Olympic medallist Pete Fenson has been appointed as women's national programme coach by USA Curling ©Getty Images

Olympic bronze medalist Pete Fenson has been appointed as the women's national programme coach by USA Curling, it has been announced.

Fenson, who has been a part of the programme in the past both as an athlete and coach, is an eight-time national champion.

Fenson will work under Phill Drobnick, who was appointed director of coaching last month,

"I am very happy to be rejoining the USA Curling national coaching staff, and am looking forward to working with all of our world-class athletes," Fenson said. 

"The future is very bright for our programme, and I am expecting many more great successes."

Pete Fenson, centre, was the skip when the United States won its first-ever Olympic curling medal - a bronze at Turin 2006 ©Getty Images
Pete Fenson, centre, was the skip when the United States won its first-ever Olympic curling medal - a bronze at Turin 2006 ©Getty Images

The 50-year-old from Bemidji in Minnesota was the skip of the men's rink that represented the United States at the 2006 Winter Olympics in Turin, where they won the bronze medal, the first Olympic medal for America in curling.

It laid the groundwork for the team's historic performance at Pyeongchang 2018 where the men's team won America's first-ever gold medal in curling, beating Sweden in the final.

The women's team disappointed, though, finishing only eighth in the round robin tournament and failing to reach the semi-finals. 

Fenson has also worked as an analyst for NBC at the 2014 Winter Olympic Games in Sochi. 

"I am delighted to welcome Pete back to the national coaching team and his experience and knowledge of international curling will be a huge asset to the women’s HP programme,” Derek Brown, director of high performance for USA Curling, said.