World champion appointed head performance coach for Scottish and British Wheelchair Curling

Sheila Swan (left) has been appointed as head performance coach of the Scottish and British Wheelchair Curling programmes ©Getty Images

World champion curler Sheila Swan has been appointed as the new head coach for the Scottish and British Wheelchair Curling programme, it has been announced.

The 36-year-old joins Briton Nancy Smith and Viktor Kjäll of Sweden, who have taken on performance coaching roles, as the latest additions to the organisation.

The partnership has yielded a great degree of success in recent years after Britain’s men won Olympic silver, the women won bronze and the team of Aileen Neilson, Gregor Ewan, Bob McPherson, Jim Gault and Angie Malone claimed wheelchair bronze.

That result represented the first time that all three British teams had claimed a medal at the same Winter Olympic Games and Swan, a world champion in 2002 as part of Jackie Lockhart’s successful Scotland rink, cannot wait to get started in her new role.

“I’m thrilled to be appointed the wheelchair head coach,” she said.

“We have some very good players competing for Scotland and Team GB.

“I am excited about working with them and the support staff to try and bring more success on the world stage.

“My experiences as a player and a coach have made me fully aware of the pressures and demands the team will have to deal with and I am relishing the challenge.”

Olympic bronze medallist Viktor Kjäll of Sweden has also joined the coaching team at Scottish and British Wheelchair Curling — Sweden's Olympic bronze medallist Viktor Kjäll has joined the coaching team at Scottish and British Wheelchair Curling ©Getty Images

Smith, who was previously performance development coach at the Royal Caledonian Curling Club (RCCC), meanwhile also brings a wealth of experience after she coached Eve Muirhead’s rink to the silver medal at the 2010 World Championship.

Swede Kjäll also boasts an impressive resume having won bronze medal at Sochi 2014 Winter Olympic Games as well as World Championship gold in 2013.

“I’m really pleased that we have made such strong appointments for these three key roles within the performance programmes,” Graeme Thompson, performance diretor of Scottish and British Wheelchair Curling programme, said.

“Sheila has a strong track record having won medals at the very highest level of the sport both as a player and a coach, and she will bring that as invaluable experience into her new role as wheelchair head coach.

“It is an exciting time for curling in this country as we strive to continue to deliver success on the world stage.

“The appointments of Nancy and Viktor as performance coaches are important steps in ensuring world-class coaches are supporting our world-class curlers as we continue to develop our programme for [Pyeongchang] 2018 and beyond.”