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Jennifer Dodds was still the ‘strange girl’ at school when she stayed late to watch Rhona Martin shuffle the so-called ‘Stone of Destiny’ of Curling and clinched the first Olympic gold medal in Great Britain in 2002 in Salt Lake City in Salt Lake City.
It was a moment that helped Dodds to realize that her commitment to sports success didn’t just have to be a pipe dream, and she would be proven correctly 20 years later that she formed part of Eve Muirhead’s team that followed Martin’s famous curl in Beijing.
Dodds credit the shift away from the stigma to be a young girl involved in sports after moments such as Martin’s success, and believe that International Women’s Day still plays an important role in strengthening the opportunities and roads available.
“I was ten years old when Rhona won her gold medal in Salt Lake City, and that was a true inspiration for me,” Dodds told the Dad News Agency.
“I can remember that she competed in Scotland afterwards and she brought her medal, and saw that it was an incredible thing for me.
“I grew up to look at my parents and my brother who curl, and as soon as I was old enough to get on the ice, it was as if I had been loosened.
“At that age, in my peer group, I almost felt like the strange girl doing sports, and now the kind of things – girls who go to the gym and get involved in sports are not such a big matter. We made a good start and it is partly to moments like Rhona. “
Dodds was part of Muirhead’s team that struggled through a tough qualification procedure to reach Beijing before rushing to their historic gold medal. Dodds lost the success in the mixed Doubles event, in which she and Bruce Mouat, the defending world champions, lost a bronze medal play-off game.
After the retirement of Muirhead, Dodds joined a team appointed by Rebecca Morrison, and they will have their place at next year’s matches in Milan and Cortina via a strong performance at the Women’s World Curling Championships in Uijeongbu, South Korea, sealed.
“The Olympics are the pinnacle of our sport, and with Milan less than a year away, it is of course in the background, but you have to switch it back and focus on the world championships, where you hopefully get that qualifying place,” says Dodds.
“When we came home from Beijing, we got many opportunities, but it now feels like it’s normal again, it’s back to the grind. At the same time, you no longer feel like you’re going to the unknown.
“I feel like in a position where I can start giving a little bit now. I am some of the next generation of athletes coming through, and for me it’s about their excitement at the beginning of their journey.
“It brings to me such feelings. People say that you never completely believe that you can achieve anything until someone else does. I remember back to Rhona and if our victory in Beijing can do the same for someone else, that’s all we can ask. ‘
