30 March 2026
“As soon as I walked into the ice rink, it was like… oh, my goodness!”: Rhona Howie’s return to Ogden
With the LGT World Men’s Championship now underway, curling has made a successful return to the Weber County Ice Sheet in Ogden, last used as a top-class curling venue during the Salt Lake City 2002 Olympic Winter Games.
A surprising number of people — mostly organisers and local volunteers — at this event in 2026 also played a role in the 2002 Games. And a number of people who were here as athletes in 2002 are back again this time round — not least of them is World Curling’s Equipment and Logistics Officer Rhona Howie.
Olympic Champion returns
24 years ago, as Rhona Martin, she led her Great Britain women’s team of third Debbie Knox, second Fiona MacDonald, lead Janice Rankin and alternate Margaret Morton to Olympic gold, beating Switzerland by 4–3 in a tense final that topped off an epic campaign in which her team survived two tie-breaker games.
Having ensured the safe delivery of all the elements and equipment required to make the event run, Rhona’s main task now is as commentator for the Curling Channel.
She has not been back to Ogden since her gold medal win, and she recalls how she felt earlier this month, on her return.
“It was weird. I came into the car park and didn’t recognise anything. That’s because when we were here last time, it was after 9/11 and there were a lot of tents and a lot of security. Also, we came in through the back way — we never, ever came through the front entrance. So I felt like ‘I don’t feel as though I’ve been here’.”
However, once she got inside, Rhona pretty soon changed her mind, “As soon as I walked into the ice rink, it was like…oh, my goodness! It was 24 years ago — a long time, but the venue hasn’t changed at all.”
A flood of memories
More memories of her Olympic experience came flooding back for Rhona, “We didn’t stay in the athletes’ village. Two countries chose to stay in Ogden, us and Sweden. If we had stayed at the village, it would have been an hour and a half travel each day, so we decided to stay in Ogden and it made such a difference — we were just a ten minute journey.”
When she walked in to the building, Rhona was surprised to see one of her playing jackets and a Union Jack flag she used displayed on the wall.
“Yes, I did see that, one of our tops. I didn’t even know it was here!”
However, the topic of memorabilia touches a raw nerve for Rhona. Four years after she won it, she loaned her Olympic gold medal to a special curling display in a museum in Dumfries, Scotland. It was promptly stolen and, hurtfully, never recovered.
“You miss it. You know, it was so nice when you spoke to kids or you went to schools for kids to feel it, and if that inspired one young person, that would have been great.”
She added, wistfully, “I was always happy to let them feel it and wear it, so not to have it is sad.”
the opening ceremony
To help mark her achievement of almost a quarter of a century earlier, Rhona was invited to play a role in the 2026 Opening Ceremony alongside United States skip and Olympic Gold medallist, John Shuster, adding one more chapter to her happy memories of Ogden.
Listen to Rhona’s commentary on the Curling Channel at the LGT World Men’s Curling Championship 2026, however, there may be viewer restrictions due to broadcast partner agreements.
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