countdown 15 - winter 2010

8
Chairman’s view There was great excitement as Team Scotland touched down in Glasgow on Saturday 16 October on Emirates EK27. Sports Minister Shona Robison was there to greet the medallists who had delivered 26 medals - Scotland’s second best result ever, 9 gold, 10 silver and 7 bronze. The athletes were then dazzled by a gallery of photographers in the arrivals hall, before being embraced by family and friends proudly waving the saltire. Jon Doig, Team Scotland Chef de Mission said: “When we announced our team I said Delhi would give the opportunity for new heroes to emerge and that certainly has proven to be the case. Our team spirit has been second to none and this has undoubtedly contributed to our success. “I am delighted with the overall team performance and the fact that we have exceeded our target of 18-25 medals. We believe this provides a strong platform going into a home Games in Glasgow, however we will not be complacent and we are always looking for ways to improve. We will be conducting a full review of our Games operation and results over the next few months and starting to build our plans as we go into one of the most exciting periods in our sporting history.” Golden homecoming for Team Scotland count d wn COMMONWEALTH GAMES SCOTLAND NEWSLETTER ISSUE 15 – WINTER 2010 The last 12 months have flown by and we can now look back with considerable satisfaction at the performance of Team Scotland in Delhi 2010. We anticipated a spectacular Games in an amazing country, and they certainly were that. We also anticipated a number of challenges, in a culture and competition environment that few members of Team Scotland had previously experienced. So we prepared accordingly, with a number of site visits which proved to be vital, as we faced a situation where the Games delivery slipped, to a point where the participation of Team Scotland was in question, and the Games themselves may have been in jeopardy. However in this environment Team Scotland responded magnificently, and delivered as one united team, despite the most trying of circumstances. It was also a landmark moment when Flower of Scotland was played for the first time to celebrate Robbie Renwick’s gold in the pool. I would like to acknowledge the governing bodies, who worked so hard to prepare the athletes. Also our public and commercial partners who supported us so well and our 2014 Games partners who all helped make Scotland House, our supporters’ base, such a huge success. With the magnificent Scottish section of the Closing Ceremony giving a taste of things to come, we now look ahead to Glasgow 2014 with confidence and excitement as the host Commonwealth Games Association. CGS is determined to help deliver an athlete centred, sport focused Games and one that puts the fun and friendship back at the heart of it. We look forward to working with all our partners to deliver our biggest and most successful team ever in 2014. Michael Cavanagh FACT FILE Team Scotland won 26 medals – 9 gold, 10 silver and 7 bronze, their second most successful Games ever. Only at Melbourne 2006, has Team Scotland ever won more gold medals – 11. 28 team members won a total of 38 medals in seven sports. There were 10 gold medallists, including two double gold medallists. Shooting was Team Scotland’s most successful sport winning nine medals (4 gold, 3 silver, 2 bronze). This is the most medals shooting has ever won. Scotland’s top athlete was shooter Jonathan Hammond who won 2 gold, 1 silver and 1 bronze and he is Scotland’s best performing athlete in any sport at a single Games, whilst fellow shooter Jen McIntosh was Scotland’s most successful female athlete of any Games winning 2 gold and 1 bronze. 19 of the 28 medallists were competing in their first Commonwealth Games and four athletes were repeat medallists - Robbie Renwick, Neil Stirton, Andy Hunter, David Carry. The 192 Scottish athletes were joined by 56 athletes, coaches and mentors on the Achieve 2014 programme. The programme has already received a lot of positive feedback. DELHI REVIEW

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Page 1: Countdown 15 - Winter 2010

Chairman’s view

There was great excitement as Team Scotland touched down in Glasgow on Saturday 16 October on Emirates EK27.

Sports Minister Shona Robison was there to greet the medallists who had delivered 26 medals - Scotland’s second best result ever, 9 gold, 10 silver and 7 bronze. The athletes were then dazzled by a gallery of photographers in the arrivals hall, before being embraced by family and friends proudly waving the saltire.

Jon Doig, Team Scotland Chef de Mission said: “When we announced our team I said Delhi would give the opportunity for new heroes to emerge and that certainly has proven to be the case. Our team spirit has been second to none and this has undoubtedly contributed to our success.

“I am delighted with the overall team performance and the fact that we have exceeded our target of 18-25 medals. We believe this provides a strong platform

going into a home Games in Glasgow, however we will not be complacent and we are always looking for ways to improve. We will be conducting a full review of our Games operation and results over the next few months and starting to build our plans as we go into one of the most exciting periods in our sporting history.”

Golden homecoming for Team Scotland

countd wnCOMMONWEALTH GAMES SCOTLAND NEWSLETTER ISSUE 15 – WINTER 2010

The last 12 months have flown by and we can now look back with considerable satisfaction at the performance of Team Scotland in Delhi 2010. We anticipated a spectacular Games in an amazing country, and they certainly were that. We also anticipated a number of challenges, in a culture and competition environment that few members of Team Scotland had previously experienced.

So we prepared accordingly, with a number of site visits which proved to be vital, as we faced a situation where the Games delivery slipped, to a point where the participation of Team Scotland was in question, and the Games themselves may have been in jeopardy. However in this environment Team Scotland responded magnificently, and delivered as one united team, despite the most trying of circumstances. It was also a landmark moment when Flower of Scotland was played for the first time to celebrate Robbie Renwick’s gold in the pool.

I would like to acknowledge the governing bodies, who worked so hard to prepare the athletes. Also our public and commercial partners who supported us so well and our 2014 Games partners who all helped make Scotland House, our supporters’ base, such a huge success. With the magnificent Scottish section of the Closing Ceremony giving a taste of things to come, we now look ahead to Glasgow 2014 with confidence and excitement as the host Commonwealth Games Association. CGS is determined to help deliver an athlete centred, sport focused Games and one that puts the fun and friendship back at the heart of it. We look forward to working with all our partners to deliver our biggest and most successful team ever in 2014.

Michael Cavanagh

FACT FILE TeamScotlandwon26medals–9gold,10silverand7

bronze,theirsecondmostsuccessfulGamesever. OnlyatMelbourne2006,hasTeamScotlandeverwonmoregoldmedals–11. 28teammemberswonatotalof38medalsinsevensports.Therewere10gold

medallists,includingtwodoublegoldmedallists. ShootingwasTeamScotland’smostsuccessfulsportwinningninemedals(4

gold,3silver,2bronze).Thisisthemostmedalsshootinghaseverwon. Scotland’stopathletewasshooterJonathanHammondwhowon2gold,1silver

and1bronzeandheisScotland’sbestperformingathleteinanysportatasingleGames,whilstfellowshooterJenMcIntoshwasScotland’smostsuccessfulfemaleathleteofanyGameswinning2goldand1bronze.

19ofthe28medallistswerecompetingintheirfirstCommonwealthGamesandfourathleteswererepeatmedallists-RobbieRenwick,NeilStirton,AndyHunter,DavidCarry.

The192Scottishathleteswerejoinedby56athletes,coachesandmentorsontheAchieve2014programme.Theprogrammehasalreadyreceivedalotofpositivefeedback.

DELH

I

REVIE

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Page 2: Countdown 15 - Winter 2010

The First Minister hosted a reception at Stirling Castle on 18 November to celebrate Scottish Sporting success including at the Commonwealth Games. Then in was on to the Commonwealth Games Scotland Sports Awards Dinner in Glasgow, supported by Clydesdale Bank, where the top award of the evening went to swimmer Hannah Miley. She saw off stiff competition to win the title of Scottish Sportsperson of the Year 2010 and was awarded the Emirates Lonsdale Trophy.

2010 was a golden year for Hannah finishing the year ranked as the world number one in her favoured 400m individual medley (IM) event and as both the European and Commonwealth champion, taking some notable scalps and records in the process. In runner-up spot was triathlete, Catriona Morrison.

Further awards were also given to specifically recognise performances at the 2010 Commonwealth Games in Delhi. This programme, supported by Clydesdale Bank, has recognised an Athlete of the Month since October 2009 as they vied for selection for the Games and has culminated in four overall awards.

It was shooting that stole the show with Jonathan Hammond collecting the Clydesdale Bank Male Athlete of the Games title and 19 year old Jennifer McIntosh taking the female title. Both John and Jen were Scotland’s most successful individual male and female athletes at a single Games. John won two gold medals a silver and a bronze, whilst Jen won two gold and a bronze.

Swimmer Robbie Renwick was recognised with the Clydesdale Bank Inspirational Performance Award. Robbie won Scotland’s first gold of the Games in the men’s 200m freestyle, coming back after bitter disappointment in the 400m freestyle on day one. After hearing ‘Flower of Scotland’ played for the very first time on the podium, Robbie dedicated the hard fought gold to his former coach, Eileen Adams, who sadly died earlier this year after a long battle with cancer.

The Clydesdale Bank Memorable

It wasn’t long before the team started to realise the impact their performances in Delhi had had both on the country and their own local communities and there was recognition for many of the medallists in the end of year awards ceremonies.

Sporting celebrations for Commonwealth stars

2

Moment of the Games was awarded to weightlifter Peter Kirkbride. A ‘fired up’ Kirkbride shouted ‘Scotland’ as he lifted himself into silver medal position in the 94kg weight category. So pleased with his performance, he leapt up from the lifting platform in sheer delight and then eluded to the rapturous crowd just how easy it all was – all captured on camera! Peter has also been awarded an Olympic Solidarity Athlete Scholarship by the International Olympic Committee.

Also recognised were five winners of Scottish Sports Aid Merit Awards supported by John Lewis Glasgow. These were made to: 22 year old triathlete David McNamee; 15 year old tennis player Jonathon O’Mara; Lisa McKenzie a 21 year old fencer; Grace Reid a 14 year old springboard diver; and 17 year old swimmer Craig McNally. It was Grace Reid who went on to win the Scottish Sports Aid Junior Sportsperson of the Year 2010. Grace had an outstanding year finishing an incredible fourth at the European Senior Diving Championships in August, a result which saw her qualify for selection for Team Scotland at the 2010 Commonwealth Games as its youngest ever team member. In Delhi she had a wonderful experience and finished in sixth place setting the highest ever score for a British

junior.

But it was at the Sunday Mail sportscotland Scottish Sports Awards Dinner in December that Team Scotland as a whole was recognised and voted Team of the Year, recognised for its

outstanding team spirit and performance both on and off the field of play. Robbie

Renwick and Grace Reid were also recognised for their achievements – twice in a week.

Triathlete Catriona Morrison with CGS Chairman Michael Cavanagh and Denise Holmes, Emirates Airline

Jon Doig and Donald McIntosh collect Team of the Year Award.

Grace Reid awarded Junior Sportsperson of the Year

Jen McIntosh is Female Athlete of the Games.

Hannah Miley

Page 3: Countdown 15 - Winter 2010

Scotland’s Lauren Smith was lying in third place following a strong execution of her technical routine. She put in a superb performance in the free routine the following day to hold off Malaysia’s Katrina Abdul Hadi and win bronze, Scotland’s first ever synchro medal.

DIVING14 year old Grace Reid was Scotland’s sole representative in the diving, following the withdrawal of the Galashan twins with Helen sustaining a fractured wrist just days before departing for Delhi.

Grace who was Scotland’s youngest ever team member, made her Games debut in the 3m springboard event. She dived steadily through the qualification round to finish in seventh position and qualify for the final. She continued her good form in

to finish sixth overall, settings a new PB in the process and the

first time a British junior diver has ever scored over 300

points.

3

SWIMMINGThe action got underway at Dr SP Mukherkjee Swimming Complex on the first day of the Games with David Carry out to defend his 400m freestyle title. He had to settle for bronze but still collected Scotland’s first medal of the Games.

Day two saw David back in action along with fellow Aberdonian Robbie Renwick in the 200m freestyle. This time it was Robbie’s turn to come out on top and win Scotland’s first gold and hear the Flower of Scotland played on the podium for the very first time.

On day three with both Renwick and Carry keen to add to their personal medal tally, they teamed up with Andy Hunter and Jak Scott in the men’s 4x200m freestyle relay to take silver in the final. Cameron Brodie and Lewis Smith also were awarded medals for their contribution in the heats. It was Sean Fraser’s turn to stand on the medal podium on day five, powering to silver in the 100m freestyle Para Sport S8 event.

On the final day of competition in the pool Michael Jamieson took silver in the 200m breaststroke touched out to miss gold by 0.08 seconds. European Champion Hannah Miley waited all week to compete in her favoured 400m individual medley. She held her nerve to take gold in style with a time of 4:38.83, a new Games Record and crowned a fantastic day for Team Scotland.

SYNCHROAfter the first day of the synchronised swimming solo competition,

AQUATICSIt was always going to be difficult for the swimmers to match their truly exceptional performance of the 2006 Games, where they won a historic 12 medals. However,

they were determined to deliver to their potential and won two gold, three silver and a bronze in the swimming plus a bronze in the synchronised swimming.

Archery made a return to the Commonwealth Games arena in Delhi for the first time since Brisbane in 1982. Team Scotland had 10 archers selected for the Games in both compound and recurve disciplines.

In the team competition the men’s recurve and compound teams both finished ninth , whilst the women’s compound team were eigth. There were mixed fortunes for the archers in the individual events with Tracey McGowan giving the best Scottish performance to finish sixth overall.

ARCHERY

At the impressive Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium there were mixed performances from the Scots and it was the women that reached the podium contributing a silver and a bronze to the team’s medal tally.

Steph Twell, representing Scotland for the first time, had a magnificent race in the 1500m against world class opposition. She dug deep and held her line on the inside to take

a well earned bronze. Later in the week she gave another fine performance in the 5000m and just missed out on the medals finishing fourth.

On day seven Eilidh Child went into the final of the 400m hurdles as second fastest from the heats and lived up to her

billing. She ran a fantastic race to clinch the silver medal in a time of 55.62 to end a successful season which saw her step up and establish herself amongst world class opposition.

ATHLETICS

DelhiTracey McGowan

Eilidh Child

Hannah Miley

Sean Fraser

Lauren Smith

Grace Reid

Robbie Renwick

highlights

Page 4: Countdown 15 - Winter 2010

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Scotland’s women gave a solid performance in the team competition to finish in fifth place, with all three girls qualifying for the individual all-around final. In addition they each qualified for one individual apparatus final with Amy on the floor, Tori on beam and Jordon on bars. It was Amy who came out on top finishing fourth after a good routine.

Scotland’s sole male competitor made it through to the individual

all-around final after a late withdrawal and set a personal best to finish 17th, whilst in the rhythmic gymnastics competition

16 year old Vicky Clow qualified for the individual all-around final and finished 14th.

BOXINGTherewasagreatbuzzintheboxingcampfromtheoff,withallsevenboxersdeterminedtoshowwhattheycoulddo.Theydidn’tdisappointandcameawaywithabronze,silverandgoldtomaintainboxing’sincrediblerecordofamedalateveryCommonwealthGames.

In his opening bout of the competition Stephen Simmons in the 91kg Heavyweight category was up against South

African Masana Manganyi and gave a dominant performance to win 10-2. In the quarter finals there was another confident win for Simmons 7-4 against Canadian Samir El Mais. But there was disappointment in the semis when he lost 6-1 to Northern Ireland’s Steven Ward and had to settle for bronze.

Josh Taylor started strongly in the 60kg Lightweight category defeating Melbourne bronze medallist, Darren Edwards of Wales 5-1. He gave another

winning performance 4-1 against Benjamin

Lamptey of Ghana, before conducting a whitewash against Kautoa Roddy of Kiribati in the quarter

finals to win 10-0 and

guarantee himself a medal. In the semi-finals Josh put in a composed performance to beat Tongan Lomalito Moala 5-0, but in the final it was a tough ask when he was up against England’s Thomas Stalker, current European Champion. The experience of the Englishman showed as he took the bout 11-3 and Taylor had to be satisfied with silver. However it was an outstanding result for the 19 year old from Edinburgh who had only conceded two points on his way to the final.

It was Callum Johnson in the 81kg Light Heavyweight category that went all the way and took gold, a repeat of the feat performed by Kenny Anderson in Melbourne four years earlier. Having seen off Krystian Borucki of the Isle of Man 8-1 in his opening bout, Johnson was up against Englishman Obed Mbwakongo in the quarter finals and came out on top 6-2. In the semis Johnson continued to show his dominance against Wales’ Jermaine Asare forcing the referee to stop the contest at

11-1. There was no stopping Callum now as he executed a clinical performance from the start of his final against Thomas McCarthy of Northern Ireland 8-1 to take gold and secure Team Scotland’s final gold

medal of the Games.

On finals night Stephen Simmons donned his morph suit once more to support his teammates, before changing back into team kit to collect his own bronze medal.

Following the draw, both Scotland men and women’s team knew they were in with a tough challenge to qualify through the pool stages of the competition, with only the top two in each five team pool progressing. The women got off to a good start holding hosts India to a 1-1 draw in their opening match. This was followed by a loss

to South Africa, a win against Trinidad & Tobago and a loss to Australia. Following a fourth place result in the pool stages, Scotland’s women played-off against Wales to determine 7th/8th positions. With the score standing at 1-1 the final result went down to penalty flicks. The final score was 4-2. Abi Walker saved three penalties while Kareena Marshall, Vicky Bunce and Catriona Forrest slotted theirs in the net to cement the win.

The men had a frustrating campaign losing all four pool games against higher ranked opposition in Pool A. In the play-offs they beat Trinidad & Tobago to finish ninth overall and equal their ranking going in.

In the mixed team competition Scotland got off to a winning start, first against Barbados then Wales and Kenya, all to the same impressive 5-0 score line. Hosts India were the first to beat Scotland 4-1. It was then Scotland’s turn to face the Auld Enemy

HOCKEY

BADMINTON

England in the quarter finals where they lost 3-1 and with it their chance of winning a team medal as they had in Manchester in 2002.

In the individual events it was Glasgow’s Susan Egelstaff that led the charge for Scotland in the women’s singles. However Scotland’s hopes of ending the badminton competition with a medal ended in disappointment when third seed Susan Egelstaff lost the bronze medal play-off to great rival and fourth seed Elizabeth Cann of England.

Egelstaff had been hoping to repeat her victory of four years ago over the England No. 1 at the same stage in Melbourne and she went into action boosted by a good win over Cann in the quarter-finals of the team event. However after taking an early lead in the first game she lost 21-18, 21-16.

GYMNASTICS

Scotland v India

Amy Regan

Callum Johnson

Josh Taylor

Susan Egelstaff

Page 5: Countdown 15 - Winter 2010

wind. The race was held on an expressway, with a tailwind-assisted first 20km before the riders had to turn and ride directly into the wind - an experience Millar later said was “like pedalling through treacle.” Yet as others struggled along the flat course, Millar was a model of efficiency - head down, legs slicing up and down, he cut through the wind like a blade. After leading England’s Alex Dowsett at half-distance – by just four seconds – his margin of victory was a whopping 54 seconds on the line.

For the second time in a week David Millar made history by becoming the first Scot ever to win a gold medal in a road cycling event and it was proudly presented to him by Scotland’s First Minister Alex Salmond.

5

On the first day of the cycling competition, Jenny Davis

and Charline Joiner won silver in the women’s team sprint, a new event on the Commonwealth Games programme. Having only trained together for this event for a few months it was a fabulous achievement. Part of the ‘Gold for Glasgow’ campign, success came early for the pair.

But there was heartache for the Team Scotland flag bearer, Ross Edgar, who crashed out of the keirin following a collision in the semi-final stages. He was also unable to bounce back in the individual sprint with the toughest possible draw against Australia’s Shane Perkins in the quarter final. Perkins beat Edgar in two

straight rides on his way to winning the gold medal.

For David Millar, Delhi was where his dreams of winning Commonwealth Games medals for Scotland came true. After a fabulous tactical battle in the road race which Millar controlled for much of the second half, he was outsprinted at the finish to take an excellent bronze. With a full complement of six Team Scotland riders in the race, Millar was well supported, and he paid tribute at the finish to the work done by David Lines, James McCallum and Ross Creber, Evan Oliphant and Andy Fenn in the 168km race held in 41-degree heat.

After his bronze in the road race, Millar was the favourite going into the 40km time trial, which was made challenging by strong

CYCLINGAfterthesixmedalhaulforScotlandinMelbourneonthetracktherewassomedisappointmentthisyearinthevelodrome,withjustonesilvermedaltocelebrate.HoweveritwasadifferentstoryintheroadeventswhereDavidMillarwasdeterminedtodoScotlandproudandwonagoldandabronze.

LAWN BOWLS For our bowlers it was a case of so near and yet so far losing out on the tie breaker on numerous occasions. They finished their

campaign outside the medals for the first time since 1966.

The men’s pairs of Darren Burnett and Neil Speirs came closest

to the podium losing out in the bronze medal match to Malaysia in a tie break. The men’s and women’s singles

players both lost in the semi-final play-offs and the women’s

triples went out in the quarter finals. One highlight for lawn bowls was the appearance of 72 year old Willie Wood in his eighth Commonwealth Games as part of the men’s triples team, making him the most capped Scottish Games athlete to date.

RUGBY 7sScotland created history as they made it into the quarter finals of the rugby sevens competition for the first time at the Commonwealth Games. They opened proceedings with a 26-0 victory over Guyana then faced a tough match against Canada and came out on top 19-17. Their final pool match was against

New Zealand who had stood out all day with their speed and skill. Scotland went down 44-0 but were pleased to go through as second in their group. On day two Scotland faced South Africa, and having beaten them at Murrayfield in the IRB Sevens World Series in May, they hoped they could produce a repeat performance. It wasn’t to be and in a closely fought contest they lost 10-7. They quickly picked themselves up and overcame a strong Kenyan side after extra time in the semi-final of the plate winning 22-17. The final showdown was against reigning IRB champions Samoa who dominated the match and lifted the plate. Scotland 7s ended their most successful ever Commonwealth Games campaign in sixth position.

Jenny Davis and Charline Joiner seize silver

Andy Turnbull on the attack against CanadaWillie Wood

The men’s road race passes the iconic India Gate

David Millar

Page 6: Countdown 15 - Winter 2010

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SHOOTING Scotland’s shooters were on target in Delhi and finished as the top sport at the Games winning four gold, three silver and two bronze. In the small bore rifle events Jen McIntosh and Kay Copland started the medal haul winning bronze in the 50m rifle 3 position pairs competition which was soon matched

It was in the doubles events that Scotland hoped to shine at the Siri Fort Sports Complex. Lyall Paterson and Chris Small and Lisa Aitken and Frania Gillen-Buchert progressed from the group stages of the men’s and women’s doubles, but lost out in the quarter finals. Similarly mixed doubles pair Lisa Aitken and Harry Leitch also made it through their group and went out in the quarter finals. It was left to men’s doubles pairing of Harry Leitch and Alan Clyne to fly the flag for Scotland and they battled all the way to the semi finals. In a match

of extraordinary doubles which lasted an hour and 24 minutes the Scots went out 11/10 11/6 to Australian opponents Palmer and Boswell. This gave the Scottish pair one final shot at bronze and again they faced Australian opposition in the play-off in the form of Ryan Cuskelly and Cameron Pilley. After a tight affair in the first game and a fight back in the second, they were finally beaten 11/5 11/7 to just miss out on a medal.

SQUASH

by Jon Hammond and Neil Stirton. Jon then went on to win silver in the individual 3 position event.

But it was in the 50m rifle prone events that Scotland swept the board with the above quartet winning an incredible four gold medals in the men’s and women’s pairs and individual competitions, an outstanding achievement and one that made coach and father Donald McIntosh extremely proud. Jen put in an exemplary performance to take the gold, only dropping three points during the entire match to equal the world record and set a new Commonwealth Games record of 597-42x. This medal has a particular significance to Jen, whose mother Shirley won the event at the 1994 Games in Victoria. Jon Hammond with two gold, a silver and a bronze was the athlete of the Games and

Jon Hammond

Kay Copland and Jen McIntosh

Harry Leitch

the most successful male athlete ever at a single Games for Scotland, whilst Jen McIntosh with two gold and a bronze was the most successful female athlete ever at a single Games.

Keen to contribute to the medal tally, the other shooting disciplines did not disappoint. For the clay target shooters it was Shona Marshall in the individual trap event that came up trumps and won silver and in full bore Angus McLeod and Ian Shaw also delivered a hard earned silver in the pairs competition, which was fraught with technical difficulties on the range.

Jon Hammond and Neil Stirton

Jen celebrates at India Gate

Page 7: Countdown 15 - Winter 2010

WRESTLING Scotland had 10 wrestlers competing in Delhi, including seven women who were making their debut in this new Commonwealth Games sport for women. A number of them had transferred from judo and were hopeful that they could reap rewards in their new found sport.

However their medal charge was repeatedly thwarted at the bronze medal stage despite some hard fought bouts. Jayne Clason (55kg), Sarah Jones (72kg) and Ashlea McManus (67kg) all lost out on bronze, whilst Viorel Etko was Scotland’s best male competitor, losing out in the repechage semi finals.

7

Fourteen men contested the 94kg category including Kilmarnock’s very own Peter Kirkbride who jumped for joy when he was awarded the silver medal, breaking two records on the way. The reigning British Champion and holder of three Scottish and British records before competition was looking to add a medal to his accolades. Going into the snatch at 140kg, 5kg heavier than originally intended, Peter shook off his nerves and had a ‘good lift’. 144kg was the next challenge which he lifted comfortably, but 146kg was just out of reach. Kirkbride, who competed four years ago in Melbourne finishing 6th, and claimed gold at the 2004 Commonwealth Youth Games, was lying second going into the Clean & Jerk discipline. He started with 182kg, moving him into the lead; maintained that with a 186kg second lift and went for 189kg in his final attempt and made it look easy giving him a combined total of 333kg. He jumped for joy as he left the podium and waited anxiously for the final two opponents to challenge him. But when gold looked all but his, Faauliuli of Samoa, in the last lift of the competition, successfully lifted 192kg to grab the gold by a single kilogram. Nevertheless, Peter and his long-time coach Charles Hamilton were delighted with silver and proud to win Scotland’s eleventh medal of the Games.

WEIGHTLIFTING

TENNISTennis was making its Games debut in Delhi and the players were determined to make their involvement count, despite the late withdrawal of Elena Baltacha who was a strong prospect in the women’s singles.It was the mixed doubles pairing of Colin Fleming and Jocelyn Rae that took the tournament by storm, beating the hosts and second seeds India and fourth seeds England in the semi-finals, on the way to

TABLE TENNISThe Scottish trio of Gavin Rumgay, Craig Howieson and Stewart Crawford started their Games campaign in the team competition. They won two out of three group games, but then lost in the play off for the quarter finals to Malaysia by 1/3. Left to contest the minor team placings, they beat Sri Lanka then Canada to finish in ninth place. In the singles Gavin was Scotland’s top player reaching the last 16 where he lost to the Indian second seed with a world ranking of 40 compared to Gavin’s 228. Craig qualified for the singles, but went out in the second round, whilst Stewart just failed to qualify after winning his initial game. Gavin and Craig got through to the last 16 of the men’s doubles but lost by 0/3 to a strong Australian pair.

clinching gold in a nail biting final that had all the Scottish supporters on the edge of their seats. The unseeded Scottish pair, who had never played together before the Games, completed a truly remarkable fight-back in the final to beat the Australian top seeds Paul Hanley and Anastasia Rodionova 7-6 6-7 6-2 to become the first ever mixed doubles tennis champions in Commonwealth Games competition. Their outstanding achievement secured Scotland’s third gold medal of the Games.

Ashlea McManus

Peter Kirkbride jumps for joy

Gavin Rumgay

Colin Fleming and Jocelyn Rae

Page 8: Countdown 15 - Winter 2010

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Commonwealth Games Scotland, Gannochy Sports Centre, University of Stirling, Stirling FK9 4LATel: +44 (0)1786 466480 Fax: +44 (0)1786 466481 Email: [email protected] www.cgcs.org.uk

The Isle of Man Youth Games will be the fourth since the inaugural Games held in Scotland in 2000. Since then, Scottish athletes have won over 100 medals at the three Games held in Edinburgh, Bendigo and Pune, with many going on to compete for the senior team at the Commonwealth Games and again win medals. Many stars of the Delhi Games including Hannah Miley, Robbie Renwick, Jen McIntosh, Kay Copland and Peter Kirkbride were all Youth Games medallists in Bendigo or Pune.

The Youth Games provide an excellent opportunity to prepare our athletes of the future by exposing them to a multi-sport Games competition, usually for the first time, and provide an exciting opportunity for our young athletes to get their first taste of Commonwealth competition.

There is a maximum of 1000 athlete places available for the Youth Games, so for the Isle of Man places have been allocated to all Commonwealth nations on a pro rata basis of their athlete numbers in the 2006 Commonwealth Games. Scotland has been allocated 43 places, including a Rugby 7s squad. The sports which will compete in the Isle of Man are: Athletics, Badminton, Boxing, Cycling, Gymnastics, Swimming and Rugby 7s. The age of athletes will range from 14 – 18 yrs (depending on the sport) and each sport is currently working with CGS to confirm selection policies, with the standards to be reached next year to gain a place on the team.

The general team management will be lead by Vicky Strange. Deputy general team managers, medical and media staff will be appointed by the end of 2010 and the sport team leaders and coaches will be appointed early in 2011.

Commonwealth Youth Games – Isle of Man 2011With the Delhi Games now over, the new focus for CGS is the 2011 Commonwealth Youth Games to be held on the Isle of Man from 7 to 13 September 2011.

Further details of the next Youth Games can be found on www.cyg2011.com.

Glasgow 2014 venues progressWork has now begun on the Kelvingrove Bowls Centre, which will host the Lawn Bowls competition at the Glasgow 2014 Commonwealth Games.

Commonwealth Games movement. This beautiful venue will provide our athletes with first class facilities in a great location, showcasing the best of Glasgow.”

Michael Cavanagh, Chair, Commonwealth Games Scotland said: “Lawn Bowls is a huge sport in Scotland and I know our bowlers will get a real buzz from competing in front of such a knowledgeable home crowd, against such a historic backdrop. We have a strong tradition of success in lawn bowls and I know that a home Games will make our bowlers even more determined to do well.”

This first phase is expected to be completed by early summer in 2011, with the entire project expected to be complete by summer 2012.

The centre is located immediately adjacent to the Kelvingrove Art Gallery and Museum, and close to the University of Glasgow. All five bowling greens will be upgraded to international standard for use during the Games for competition, warm-up and training. Works will include the installation of a new drainage system, the complete reconstruction of greens and ditches incorporating a new automated irrigation scheme and there will be seating for around 2,500 spectators.

Once complete, the new bowling venue will be among the finest in Scotland. A project to deliver a new pavilion to meet the legacy requirements of club members and casual users following the Games is currently being developed by Glasgow City Council and Glasgow Life.

Glasgow 2014 Chief Executive John Scott said: “Lawn Bowls is a fantastic sport which holds a very special place at the heart of the

Kelvingrove will be the inpressive backdrop to the lan bowls competition.

PHOTO CREDITS: Steve Lindridge and Rebecca Lee, Ideal Images; Duncan McEwan; Donald McIntosh; Sunday Mail; Glasgow 2014.