In her first official visit to Scotland in her capacity UK Sport Chair, Dame Katherine Grainger met British Curling in Stirling with less than five months to go to the PyeongChang 2018 Winter Olympic and Paralympic Games.
Dame Katherine, who was born and educated in Scotland, met with the sport at the state-of-the-art National Academy in Stirling, which is the main training base for the GB curlers and wheelchair curlers.
The five-time Olympic rowing medallist was given a tour of the venue by Performance Director Graeme Thompson and spoke with the wheelchair curling team that will represent GB at the 2018 Winter Paralympic Games.
The two-day visit to Scotland also saw Dame Katherine visit Clydesdale Boat Club in Glasgow, the first rowing club she rowed from, where she spoke to a group about how she first got into the sport and the inspirational journey that saw her become Britain’s most decorated female athlete.
In addition, Dame Katherine visited the Scottish Parliament in Edinburgh where she spoke to a number of influential figures including Ruth Davidson MSP.
Dame Katherine said: “As the UK Sport Chair, I believe it is very important to get out and visit all parts of the UK but being Scottish, I have unsurprisingly very much enjoyed this visit!
“It was fantastic to meet with British Curling for the first time and speak to the athletes and support staff with the PyeongChang 2018 Winter Games now fast approaching.
“The world leading facilities I saw in Stirling will allow our athletes to head to South Korea with the best possible preparation behind them and I look forward to following their progress closely.”
Performance Director Graeme Thompson said: “Everyone appreciated Katherine taking the time to visit us at the National Curling Academy in Stirling.
“Her Olympic achievements are an inspiration to all our players and staff. She also showed that her competitive nature was still there as she tried out a curling slide and put her shot onto the centre spot in the house!”