Legacy on ice: Sweden’s Dryburgh carries on her family’s curling tradition

Sweden’s Moa Dryburgh comes from a curling family. Both her parents were elite players, who met while competing at the 1998 Winter Olympics. Growing up in a curling environment, it was only natural for the 19-year-old from Stockholm to follow in her parent’s footsteps.

The younger Dryburgh says growing up in a sporting family was “really cool”. “All of my family is really interested in sports, especially curling. So, it’s been pretty clear that I should play curling all my life. And I really enjoy it too,” she said after a commanding 12-3 win against the USA at the Torino 2025 FISU World University Games on Saturday, 18 January.

“I started really practicing curling when I was around 10 years old. But I had been in the rink before, playing for fun and things like that,” added the student of psychology at The Swedish School of Sport and Health in Swedish capital.

However, curling wasn’t the only sport Dryburgh enjoyed as a kid. “I played a lot of football and dancing as well. I really enjoyed those. Now I have to focus more on curling, and I don’t have the time for that anymore.”

Dryburgh, who plays for hometown club Sundbybergs, already has a silver medal from the 2022 World Junior Championships. Only 16 at the time, she became one of the youngest skips to reach the podium at the event.

Her parents Margaretha and James, who was born in Scotland, met in Japan at Nagano 1998, where Margaretha captured Olympic bronze. Moa’s mother is also a two-time world champion and a European champion, while her father won the European title as well, in addition to a pair of junior world crowns.

Her own decision

Even though her parents boast plenty of success and achievements, it was mainly Moa’s own decision to get into curling.

“They wanted me to choose myself. They were telling me ‘You don’t have to do this if you don’t want to’, and I always told them ‘No, I want to do this, just stop saying that’,” she said, while adding she has no regrets about picking up the sport.

“We wanted both of our kids to learn how to curl, just to keep the tradition in the family. But obviously, it’s their own decision on what level they want to compete at. And Moa is really competitive,” explained Margaretha, who nonetheless coaches her daughter and the Swedish women’s team in Torino.

“It’s a bit different. She has been my coach for almost my whole life. Last season we had Sören Grahn coaching us, but now he is coaching Italy, so mum is back. Of course, it’s a bit special to have your parent coaching you, but it works well, and she fits in the team,” said Moa.

“Special being a parent-coach”

Margaretha Dryburgh added that being a parent-coach is hard, while it also has a lot of advantages. “I’ve been with the girls for a long time, eight years, so I know them all very well. It’s special being a parent-coach, however you sometimes have to keep the distance in between and have a professional discussion, but it’s working fine.”

That is why they tend to try not talking about curling much at home, but the plan is not really working, according to mum.

But whatever the case may be, at the end of the day Margaretha is happy that her daughter can compete in the same sport she did. “It’s great. I love curling, the curling family and everything around it. I have myself experienced a lot of fun tournaments around the world. It’s nice to see that they can enjoy it as well.”

And while dad isn’t as much in the forefront, James also works with his daughter and watches from the sidelines. “He watches a lot. He is our technique coach, so he coaches us as well, but more in practice,” said Moa.

Moa and her Swedish teammates still have games left at these FISU Games. Just past the midway mark of the preliminary stage, they are tied for fourth place with China and Norway with three wins and two losses. With four matches left before the medal round, Moa’s mind is clearly set on the podium.

The take place from 13-23 January. Watch all the competitions live on . Click on the link to find the full schedule.

Written by Nejc Molan, FISU Young Reporter, Slovenia

The Young Reporters Programme exemplifies FISU’s commitment to more than sports competitions. At every FISU World University Games, a group of talented aspiring sports journalists are chosen to cover the competition.

We warmly thank FISU Official Partner Qiaodan Ltd. which provides remarkable uniforms to FISU Family and International Technical Officials since 2015. Qiaodan is a valuable partner for FISU as it continued to provide its support during the postponement of events due to the global pandemic, and recently extended the relationship with FISU up to and including 2025.