(Reuters) -Britain's men's curling team will bid to end a century-long wait for gold at the Milano-Cortina Winter Olympics in 2026 and skip Bruce Mouat is confident the win is theirs for the taking, with his belief stemming from their form over the last year.

In Beijing in 2022, Mouat became the first curler to represent Britain in both the men's and mixed doubles events, leading the men to silver and finishing fourth in the doubles alongside Jennifer Dodds.

"In terms of both men's and mixed doubles I've got two extremely good teams. The dynamics in both teams has been a good blessing for me. I've been to the Olympics once already with them both," Mouat told Reuters by video call.

"Jen and I have put a lot of focus in over the last two years to get back to the Olympics. Now that we have that spot we definitely want to be standing on the podium ...

"I want to win the gold medal in the mixed doubles, but the men's is where I believe that it's ours for the taking. We've proved that we're the best team in the world, over the last 12 months."

MOUAT SEEKS TO BECOME A BETTER ATHLETE

Mouat's confidence in Britain's chances of winning a first men's gold since 1924, when the sport debuted as a demonstration, is well-founded.

In 2025, the Scot's Team Mouat became the first rink to win four Grand Slams in one season, while also clinching their second World Men's Curling Championship title.

Mouat, 31, said the seeds of his recent success were sown during a particularly tough spell in 2024, when the team finished fourth in the world championships.

"I felt extremely guilty about it and how my own performances were. And because it's such a team sport, I always want to come off the ice feeling like I've done my best for the team," he added.

"That was probably where I felt like I hadn't. I really tried to focus on finding the one or two percent that could make me a better athlete, not just a curler.

"I looked into my nutrition, I looked into sports psychology. And from that point moving on, that's where my own performances got a lot better and it kind of trickled through the team."

MOUAT HAPPY BEING HIS AUTHENTIC SELF

Mouat, who became the first openly gay curler to win a world title in 2023, said he began to find success in the sport after he came out.

"I've been out since I was 18, so quite a long time, but leading into the last Olympics I came out a bit more publicly. I wanted to be open about who I was, I didn't want to be asked questions in interviews and have to lie," he said.

"I wanted to be authentically myself and it really was a freeing moment. I never wanted to hide away. From that moment on I just went with it and it's been a great journey.

"I've played better, ultimately, being able to be myself, my teammates are amazingly supportive."

Mouat also said he was doing his best to make sport a more welcoming place by being his authentic self, pointing to the embrace he shared with his partner Craig Kyle after winning the world curling title.

"Showing that I can have a loving partner who's extremely supportive of me, and to be able to go and compete and win world championships and for him to be there and then to run down onto the ice and for us to embrace," he added.

"Just to put that on a bit of a different platform is hopefully going to motivate other people in the community. It doesn't have to be elite sport, they can just get into sport. I just want to prove that it's a safe space for people.

"I believe that curling is one of the amazing sports that welcomes everyone into its community ... If I can help one person by sharing my story then I feel like it's a success."

(Reporting by Aadi Nair in Bengaluru; Editing by Ken Ferris)