They finished the group with a record of five wins and four defeats, which meant that they were involved in a three-way play-off for the fourth qualifying place.
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Somehow, they managed to put their previous disappointments behind them to first of all beat the Swedes 6-4 and then, more comfortably, see off the Germans by a 9-5 margin. They earned what had looked to be an unlikely semi-final tie against the powerful Canadian rink, who were the favourites for the gold medal.
Confident now, after their run of success the British rink pulled off a shock 6-5 win over old foe Kelley Law's rink, with the Canadians, who had gone into the semi-final as top seeds after only losing one of their initial nine group games, left to battle for bronze.
The Swiss rink, skipped by Luiza Ebnoether comfortably defeated the United States by 9-4 in the other semi-final and were to be the Martin's opponents in the gold medal match-up.
Such was the public interest that the BBC changed its schedule to ensure that the success was covered live and a television audience of nearly six million sat enthralled for almost three hours as the match remained a closely contested affair.
It was so close, in fact, that at the end of the ninth end, the score was 3-3 and an extra end was required. Martin, keeping her nerve under enormous pressure, duly delivered the vital stone and success was secured.
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Beaten by Julie Lockhart's rink they missed out on the chance to carry on their run into the World Championships. Instead it was Lockhart's team who carried the hopes of Scotland to North Dakota - and they did not let the country down as they swept to success!
Sometimes unfairly depicted in some sections of the media as "a bunch of housewives out to do some sweeping" the five ladies became household names almost overnight as the nation celebrated their success. They were further honoured when they were each awarded the MBE in the Queen's Birthday Honours List of 2002.
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