Olympic champion curler Vicky Wright returns to work as nurse
- Published
Team GB Olympic gold medallist curler Vicky Wright received a hero's welcome as she returned to her job as a nurse.
The 28-year-old was cheered and clapped as she started her shift at Forth Valley Hospital in Falkirk, where she has worked for seven years.
Wright and her team mates crushed Japan 10-3 at the Beijing Winter Olympics ten days ago.
The ward was decorated with flowers, bunting and balloons, and even had its own makeshift curling rink.
Ms Wright said she had received an "amazing welcome."
She said: "Everyone was lined up in the corridor clapping me in."
She said the moment she made eye contact with the ward's senior staff nurse Lisa McCann, "the tears started to come".
Ms Wright's colleagues created a makeshift curling rink in the ward to welcome her back
Ms Wright, who lives in Stirling, reduced her hours at the hospital to focus on the Winter Olympics.
She played a key role as vice-skip on Eve Muirhead's team, which ended up securing Britain's only gold medal at this year's games.
Ms Wright said: "I wouldn't have my gold medal around my neck if it wasn't for all my colleagues.
"They have supported me so well and this medal is as much as theirs as mine."
She described the last two years working as a nurse during the pandemic while continuing her curling as "an emotional rollercoaster".
"I don't think anyone in the NHS has been able to summarise the effect Covid-19 has had on us," she said.
"It definitely will be a lasting effect.
"But I think the Olympics has really boosted morale in [Ward] B11, they have been so proud."
The team showed off their gold medals at Murrayfield last weekend
Ms McCann said the ward's staff were desperate to try on Wright's medal.
She said: "She's certainly done us proud.
"I only had two hours' sleep the night she got the gold as myself and five other staff linked up through FaceTime to watch the final live.
"We were all crying when we saw her being presented with her medal. It was just great."