third for David Murdoch in 2006 and 2009. He ...
's team, denying Team Murdoch a place at the
2015 Ford World Men's Curling Championship The 2015 World Men's Curling Championship (branded as Ford World Men's Curling Championship 2015 for sponsorship reasons) was held from March 28 to April 5 at the Scotiabank Centre in Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada. It marked the first time that a ...
, before finishing third in the Scottish qualifying tournament held in October of that year for the
2015 European Curling Championships The 2015 European Curling Championships were held from November 20 to 28 in Esbjerg, Denmark. Denmark last hosted the European Curling Championships in 1996 in Copenhagen. The Group C competitions were held during October in Champéry, Switzer ...
behind Kyle Smith and former team-mate
Tom Brewster Thomas Brewster Jr. (born 10 April 1974) is a Scottish curler from Aberdeen, Scotland. He is currently the coach of the Ross Paterson men's team. Career Brewster is a former World Junior champion, having won the title in 1995. The Scottish t ...
's rinks, thus failing to secure selection. In 2016 Team Murdoch were runners-up to Team Brewster in both the Scottish championships in February and the European Playdowns in October. Murdoch's rink were selected to compete for Scotland at the 2017 World Curling Championship, where they secured qualification for Team GB to the
2018 Winter Olympics , nations = 93 , athletes = 2,922 (1,680 men and 1,242 women) , events = 102 in 7 sports (15 disciplines) , opening = , closing = , opened_by = President Moon Jae-in , cauldron = Kim Yun-a , stadium = Pyeongchang Olympic Stadium , winte ...
by finishing sixth: however in June 2017 it was announced that Kyle Smith's team had been chosen to compete at the 2018 Games over Team Murdoch and Team Brewster. On 13 July 2017 Murdoch announced his retirement from his playing career, and will begin coaching. Murdoch has commentated and taken part in studio analysis on curling for
Eurosport Eurosport is a group of pay television networks in Europe and parts of Asia. Owned by Warner Bros. Discovery through Warner Bros. Discovery Sports#Warner Bros. Discovery Sports Europe properties, its international sports unit, it operates two ...
for many years and
Channel 4 Channel 4 is a British free-to-air public broadcast television network operated by the state-owned enterprise, state-owned Channel Four Television Corporation. It began its transmission on 2 November 1982 and was established to provide a four ...
for the
2014 Winter Paralympics The 2014 Winter Paralympics (russian: Зимние Паралимпийские игры 2014, Zimniye Paralimpiyskiye igry 2014), the 11th Paralympic Winter Games, and also more generally known as the Sochi 2014 Paralympic Winter Games, were an ...
. He has appeared recently on many TV & Radio shows including: ''
Sport Relief 2014 Sport Relief 2014 is a fundraising event organised by Sport Relief. A number of run-up events took place and the main event consisted of a live telethon broadcast on BBC One and BBC Two from the evening of Friday 21 March 2014 to early the follow ...
'', '' Daybreak'', ''
The Alan Titchmarsh Show ''The Alan Titchmarsh Show'' is a British daytime chat show presented by Alan Titchmarsh. It was first broadcast on ITV on 3 September 2007 until 14 November 2014 and aired on weekday afternoons. The show's main focus is the "Best of British" them ...
'',
Sky Sports Sky Sports is a group of British subscription sports channels operated by the satellite pay television company Sky Group (a division of Comcast), and is the dominant subscription television sports brand in the United Kingdom and Ireland. It ...
,
Sky 1 Sky One was a British pay television channel operated and owned by Sky Group (a division of Comcast). Originally launched on 26 April 1982 as Satellite Television, it was Europe's first satellite and non-terrestrial channel. From 31 July 1989, ...
’s ''Game Changers'',
BT Sport BT Sport is a group of broadcasting of sports events, pay television sports channels in the United Kingdom and Republic of Ireland, Ireland. Owned by Warner Bros. Discovery Sports#Warner Bros. Discovery Sports Europe properties, Warner Bros. Dis ...
’s Panel with
Tim Lovejoy Timothy Paul Lovejoy (born 28 March 1968) is an English television presenter best known for hosting Saturday morning football programme ''Soccer AM'' with Helen Chamberlain for over a decade and ''BT Sports Panel'' on Saturday mornings on the ...
and
Matt Dawson Matthew James Sutherland Dawson, MBE (born 31 October 1972) is an English retired rugby union player who played scrum half for Northampton Saints and then London Wasps. During his international career he toured with the British & Irish Lions t ...
,
BBC Radio 2 BBC Radio 2 is a British national radio station owned and operated by the BBC. It is the most popular station in the United Kingdom with over 15 million weekly listeners. Since launching in 1967, the station broadcasts a wide range of content. ...
with
Anneka Rice Anne Lucinda Hartley Rice (born 4 October 1958), known professionally as Anneka Rice, is a Welsh-born television and radio presenter, broadcaster, journalist and painter. Early life and education Rice was born in Cowbridge, Glamorgan, Wales, ...
,
BBC Radio 5 Live BBC Radio 5 Live is a British national radio station owned and operated by the BBC that broadcasts mainly news, sport, discussion, interviews and phone-ins. It is the principal BBC radio station covering sport in the United Kingdom, broadcast ...
with
Danny Baker Danny Baker (born 22 June 1957) is an English comedy writer, journalist, radio DJ and screenwriter. Throughout his career he has largely presented for London's regional radio and television. Baker was born in Deptford to a working-class fam ...
and
Shelagh Fogarty Shelagh Fogarty (born 13 January 1966) is a radio and television presenter and journalist. She currently presents the afternoon programme on LBC, having previously co-hosted the BBC Radio 5 Live breakfast show with Nicky Campbell. Early life Fo ...
, Talksport and recently being a winning panellist on ''
A Question of Sport ''Question of Sport'' (previously ''A Question of Sport'') is a British television sports quiz show produced and broadcast by the BBC. It is the "world's longest running TV sports quiz". Following a pilot episode in December 1968, broadcast onl ...
''. As a lottery funded athlete, he has also officially released the National Lottery draw live on BBC alongside
Kate Garraway Kathryn Mary Draper Garraway (born 4 May 1967) is an English broadcaster and journalist. In the 1990s, Garraway was a journalist for ITV News Central and later a co-presenter of ITV News Meridian. From 2000 to 2010, she co-presented GMTV. Curr ...
to over 10 million viewers. He has also featured alongside the rest of the GB curling team on '' Eggheads'' for
BBC2 BBC Two is a British free-to-air public broadcast television network owned and operated by the BBC. It covers a wide range of subject matter, with a remit "to broadcast programmes of depth and substance" in contrast to the more mainstream an ...
, as broadcast in February 2015. The team won the '' Daily Record'' ‘Team of the year’ award at the recent Our Heroes ceremony. David is a keen supporter of many charities and good causes, his charity work includes giving out Duke of Edinburgh awards regularly, most recently at Holyrood in the presence of
Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh (born Prince Philip of Greece and Denmark, later Philip Mountbatten; 10 June 1921 – 9 April 2021) was the husband of Queen Elizabeth II. As such, he served as the consort of the British monarch from El ...
. He and his King Charles spaniel also recently supported the PDSA at a charity campaign photo shoot. He has also taken part in a charity curling calendar featuring as one of the world’s elite curlers. Recently David and the team supported Sport Relief at a special night televised by the BBC in London with
Sebastian Coe Sebastian Newbold Coe, Baron Coe, (born 29 September 1956), often referred to as Seb Coe, is a British politician and former track and field athlete. As a middle-distance runner, Coe won four Olympic medals, including 1500 metres gold medal ...
and many summer Olympic legends at the Olympic park and later flew up to Glasgow to launch the Sport Relief mile.


Personal

David Murdoch is from a talented curling family being the brother of Olympic coach Nancy Murdoch and former European Champion Neil Murdoch. The siblings' mother, Marion Murdoch, is a curling coach who was given a lifetime achievement award by
Sportscotland Sportscotland (officially styled sport), formerly the Scottish Sports Council, is the national agency for sport in Scotland. The Scottish Sports Council was established in 1972 by royal charter. The body works in partnership with public, pri ...
in 2015 for her coaching work. She has been credited by David as "a big part of how (he) ended up being a competitive player", and she also helped develop fellow Olympic medallists Claire Hamilton and
Anna Sloan Anna Sloan (born 5 February 1991) is a Scottish curler. She was the longtime third for the Eve Muirhead rink. Representing Scotland, they won the 2011 European Championships, the 2013 World Championships, and the 2017 European Championships. ...
. As a ten-year-old boy, Murdoch was an eyewitness to the crash of
Pan Am Flight 103 Pan Am Flight 103 was a regularly scheduled Pan Am transatlantic flight from Frankfurt to Detroit via a stopover in London and another in New York City. The transatlantic leg of the route was operated by ''Clipper Maid of the Seas'', a Boeing ...
over Lockerbie, the town where he grew up. Murdoch's father, former Scottish curling champion Matthew Murdoch, 70, died 12 days after watching his son win silver at the 2014 Winter Olympics. He is married and has a daughter. Murdoch was appointed
Member of the Order of the British Empire The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding contributions to the arts and sciences, work with charitable and welfare organisations, and public service outside the civil service. It was established o ...
(MBE) in the
2022 Birthday Honours The 2022 Queen's Birthday Honours are appointments by some of the 15 Commonwealth realms of Queen Elizabeth II to various orders and honours to reward and highlight good works by citizens of those countries. The Birthday Honours are awarded as par ...
for services to curling.


Teams


Awards

*WJCC All-star lead: *WJCC All-star third:


Grand Slam record


References


External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Murdoch, David 1978 births Living people Scottish male curlers British male curlers Olympic curlers of Great Britain Olympic silver medallists for Great Britain Olympic medalists in curling Curlers at the 2006 Winter Olympics Curlers at the 2010 Winter Olympics Curlers at the 2014 Winter Olympics Medalists at the 2014 Winter Olympics World curling champions European curling champions Continental Cup of Curling participants Sportspeople from Dumfries Curlers from Stirling Scottish curling coaches Members of the Order of the British Empire