OLYMPIC GAMESPARIS 2024
SCOTLAND’S WINNING CONTRIBUTIONS TO TEAM GB
Michael Hamilon
The Olympics sneaks up on me every four years. I pay little attention to the world of track and field for three years and 11 months but for that one month it is all encompassing. My fascination with pole vault, archery and pistol shooting knows no bounds in that time and once it’s over, the void from not waking up to an exhilarating canoe race seems unbearable. Scotland was represented strongly once again and had very strong medal hopes this year. Prior to London 2012, it had been 100 years since Scotland had contributed more than nine medals to team GB. Now, this is our benchmark and Scottish track and field is thriving.
Scottish athletes are a crucial part of team GB and we have had some incredible Olympians in the last 12 years: Chris Hoy, Andy Murray and Heather Stanning to name just three. This year was no different and in the pool Duncan Scott continued to cement his legacy with his second gold medal in successive games.
He finished the games with one gold and one silver which gives him eight medals in total from the last three games, making him Scotland’s most decorated Olympian, overtaking Sir Chris Hoy. A fantastic achievement and his consistency is incredible: two golds and six silvers in his glittering Olympic career.
Scott Brash and Sholto Carnegie also won golds for team GB, Scott in equestrian and Sholto in men’s rowing. This is Scott’s second Olympic gold, his first coming at London 2012, and he was a part of the incredible jumping team which won so well in London and in Paris. Sholto has now completed his international medal set; gold in Paris completes an impressive record of five European and two World golds. Sholto’s gold was one of the most thrilling races of the games, with team GB holding off an incredible comeback from the Netherlands to win by 1.08 seconds.
Three golds were supported with four silvers, one of which was Duncan Scott. One of Scotland’s main medal hopes for the Games was Josh Kerr in the 1500m. An intense build-up and even some trash talking between him and the Norwegian, Jakob Ingebrigtsen, led to a tense and thrilling final. The two athletes battled it out but sadly for Josh, the battle took too much out of both runners. Josh would finish second to the American, Cole Hocker, who snuck up the inside as Josh was holding off Ingebritsen. Silver was a great result for Josh and the team and he was magnanimous in defeat even though he was clearly gutted. Neah Evans and Jack Carlin both won silvers in the velodrome, Neah in the women’s madison and Jack in the men’s team sprint. Scotland is always represented well in cycling and Neah and Jack have continued to bring success to team GB on the track.
Rounding off the medal haul were our six bronze medals. Jack Carlin took another bronze in the velodrome and Rowan McKellar won bronze in rowing in the women’s eight. The other bronze medals were shared between two incredible athletes on the track and on the road. Nicole Yeargin was part of two brilliant relay teams who took bronze in the women’s 4x400m and the mixed 4x400m relay team, and Beth Potter took bronze in the individual and the team triathlon. Beth ran an incredible anchor leg in the triathlon and was agonisingly close to silver, which they thought they had until a photo finish proved they’d finished third.
Scottish athletes did incredibly well yet again and were involved in dominant and thrilling finishes. The future is bright in Scottish athletics and we are expected to continue our success and build on this in LA in 2028. For anyone else like me missing that medal thrill, thankfully the Paralympic Games has just kicked off and Scotland is represented with 21 athletes. Scotland contributed 21 medals to team GB at the Tokyo Paralympic games and is confident of another successful games, rounding off an amazing summer for Scottish athletes.
