Silver medallist at the Melbourne 2006 Commonwealth Games in the Women’s Pairs, bowler Kay Moran repeated that achievement at Gold Coast 2018, as she took Scotland’s first ever Women’s Triples medal alongside Stacey McDougall and Caroline Brown.

Now resident in Australia, Kay has won Australian Open and New Zealand Open titles, as well as taking gold in the Pairs at the Australian Championships. We caught up with her for our Sport Focus series to hear about her Commonwealth Games career and the differences in the sport ‘Down Under’.

How old were you and how did you get started in bowls?

I was 12 years old and dragged along by my dad as they needed kids for the Junior section of our club. It didn’t take me long to fall in love with the sport!

Who has been the biggest influence on your career?

In Britain it was Sarah Gourlay, as she was the most caring Manager of our Commonwealth Games team, understanding how individuals worked and allowed us to be ourselves within a team environment. In Australia it has been Karen Murphy, as she has helped me adapt to the Australian style of game, which is different from the British game due to the differing conditions.

What stage of your career were you at when you were selected for your first Commonwealth Games? What are your memories from those Games?

I had been in the Elite Squad for five years before I made my first Commonwealth Games in 2006. It was a good time for me to be given the opportunity as I had become comfortable being part of a strong team, I felt confident in my ability and was ready to take on the challenge. I remember feeling like I had entered another world when we went into the village in Melbourne, it’s just indescribable the excitement of being part of such an important event. It allows you to focus completely on the job at hand and everything you could possibly need is there at your fingertips. I was so proud to be part of the Scottish Team, a defining moment for me.

You won silver in Melbourne with Joyce Lindores, who sadly passed away in 2017. What are your memories of Joyce and what did she bring to the sport and to the team?

Joyce was one of a kind. When we played together we were very close, she helped bring out the best in me and was a fantastic skipper to have on your side. She was an unconscious comedian, caring, one of the best bowlers I’d ever seen and willing to share her wisdom freely with me.

She could be very black and white in that, if she respected you as a bowler she treated you well and, if not, then she wasn’t so generous with her patience. She told it like it was and had a strong will which contributed to her being such a great competitor. She could single handedly save team matches on her own, a true superstar of the game. She brought fierce passion to the game, intensity and honesty. She was a great leader and an anchor of any team. A joy to play with in my eyes and a big influence for me. I remember her with happy memories.

How did the experience of your second Games in Gold Coast differ from Melbourne? What did it mean to win another medal for Team Scotland?

Gold Coast was different as in Melbourne I was close to 30 years younger than my team mates and this time I was by far the oldest team member. It was another great experience getting the chance to pull on the Scottish jersey, which has more meaning when living abroad. It was a much more relaxed team atmosphere with younger players involved and I was lucky enough to have Sarah Gourlay’s son, David Gourlay, as my manager this time. David is similar in nature to Sarah, understanding we are all different and have our own ways to be at our best. To win another medal was fantastic. I knew we had a great team and we just had to put it all together to have success. Great experience and one I won’t forget.

You now live in Australia. What prompted the move, what are you currently doing and how does the bowls culture differ between Scotland and Australia?

I moved here in 2008 as I could see the opportunities for bowlers were far greater in this country. I am now a Bowls Coordinator at a local bowling club which allows me to coach bowls, manage social bowls, competitions and tournaments. The culture here is different as I would say it’s more competitive with more members and more young players in the game. Bowlers here want to be the best they can be and are willing to train and engage coaching on a regular basis. We also have moved forward in bowling attire, being more fashion focused, so it doesn’t have the same image as back home. There is a push to modernise the formats of games to short, sharp and inviting to non bowlers, helping shake off the old image. The clubs here are quite commercial, therefore don’t have to rely on volunteers and have full time professionals to run everything.

You would have been preparing for the World Championships that have now been postponed to next year. How are you dealing with the current situation and how are you staying prepared for when sport resumes?

I am honestly enjoying the rest from bowls and focusing on my fitness for the time being. I will give myself a plan for starting again, which may be quite soon over here, and see it as an opportunity to be hungry for the sport when it reopens.

Birmingham 2022 is just two years away, is this in your plans and if so what are your ambitions for the next few years?

Bowls is a sport that playing in conditions that are similar to competition conditions is a big advantage hence why it was good to have me in the team for the Australian based events. Now that I won’t be playing on British conditions regularly I think that the team will be chosen from people playing in Britain and understandably so. I think I’ll be hanging up my representative jersey and more than happy to be cheering from the other side of the world.

As far as Commonwealth Games legacies go, none come greater than legendary bowler Willie Wood, with a record-breaking eight Games appearances over a 35 year period.

Willie first represented his country in 1966, with his first Commonwealth Games appearance coming in 1974 in New Zealand. He took bronze in the Singles at those Christchurch Games and went on to play at a further seven Games, adding two gold and one silver to his medal tally. He cemented his place in Scottish sporting history at his final Team Scotland appearance at Delhi 2010 where he was the oldest competitor at the Games at the age of 72.

Having grown up in the small East Lothian town of Gifford, Willie began playing bowls age 12, the choice between bowls and swimming made as he could play locally rather than having to catch multiple buses to the swimming pool at North Berwick. His grandfathers, uncles, father and mother all played, his father winning the 1967 Scottish Singles title, so he thought he would give it a go too and was quickly winning accolades and progressing through the ranks.

Despite not playing for three years due to national service obligations in Germany in the 1950s, Willie’s natural talent saw him win the Gifford club championship in his first year back to the sport, the start of an illustrious bowls career.

The Commonwealth Games played a huge role in his career with many treasured memories, the proudest of all being winning Singles gold at Brisbane 1982 and an incredible home-coming to Gifford – a reception in his honour, the town decked out in flags and well-wishers lining the streets – a true hero’s welcome.

His involvement in the Games extended past his own participation as a competitor, an ambassador for Bowls Scotland and lending his wealth of experience to the whole of Team Scotland as Glasgow played host in 2014. He threw the first bowl on the new greens of Kelvingrove Lawn Bowls Centre ahead of the Games, a fitting tribute to his years of commitment to the sport and to his extraordinary Commonwealth Games career.

While his achievements for Team Scotland are impressive enough in their own right, his success wasn’t confined to the Commonwealth Games alone. He is the most capped Scottish bowler in history with over 130 appearances for Scotland over a 40 year period. He also won 15 World Championship medals in his illustrious career including four gold medals at the outdoor championships between 1992 and 2008.

He was awarded the MBE for services to sport in 1992 and was the first bowler inducted into the Scottish Sports Hall of fame in 2007.

Although retired from international bowls since 2011, the personal legacy that Willie has contributed to the Scottish sporting world is second to none.

One of six sports contested at the first Commonwealth Games in 1930 and one of Team Scotland’s most successful sports ever since, Lawn Bowls is next into our ‘Celebrating Our Past, Building Our Future’ Sport Focus spotlight, as we continue to feature each of the 25 sports in which Scotland has competed at the Commonwealth Games.

Look out for all things Lawn Bowls on Team Scotland’s website and social channels this month as we delve into the archives for tales of past success and also look ahead to the rising stars of the sport who could be representing Team Scotland at Birmingham 2022.

Lawn Bowls at the Commonwealth Games

Lawn Bowls is a core sport in the Commonwealth Games for men and women and has been included in every Games programme with the exception of Kingston, Jamaica in 1966 where no acceptable bowling greens were available. The first para-sport to be included in the Games, Para-Bowls is now also a core discipline and featured in 1994, 2002, 2014 and 2018.

From 1930 until 1978 the events on offer were Men’s Singles, Men’s Pairs and Men’s Fours. The first women’s event, a Triples tournament, was included in 1982 and was won by Zimbabwe, Scotland’s Jessie Adamson, Janet Menzies and Jessie Lawson finishing 11th. Edinburgh 1986 was the first Games with a women’s programme to match the men’s with Singles, Pairs and Fours. Men’s and Women’s Triples were added in 2006 and have been contested ever since.

Scotland has found success in the sport throughout its history winning 37 medals: 18 gold, 10 silver and 9 bronze, Scotland’s only sport with a higher gold medal tally than any other colour (barring Tennis with one gold as its only medal). Scotland were the top bowling nation at Brisbane 1982, where they won two of the four gold medals on offer, and Victoria 1994 where they won three gold and one bronze.

With eight Games for Scotland between 1966 and 2010, bowler Willie Wood holds the record for most Games appearances in any sport and is also Team Scotland’s oldest competitor to date, age 72 at his final Games. He won two gold , one silver and one bronze across his Commonwealth career.

With five gold and one silver medal, Alex Marshall is not only Team Scotland’s most successful bowler, but also tops the all-time list of Scotland’s Commonwealth Games medallists across all sports. Third place on that list goes to Marshall’s long-time Pairs and Fours team mate Paul Foster, just behind on four gold and one silver.

Lawn Bowls has featured twice at the Commonwealth Youth Games, making its debut at Bendigo 2004 followed by an appearance at the Samoa 2015 Games.

Find out more about Lawn Bowls in the Commonwealth Games on our dedicated Lawn Bowls page.

Scotland’s Commonwealth Games Gold Medallists

Following bronze in the Men’s Fours for David Fraser, John Orr, Thomas Chambers and William Campbell at the first Commonwealth Games in 1930, Robert Sprot became Scotland’s first Lawn Bowls gold medallist four years later in London, going undefeated across all nine rounds. Sprot, Scottish Singles champion in 1910, 1920 and 1929, had a good pedigree, his father George twice a former Scottish Singles champion, including at the inaugural tournament in 1894.

Despite Pairs bronze in 1954, silver in all three events on offer in 1962 and Fours bronze in 1970, it was a full 40 years before another Scot stood on top of the Bowls podium at a Commonwealth Games. Played in round-robin format, Alex McIntosh and John Christie took Men’s Pairs gold at Christchurch 1974 by the narrowest of margins over John Evans and Peter Line of England. The Scottish pair’s record of 11 wins, one draw and one loss just bettered that of their English’s rivals on 11 wins and two losses. McIntosh went on to win silver four years later alongside Willie Wood in the Men’s Pairs, Scotland’s only Bowls medal at those Games.

Gold for Willie Wood in the Men’s Singles and John Watson and David Gourlay in the Men’s Pairs at Brisbane 1982 marked the start of an incredible run of Scottish champions over the next six Games. George Adrain and Grant Knox were convincing Men’s Pairs winners in 1986, undefeated across 12 matches of round-robin, Canada taking silver with nine wins. These Games also saw Senga McCrone become the first Scottish woman to win a Bowls medal with silver in the Singles, missing out on gold by the smallest of margins. Tied on nine wins and two losses with England’s Wendy Line, gold went to the Englishwoman by virtue of two shots.

At Auckland 1990 Willie Wood and Geooge Adrain took their second gold medals as they combined with Ian Bruce and Dennis Love to win Scotlad’s first ever Men’s Four title while Victoria 1994 was a historic affair as Richard Corsie won Scotland’s first Men’s Singles title for 60 years, Sarah Gourlay and Francis Whyte became the first Scottish women to win gold as they took the Women’s Pairs and Robert Brand won the first ever Para-Bowls gold medal in the Men’s Visually Impaired Singles.

Margaret Letham and Joyce Lindores retained the Women’s Pairs title for Scotland four years later in Kuala Lumpur beating Namibia 31-8 in the final. Manchester 2002 saw more Para-Bowls success for Scotland as David Heddle, Ivan Prior and John Robertson took gold in the Men’s Triples and these Games also saw a 35 year old Alex Marshall win the first of his six Commonwealth Games medals with gold in the Men’s Pairs alongside George Sneddon. Mashall retained his Pairs title four years later in Melbourne, this time with Paul Foster and, after the disappointment of no Scottish medals in Bowls at Delhi 2010, the team rallied back with a record-breaking Games at Glasgow 2014.

Marshall and Foster won back their Pairs title in Glasgow in impressive style, undefeated through the pool stages and beating Malaysia 20-3 in the gold medal match, having emerged victorious 16-15 from a close battle with England in the semi-finals. A second gold for Marshall and Foster alongside David Peacock and Neil Speirs, as well as gold for Darren Burnett in the Men’s Singles, saw every member of the men’s team come home from the Games with a gold. Silver too for the Para-Sport Mixed Pairs B2/B3 made this Scotland’s best Lawn Bowls result at any Games to date.

Gold Coast 2018 saw a new record tally with five medals, including gold for both the Men’s Triples and Pairs. Ronnie Duncan and Derek Oliver at their first Games took home two gold medals each, while gold in the Fours and a silver in the Pairs cemented Alex Marshall as Team Scotland’s top Commonwealth Games competitor of all-time and put Paul Foster into third place behind sprinter Allan Wells. Silver in the Women’s Triples and bronze in Women’s Pairs completed an incredible nine days for Scotland’s bowlers, with 10 of them returning home with medals, to become the most successful nation of all-time in Commonwealth Games Lawn Bowls.

Birmingham 2022 will see Lawn Bowls competition take place at Victoria Park, Royal Leamington Spa, a World Class venue which has played host to a wealth of national and international competition for the past 40 years including twice hosting the Women’s World Championships.

Team Scotland Lawn Bowls Gold Medallists

Click here for a full list of Team Scotland’s Lawn Bowls medallists

Scotland at the Commonwealth Games

The Commonwealth Games is the only occasion where Scotland gets to compete in a multi-sport event as a nation in its own right and is one of only six countries to have competed in every Commonwealth Games since their inception in Hamilton in 1930. Represented by 15 athletes participating in six sports at those first Games, winning a very creditable 10 medals, Scotland have gone on to win medals at every Games since.

Edinburgh became the first city to hold the Games twice in 1970 and 1986 and also became the first city to host the Commonwealth Youth Games.

Scotland hosted the Games for a third time when Glasgow welcomed athletes and officials to the XXth Commonwealth Games which was held from 23rd July – 3rd August 2014. Team Scotland celebrated their most successful Games in history, winning a total of 53 medals and went on to record their highest overseas medal tally ever at Gold Coast 2018.

Find out more about the Commonwealth Games and Team Scotland’s past success in our Past Games section.

From its modern beginnings in the 1970s, Triathlon quickly made its mark, gaining status as an Olympic and Commonwealth sport, and is now a staple of these Games.  To round off our ‘Celebrating Our Past, Building Our Future’ Sport Focus, here are 12 things you might not know about the sport:

1. Following several events in the early 1900s featuring three sporting elements such as running, cycling and canoeing, the history of Triathlon as we know it dates back to the early 1970s and originated with the San Diego Track Club as an alternative to hard track training. The first modern Triathlon event was held on September 25, 1974.

2. Triathlon was a demonstration sport at the Auckland 1990 Commonwealth Games before making its debut as a medal event at Manchester 2002. Originally an optional sport it has now been elevated to core status, meaning it must be included each time the Games are held.

3. Mixed Team Relay, featuring two men and two women, was introduced at Glasgow 2014 and sees athletes compete in a super-sprint triathlon. Each athlete is required to complete a course of 250m open water swim, 7km cycle and 1.5km run, before tagging their team mate. The event returned for Gold Coast 2018 and will make its Olympic debut in Tokyo.

4. Marc Austin was Scotland’s first Commonwealth Games medallist in the sport, winning bronze at Gold Coast 2018.

5. Para-Triathlon made its debut at Gold Coast 2018 and it will return for Birmingham 2022. Paralympic Handcycling gold medallist Karen Darke became the first Scottish athlete to compete in Para-Triathlon at the Commonwealth Games. Since being paralysed from the chest down in a climbing accident age 21, the Inverness based athlete has pushed herself in an incredible series of challenges, alongside her sporting endeavours, all using just the power of her arms. These include crossing Greenland’s ice cap, hand-cycling from Canada to Mexico and climbing Mont Blanc, Matterhorn and El Capitan.

6. Eight nations have won medals in Commonwealth Games Triathlon. Australia have the highest medal tally with 12, while England boast the most gold medals with five.

7. At Gold Coast 2018 Flora Duffy won the first gold of the Games in the Women’s Individual Triathlon, taking Bermuda’s first Triathlon medal of any colour and becoming her country’s first ever female gold medallist.

8. For the first time in Commonwealth Games history, at Gold Coast 2018 the Triathlon took place over the Sprint distance; 750m swim, 20km bike and 5km run. Previous Games have been run over the full Olympic distance – double the Sprint distance.

9. Triathlon has one of the fastest rises from conception to Olympic status on record. From its beginning in the 1970s, Triathlon gained Olympic status in 1989 and featured for the first time at the 2000 Sydney Olympics in Australia. Para-Triathlon was first included at Rio 2016.

10. Scottish triathletes have won multiple World and European medals at both Triathlon and Duathlon (running, cycling, running) most notably Catriona Morrison MBE, who won bronze at the 2007 World Long Distance Triathlon Championships and was twice World Duathlon champion, twice World Long Distance Duathlon champion and twice European Duathlon champion.

11. In 2018, 85 year old triathlete Hiromu Inada became the oldest competitor ever to finish the IRONMAN World Championships, completing the 2.4-mile swim, 112-mile bike and 26.2-mile run in 16 hours 53 minutes and 50 seconds, less than seven minutes before the cutoff time.

12. Triathlon and Para-Triathlon competition at Birmingham 2022 will take place at Sutton Park, a 2,400 acre National Nature Reserve located 6 miles north of the city centre.

Team Scotland has welcomed many of the nation’s top triathletes to Commonwealth Games teams since the sport’s debut in 2002, but for most their Games experience is just the tip of the iceberg. For our Sport Focus series we take a look at what at some of our Commonwealth Games competitors have gone on to achieve.

Catriona Morrison MBE: Manchester 2002 (13^th) / Melbourne 2006 (15^th)

Catriona is Scotland’s most successful triathlete with multiple World and European medals in Triathlon and Duathlon and two Commonwealth Games appearances for Team Scotland. Making her international debut for Scotland in 2001 and for GB in 2004, Catriona went on to win two gold and two silver at the World Duathlon Championships, two gold and a silver at the World Long Course Duathlon Championships, two European Duathlon titles and bronze at the 2007 Long Distance Triathlon World Championships in Lorient, France.

2009 saw her record the fastest debut time for a woman completing an Ironman distance event and she claimed multiple Ironman 70.3 titles over the next few years, including winning at St Croix three years in a row. In 2012 she was awarded a Gold Pin for outstanding service to the sport by the British Triathlon Federation, an award rarely given to an athlete who is still competing, and she was a awarded an MBE for services to sport and voluntary service in 2015, the year she announced her retirement from international competition.

David McNamee: Glasgow 2014 (Glasgow 2014 Individual (7^th) / Mixed Team Relay (7th))

Finishing 7^th at Glasgow 2014 in both the Individual event and the Mixed Team Relay, David was Team Scotland’s most successful triathlete at a Commonwealth Games until Marc Austin took bronze at Gold Coast 2018. Following his Glasgow 2014 and several top-ten finished in the World Triathlon Series, he made the switch to Ironman and has excelled in this gruelling discipline which sees competitors swim 2.4 miles and cycle 112 miles before running a full marathon.

After 11^th place in his debut World Championships in 2015 and 13^th in 2016, David made his breakthrough to win bronze 2017, becoming the first British man ever to take a podium place in the 40 year history if the event. He followed up in 2018, recording the 3^rd fastest time in history as he took a second bronze medal in a record-breaking race.

Beth Potter: Gold Coast 2018 (Individual (12th) / Mixed Team Relay (7th))

Beth made history at Gold Coast 2018 becoming the first athlete ever to represent Scotland in two sports at a single Commonwealth Games – Triathlon and Athletics. Better known as a track endurance athlete, running at both the Rio 2016 Olympic Games and 2017 World Athletics Championships, she was selected to make her Commonwealth Games debut as a triathlete following a successful transition to the sport, also running the 10,000m on the track.

Following Gold Coast she has gone from strength to strength with several top-ten finishes at World Cup events culminating in a gold medal winning performance at the 2019 European Championships and, most recently, silver at the European Sprint Duathlon Championships in March 2020.

Steph Forrester: Manchester 2002 (DNS)

Selected for Triathlon’s Commonwealth Games debut at Manchester 2002, Steph unfortunately had to pull out before the race through injury. Outside the Commonwealth Games her pedigree showed, taking multiple medals at World Cup events and taking 15^th place for Team GB at Sydney 2000 as the sport made its Olympic debut. The same year saw her also take gold at the World Duathlon Championships in Calais, France, a race that saw Triathlon Scotland’s current Head of Performance, Fiona Lothian, (herself a World and European Duathlon medallist) finish 4th. Steph remains the only Scottish triathlete to date to compete at an Olympic Games.

Karen Darke: Gold Coast 2018 (PTWC Para-Triathlon (4th)

Paralympic gold medallist at Rio 2016 and silver medallist at London 2012, Karen is an athlete, adventurer and author. Having hand cycled her way 2,000 miles from Canada to Mexico in 2017, Karen made her Commonwealth Games debut at the Gold Coast where Para-Triathlon made its appearance for the first time at a Commonwealth Games. Competing in the individual PTWC event Karen achieved a 4th place finish.

Since being paralysed from the chest down in a climbing accident age 21, the Inverness based athlete has pushed herself in an incredible series of challenges, alongside her sporting endeavours, including crossing Greenland’s ice cap and climbing Mont Blanc, Matterhorn and El Capitan, all using just the power of her arms.

Due to the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic on the global sporting calendar, the Commonwealth Games Federation (CGF) have decided to explore rescheduling options for the 2021 Commonwealth Youth Games.

The seventh Commonwealth Youth Games were scheduled to take place ‪from 1-7 August 2021 after Trinidad and Tobago was awarded the competition by the CGF in June last year.

The rescheduling of many major events means that the Tokyo Olympics and Paralympics have now moved to the summer of 2021 during the original dates of the Youth Games.

Following positive discussions, the CGF has agreed to consider the best alternative options and timeframes for staging the event in the future, potentially in 2023.

The CGF has given the Trinidad and Tobago Commonwealth Games Association consideration as the first option to host.

Honourable Shamfa Cudjoe, Minister of Sport and Youth Affairs in the Government of Trinidad and Tobago, has committed to asking the Cabinet to re-examine its position and provide the necessary confirmation regarding the hosting of the Commonwealth Youth Games and the related expenditure.

CGF President Dame Louise Martin said: “The rescheduling of the Tokyo Olympics and Paralympics has also changed demands on scheduling and resources for many of our Commonwealth Games Associations (CGAs) and International Federations from 2020 to 2021.

“COVID-19 has had a devastating impact across the world and everyone’s absolute priority is the health and wellbeing of their communities.”

“Our decision has been made in the best interests of athletes, fans and citizens that are to benefit from these transformational Games.

“We are committed over the coming months to look at future dates and hosting options, to ensure the right decision is taken for the Commonwealth Youth Games, so that the region can continue to play a leading role as part of the Commonwealth Sports Movement.”

Jon Doig, Chief Executive at Commonwealth Games Scotland said: “While we are obviously disappointed that the Commonwealth Youth Games has had to be rescheduled, we completely understand that the best interests of all those involved must be the priority in light of the current situation.

“We look forward to supporting the rescheduled event, which is a key opportunity for our developing athletes and staff.”

Team Scotland’s first ever Triathlon medallist and first medallist in any sport of the Gold Coast 2018 Games, Marc Austin cemented his place in history by taking bronze with a magnificent performance in the Individual event. He held off the challenge of several top names including World and Olympic medallists Alister and Jonathan Brownlee, learning from the experience of Glasgow 2014 where he was part of a three-man breakaway with the Brownlee brothers but was eventually dropped.

Silver medallist at both the U23 and Junior World Championships, Marc turned his attention to Triathlon after finishing second at the Stirling Aquthlon at the age of 11. With our Sport Focus spotlight currently on Triathlon, we caught up with him for quick question and answer about his Commonwealth Games experience and his fight back to fitness from a heart problem.

What did it mean to you and for Triathlon to be Scotland’s first medallist of Gold Coast 2018?

I was really happy to finally have a medal that meant something to me. Until that point, I was proud of being an elite athlete, but there was no stand out performance that showed how hard I had worked over the years. To me the Commonwealth Games bronze represents that.

What are your memories of the Games? 

It was a good experience, I trained really well with a good group of friends and arrived at the Village pretty relaxed. The race was nearly perfect and I enjoyed my time after it as well, trying to take it all in.

In what ways was your second Games different from your experience at Glasgow 2014? Did you feel more pressure?

In 2014 being part of Team Scotland definitely had a big impact on me as I’d been dreaming of that race since 2007. We had a really big group of guys training in Stirling as well and they all helped a lot in the prep for that race. I felt like I was racing for the group and the team as well as myself.

I think in 2018 I was a lot more focused on myself. It was a lot easier to prepare for as I knew what was coming. I had a better understanding of what it was going to take to medal. I felt that anything short of a medal was going to be a disappointment, but I didn’t really focus on that. Instead I thought about all the good preparation I’d done leading in and how much I deserved to race well.

Looking back two years on, what has the experience given you?

Growing up I always envisioned that training into Major Games was excruciating and unenjoyable from stories I’d read and documentaries I’d watched. Instead I enjoyed every moment of training into it, those few months leading in were some of the most enjoyable of my career, same for 2014. So my perception of what it takes to be the best has definitely changed in that regard.

What have you been doing since Gold Coast – both competitively and personally? 

Unfortunately, I have been struggling with some heart issues since March 2019. It has been very up and down, with some false clearances and a lot of ambiguity around what the problem was/is. I have been able to train in the interim with set parameters around heart rate, so I trained all last year with the aim of racing in the late season. I spent a couple of months working on a farm at the start of this year, taking a break from the sport. Its now looking likely that I’m good to go again now and I’ve been training for just over a month.

Is Birmingham 2022 in your plans? What are your goals for the next two years?​

Everything is a bit up in the air at the moment but my focus is on getting back to full fitness. If I can get back to racing at the level I was I’ll be content. My aims still lie in the Olympics and Commonwealth Games but whether its possible I’m not sure. I’ll be very grateful if I get the all clear to race again and certainly won’t take it for granted.

Everyone at Team Scotland is wishing Marc well in his continued recovery and we hope to see him back on the start line soon.

With the Covid-19 pandemic having a catastrophic effect with the cancellation of thousands of events and the loss of billions in income through fundraising events, the 2.6 Challenge, running from 26 April to 1 May, has seen thousands rally to the cause of helping charities stay afloat.

Encouraging people to fund raise for a cause of their choice through any activity based around the numbers 2 and 6, the 2.6 Challenge is named in reference to the Virgin Money London Marathon, the world’s biggest one-day fundraising event, which should have taken place on Sunday 26 April and raised more than £66.4 million for charities in 2019.

Team Scotland stars past and present have risen to the challenge. Here’s a quick round up of just some of the ways they have been getting involved:

Euan Burton (Judo), David Carry (Swimming), Colin Fleming (Tennis), Jen McIntosh (Shooting), Grace Reid (Diving) – #26OlympiansChallenge

Euan, David, Colin, Jen and Grace, all gold medallists for Team Scotland at Commonwealth Games between 2006 and 2018, joined fellow Olympians for the #26OlympiansChallenge on Sunday 26 April. They hosted a full-body workout inspired by each athlete’s sport with a real insight to what it takes to be an Olympian and have so far raised over £11,000 for various charities.

26 Olympians’ Just Giving page: https://www.justgiving.com/team/26olympianschallenge

Steph Twell (Athletics) – 2.6 Mile Virtual Relay

On the day that she and thousands of others should have been running the London Marathon, Delhi 2010 bronze medallist over 1500m Steph Twell joined 11 fellow British elite marathon runners for a virtual relay of 2.6 miles each to raise money for the charity Mind, raising over £3,000.

Marathon Runners’ Just Giving page: https://www.justgiving.com/fundraising/britishmarathonwomen

*IT TAKES A MARATHON EFFORT* Our charities need us!Enjoy mine & other marathon ladies twist on turning our mental milestones of running 26.2 miles @LondonMarathon into something positive.We are fundraising for @MindCharity & you can too in #TwoPointSixChallenge @WomensSport pic.twitter.com/IEdh8N1A28

— Steph Twell (@StefApril) April 26, 2020

Jamie Quarry (Athletics) – Final 26.2 km of Land’s End to John O’Groats cycle

Bronze medallist for Team Scotland in the Decathlon in 2002, Jamie cycled 1084 miles – the distance from Land’s End to John O’Groats – over 13 days, dedicating the final 26.2 miles to the 2.6 Challenge in aid of Cancer Research.

Jamie’s Just Giving page: https://www.justgiving.com/fundraising/jamie-s-26-2-challenge

Toni Shaw (Para-Swimming) – 26 activities on 26 April

On 26 April Toni, Team Scotland’s youngest competitor at Gold Coast 2018, World record holder in the S9 200m Butterfly and six time World Championship medallist, joined eight time Paralympic swimming medallist and World Para-Triathlon champion Claire Cashmore and a host of others for 26 activities all based around the number 26. They were raising money in aid of Tree of Hope, who support the families of seriously ill and disabled children, and Reach, who help children with upper limb differences live a life without limit.

Neil Fachie (Para-Cycling) – 26 roll outs

Fourteen times World Champion, four time Paralympic Games gold medallist and Team Scotland’s most successful para-sport athlete of all time with four Commonwealth Games gold medals, Neil challenged himself to complete 26 roll outs in aid of the Sea Shell Trust, which supports children and young adults with profound disabilities and additional communication needs.

Neil’s Virgin Money Giving page: https://uk.virginmoneygiving.com/NeilFachie

2.6 Challenge

26 rollouts from my feet for @seashelltrust

Video analysis would suggest my range could be better, but you know what, if you think you can do better, then be my guest (and donate).https://t.co/wBSF6iTqo5#TwoPointSixChallenge pic.twitter.com/S5hwKOu8Wo

— Neil Fachie MBE (@neilfachie) April 26, 2020

Duncan Mathieson (Athletics) – 12 hour non-stop cycle

Former decathlete and silver medallist for Team Scotland in the 4x400m Relay at the 1990 Commonwealth Games, Duncan completed the incredible challenge of cycling for 12 hours without stopping on 26 April. He has raised over £11,000 for Acorns Children’s Hospice.

Duncan’s Give Penny page: https://givepenny.com/duncanmathieson_12_hours_for_acorns

Micky Yule (Para-Powerlifting) – 26 reps of 100kg bench press

A Paralympian with two fourth place finishes at the Commonwealth Games for Team Scotland in Para-Powerlifting, Micky showed his super strength by bench pressing 100kg 26 times.

#2point6challenge 26/7 😉 reps on 100kg for @ParalympicsGB #noexcuses pic.twitter.com/A31DzIKWEe

— Micky Yule (@MickyYule9) April 26, 2020

You can find out more about the 2.6 Challenge at: https://www.twopointsixchallenge.co.uk/

Marc Austin went down in history as the first athlete to win a Triathlon medal for Scotland at a Commonwealth Games as he took bronze at Gold Coast 2018. Two years on from that triumph, the sport steps into the spotlight of our ‘Celebrating Our Past, Building Our Future’ Sport Focus, which features all 25 sports in which Scotland has competed at the Commonwealth Games.

Look out for everything Triathlon related on our website and social media channels in the coming weeks as we delve into the archives for tales of past success and look ahead to Birmingham 2022.

Triathlon at the Commonwealth Games

A demonstration sport at Auckland 1990, Triathlon has made four Commonwealth Games appearances since its official debut at Manchester 2002. Originally an optional sport, it has since been elevated to a core sport which must be included at each Games. Para-Triathlon, now an optional discipline, made its debut in Gold Coast and will return for Birmingham 2022. The Para-Triathlon classification included on the programme may change from Games to Games.

Glasgow 2014 saw the addition of the Mixed Team Relay alongside the Men’s and Women’s Individual events. This innovative event sees athletes complete a super-sprint triathlon with teams consisting of four athletes: two women and two men. Each athlete is required to complete a course of 250m open water swim, 7km cycle and 1.5km run, before tagging their team mate.

Eight nations have won medals in Commonwealth Games Triathlon. Australia have the highest medal tally with 12, while England boast the most gold medals with five. At Gold Coast 2018 Flora Duffy won the first gold of the Games in the Women’s Individual Triathlon, taking Bermuda’s first Triathlon medal of any colour and becoming her country’s first ever female gold medallist.

Scotland’s Competitors

Three men and three women were selected to represent Scotland on the sport’s Commonwealth Games debut at Manchester 2002. Unfortunately Sydney Olympian and World Duathlon champion Steph Forrester had to withdraw before the race through injury with team mates Catriona Morrison and Bella Comerford going on to finish 13th and 14th. In the men’s event the top finisher was Rich Allen in 12th with Andrew Fargus and Kevin Clark taking 15th and 16th.

At Melbourne 2006 Catriona Morrison was back in the team having taken silver at the 2005 World Duathlon Championships and was joined in the women’s event by Kerry Lang. Lang got off to a strong start in her favoured swimming component, reaching the transition point in third place. But a problem with the strap on her cycling helmet meant she dropped well down the field. For Morrison a disappointing swim left her too much ground to claw back, although she did manage to climb from 21st to 15th place in the run including passing friend and team mate Lang who finished in 18th spot.

Following an absence at the Delhi 2010 Games, Triathlon returned to the programme for Glasgow 2014 with events held at the scenic Strathclyde Country Park. A strong swim and a breakaway in the early stages of the bike leg by 20-year old Marc Austin gave local crowds hope that a Scot might join England’s dominant Brownlee brothers on the podium. However the pace set proved too much for Austin who faded in the second half of the 40km ride. In the end, first Scot home was David McNamee in 7th, with Grant Sheldon in 14^th and Austin in 22nd. Two days later Scotland’s Natalie Milne, Grant Sheldon, Seonaid Thompson and David McNamee joined forces for the Mixed Team Relay. Roared on by fantastic home support, the quartet clocked a collective one hour, seventeen minutes and 50 seconds to finish seventh.

Gold Coast proved a fantastic watershed for Triathlon Scotland, as Marc Austin put in an inspirational performance to claim bronze in the Men’s Individual event, ahead of World and Olympic medallists Alistair and Jonathan Brownlee, for Team Scotland’s first medal of the Games and a first ever Triathlon medal at the Commonwealth Games. 2017 World University Championships gold medallist Grant Sheldon finished 17th while in the women’s event Beth Potter was 12th. Better known as a track endurance athlete, running at both the Rio 2016 Olympic Games and 2017 World Athletics Championships, she went on to run the 10,000m on the track to become the first athlete to compete in two sports for Team Scotland at a single Games.

In the Mixed Team Relay, Beth Potter, Marc Austin, Erin Wallace and Grant Sheldon put up a great fight against some quality opposition, eventually finishing in seventh place, equalling the performance in Glasgow. As Para-Triathlon made its debut Scotland was represented by Paralympic Handcycling gold medallist Karen Darke who produced the second fastest bike split to move from fifth after the swim into fourth.

Find out more about Triathlon in the Commonwealth Games on our dedicated Triathlon page.

Scotland at the Commonwealth Games

The Commonwealth Games is the only occasion where Scotland gets to compete in a multi-sport event as a nation in its own right and is one of only six countries to have competed in every Commonwealth Games since their inception in Hamilton in 1930. Represented by 15 athletes participating in six sports at those first Games, winning a very creditable 10 medals, Scotland have gone on to win medals at every Games since.

Edinburgh became the first city to hold the Games twice in 1970 and 1986 and also became the first city to host the Commonwealth Youth Games.

Scotland hosted the Games for a third time when Glasgow welcomed athletes and officials to the XXth Commonwealth Games which was held from 23rd July – 3rd August 2014. Team Scotland celebrated their most successful Games in history, winning a total of 53 medals and went on to record their highest overseas medal tally ever at Gold Coast 2018.

Find out more about the Commonwealth Games and Team Scotland’s past success in our Past Games section.

While Beach Volleyball made its Commonwealth Games debut at Gold Coast 2018, its history as a sport on the global stage goes back much further.  To round off our ‘Celebrating Our Past, Building Our Future’ Sport Focus, here are 12 things you might not know about the sport:

1. Beach Volleyball appeared at the Commonwealth Youth Games in 2017 before making its senior Games debut eight months later at Gold Coast 2018.

2. Emma Waldie and Jennifer Lee were the first Beach Volleyball players ever to represent Team Scotland at a Commonwealth Games event as they took 4th place at the Bahamas 2017 Youth Games.

3. Robin Miedzybrodzki and Seain Cook were the first Scottish players on court at a Commonwealth Games, winning against Sri Lanka on 6 April 2018. Scotland’s women, Lynne Beattie and Mel Coutts,  followed an hour later with a win over Grenada. Both teams went on to reach the quarter-finals.

4. Scotland’s Lynne Beattie captained Team GB’s Indoor Volleyball squad at the London 2012 Olympic Games.

5. While Indoor Volleyball was invented in 1895, the first recorded game of Beach Volleyball was in 1915 at the Outrigger Canoe Club on Waikiki Beach in Hawaii.

6. Early Beach Volleyball games consisted of six players per side. The modern two-per-side game is said to have come about when only four people had arrived for a game at Santa Monica Athletic Club in California and it was decided to try playing two a side until the other players arrived. With fewer players on the court, height became less of an advantage and the format caught on. The two per side game is now the only format played at international level.

7. Beach Volleyball was first included at the Olympic Games at Atlanta 1996 where Brazil won the women’s title and USA the men’s. The USA men’s pair included Karch Kiraly, who remains the only player (man or woman) to have won Olympic gold medals in both Indoor and Beach Volleyball. Brazil and the USA have dominated Olympic competition, winning 20 of the 30 Olympic medals awarded to date between them.

8. Beach volleyball balls are water-resistant and slightly larger than indoor balls, with a rougher external texture and a lower internal pressure to better suit the outdoor playing conditions.

9. While a Beach Volleyball side has two players instead of the six per side of the Indoor game, the court is 8 m × 16 m, just one metre shorter and two metres narrower than an Indoor Volleyball court – that’s a lot of ground to cover per player!

10. The first FIVB Beach Volleyball World Championships and FIVB Beach Volleyball World Tour were held in 1997.

11. Alongside the Olympics and Commonwealth Games the sport has also been added to other multi-sport events including the Pan American Games, Central American and Caribbean Games, Asian Games, Pacific Games, African Games and World Student Games.

12. Beach Volleyball is back on the programme for the Trinbago 2021 Commonwealth Youth Games and for the next Commonwealth Games in Birmingham in 2022 where it will take place in a city-centre location.