BOBBY LAMMIE insists he won’t be resting on his laurels after Scotland’s stunning European Curling Championship victory – with a maiden Winter Olympic appearance now firmly on the horizon.

Lammie, 24, was part of Team Mouat - led by skipper Bruce - who went unbeaten in Lillehammer, winning all nine round robin matches before victories over Norway in the semi-final and Sweden in the final.

It marked a second European title for Mouat’s resurgent rink - who previously triumphed in 2018 - and after not competing in 2019 and having the championships cancelled in 2020, their victory tasted sweet.

Dumfries ace Lammie, one of over 1,000 athletes who are able to train full-time, access to the world’s best coaches and benefit from pioneering technology, science and medical support thanks to vital National Lottery funding, said: “It feels great.

“To go back for the first time since 2018 and get that opportunity was an honour, and then to go through the whole competition unbeaten and come away with the win gives us a lot of confidence going forward.

“It just showed that we were doing everything right and that we had all the right processes. We managed to go throughout the whole week unbeaten, which is definitely a huge achievement for us.

“It shows we can beat all the top teams and hopefully we can keep that momentum going forward.

“We’ve got a formula that works for us now at these major championships - so we can use it in the Olympics hopefully.”

Victory in Norway secured Team Mouat’s position as one of the strong contenders for the Olympic title in Beijing, where they’ll be representing Team GB.

For Lammie, an Olympic debut next February will be the culmination of years of hard work and a childhood dream fulfilled.

Lammie, whose curling dreams have been transformed into reality by the impact of National Lottery funding, added: “When I first started getting into curling that was obviously the pinnacle.

“It’s such a proud moment to be able to call yourself an Olympian. To see it come to fruition is incredible and I just can’t wait to get out there and feel the buzz and energy around the place.

“The excitement level has been ramping up over the past couple of months. We’ve just gone through a heavy competition phase and had some great success, but now it’s really just two months of training before the Olympics.

“It’s back to the drawing board and just trying to push on. We’ve just got to make sure we’ve got everything ready to go, leave no stone unturned and make sure over the next couple of months we give as much as we can.”

No one does more to support our Olympic and Paralympic athletes than National Lottery players, who raise more than £30 million each week for good causes including grassroots and elite sport. Discover the positive impact playing the National Lottery has at www.lotterygoodcauses.org.uk and get involved by using the hashtag: #TNLAthletes