By Gary Anderson

October 2 - The Team GB squad for Sochi 2014The five men that will represent Team GB at next year's Sochi 2014 Winter Olympic Games have been announced and once again it will be skipped by Scotland's David Murdoch.

The 35-year-old, who will be skipping the side for the third consecutive Winter Games, will be joined by his Scotland teammates, Tom Brewster, Greg Drummond, Scott Andrews and Michael Goodfellow, all of whom helped to secure a bronze medal at this year's World Championships in Victoria, Canada, after topping the round-robin stage.

"It's a huge honour to be selected for Team GB at the Olympic Winter Games in Sochi," said Murdoch, who skipped his sides to a fourth and fifth place finish at Turin 2006 and Vancouver 2010, respectively.

"This will be my third Games and I am looking forward to it immensely.

"A huge thank you must go to all the coaches and support staff at the sportscotland Institute of Sport who believed in me and guided me through the last few seasons.

"The medical staff has been exceptional in helping me through a career-threatening shoulder injury that required surgery and rehab over the last year.

"It's extremely inspiring to be part of such a promising team.

"We will go to Sochi believing in ourselves and every athlete that is part of Team GB, and support them all the way.

"Having met most of the Team GB athletes in the mix for Sochi I know every one of us is giving our final preparations everything we have."

Murdoch, who won World Championship team gold in 2006 and 2009, is the only one of the team with previous Olympic experience but his teammates will be going to Sochi in confident mood as they have plenty of international experience which includes, not only bronze at this year's World Championships, but also silver medals from the 2011 and 2012 events.

David Murdoch will skip the Team GB men's curling squad for the third Winter Olympic Games in successionDavid Murdoch will skip the Team GB men's curling squad for the third Winter Olympic Games in succession



























Indeed, Brewster skipped the side in Murdoch's absence to those runners-up spots in 2011 and 2012, and he cannot wait to make his Olympic debut in Sochi next year.

"I'm thrilled and excited to have been chosen to compete for Team GB in Sochi," he said.

"It's taken many years for me to finally be selected and I can't wait for the Games to start.

"The Olympics are so different from our normal curling events.

"At the Games we will be part of Team GB which will have 50 athletes from 11 different disciplines.

"Normally we would be a small team of five athletes, so I'm looking forward to being part of a larger team and cheering on our fellow athletes."

Great Britain has only medalled once in men's Olympic curling and that was when the team won gold at the first Winter Games in Chamonix in 1924, although it was not until 2006 that the International Olympic Committee (IOC) announced that they were officially recognising the event as a medal event and not a demonstration following a long campaign led by The Herald newspaper in Glasgow. 

Britain last won a medal in men's curling at the very first Winter Olympics, at Chamonix in 1924, when they won goldBritain last won a medal in men's curling at the very first Winter Olympics, at Chamonix in 1924, when they won gold

Canada are the defending Olympic champions and will be looking to make it three titles in-a-row following on from Turin 2006 and Vancouver 2010.

"Between them, the five athletes selected today to Team GB for the Sochi 2014 Winter Olympics, have a mix of multiple national, European and world medals," said Sochi 2014 Team GB Chef de Mission Mike Hay.

"Two-time Olympian Dave Murdoch skips a successful team that has, in the last year alone, won the Scottish finals, topped the round-robin section of the World Championships to then go on to win the bronze medal.

"The five athletes are a talented and dedicated group and I think we should all be excited about the prospect of what they can achieve in Sochi next year."

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