Youth Team Scotland celebrated two silver medals on the Apia Park tennis courts to end their Commonwealth Youth Games experience on a high.
With all other competition finished the team were out in force to support Ewen Lumsden in the boys’ singles final and to cheer as Ewen and mixed doubles partner Louie McLelland collected the Silver medal they had won the previous evening.
The pair have had phenomenal success this week with wins in both the men’s and women’s doubles as Ewen teamed up with a partner from Cyprus and Louie with Barbados to lift the titles. While not a medal event due to the mixing of nations, competition was fierce and the wins set the Scottish pair up nicely as they came together to win Silver in the mixed doubles.
It was an incredible run in the tournament for a pair who had never played together before this week. The Indian top seeds proved just too strong in the final but both Ewen and Louie were ecstatic to come away with a medal.
“It’s been a really good week, said Louie. “It’s the first time I’ve ever played with Ewen and I think we played well together, it didn’t take too long to adjust. It’s definitely one of the best moments of my career and whatever I do next I’ll feel a bit more confident in myself. I’m so proud to be Scottish and so happy to represent my country. It’s a great feeling to get a medal as well, a great way to finish.”
Ewen met a familiar face in the singles final, his 18 year old opponent one half of the Indian duo who had beaten the Scots to the mixed doubles Gold. Ewen started strongly with the opening game going to deuce on multiple occasions. He showed flashes of brilliance as he put some unplayable shots past his opponent but on this occasion found his older opponent too strong, losing out 6-1, 6-2.
“When I came here I probably didn’t think I would make it to the final,” he said. “It feels good to come away with two Silver medals. I’m happy to have some medals of my own after seeing others coming back with theirs and I enjoyed having all my team mates out supporting me today. Overall I’m happy with how I’ve played, it’s been a good tournament and a good experience.”
The tennis medals mean that Youth Team Scotland end Samoa 2015 with 21 medals; three Gold, ten Silver and eight Bronze.

It was a historic night in the boxing ring as John Docherty scored Scotland’s second Gold in Samoa, swiftly followed by Sean Lazzerini adding a third less than fifteen minutes later as all four boxers stepped onto the podium.
John fought a tremendous bout against Ben Whittaker of England but had a nervous wait during a long pause before he was announced as the 75kg champion. The roar that went up from the packed stand of Youth Team Scotland athletes and staff resonated around the hall as he leapt in the air in celebration.
“It’s an unbelievable feeling,” he said. “The Gold is coming back to Scotland! I just can’t believe how far I’ve come to get Gold. Now I’m aiming for the next Commonwealth Games, the senior ones in Australia and I’ll be going for that Gold again! I’m senior next year and this is going to give me a big boost.”
The crowd barely had time to catch their breath before they were celebrating another Scottish victory, Sean Lazzerini declared the 81kg winner after less than a round as he left his Tongan opponent reeling from a body shot.
“I’m just so happy I did it and I did it for Scotland,” he said. “I wish it had gone a bit longer than it did but I did the job I came here to do and got that Gold medal. It means the world to me, it feels amazing, I can’t even explain it, I can’t put it into words. When the national anthem was playing and the flag was going up I could feel tears. I absolutely loved it, I could do it all again tomorrow.
Billy Stuart came away with a Silver medal after coming up against a tricky opponent in Northern Ireland’s James McGivern.
“It wasn’t my best performance but he was the better boy on the day, said Billy. “I just kept walking onto his back hand, but you can’t win them all. I’m going home with a Silver medal, I didn’t come all the way to the other side of the world to go home with nothing. I think this medal is going to be the starting point and maybe at the senior Games I’ll upgrade it to a gold. I’ll put in the hard work and that’s something to aim for.”
Bronze for Kieran McMaster, completed the medal haul. “I was gutted not to be in the final,” he said, “but when you take a step back and realise you’re going home with a medal, it’s huge. I deserve it and I’ve worked hard for it and it’s all real now.”
Youth Team Scotland’s medal tally now stands at 19; three Gold, eight Silver and eight Bronze.
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Meg Finnon finished her Samoa Youth Games experience with a fantastic swim in the 800m Freestyle for her second Silver medal of the Games.
The East Kilbride swimmer dug deep to touch second behind Australia’s Georgia Darwent and was delighted to double her medal tally on the final day of the aquatics events.
“I wasn’t expecting a medal in this event but I did know I was in with a chance if I really worked hard to the end. I wasn’t going in focusing on medals so that makes it even better to come away with two Silvers. It’s a really good way to end my experience in Samoa.
“I think this will give me a good head start for going into bigger senior competitions and gives me confidence to go in and start racing at that level. This has been a once in a lifetime experience that I’ll never forget, it’s just been absolutely amazing.”
There were excellent results from Youth Team Scotland’s swimmers on the closing night of competition with Tain Bruce, Kieran Preston and Craig McLean coming close to adding further medals, all finishing in 4th place.
Meg’s Silver was a fitting finale to a fantastic overall performance from Youth Team Scotland’s swimmers in Samoa with the medal tally from the pool standing at seven.

The medals have been rolling in for Youth Team Scotland in Samoa but the team were still without that elusive Gold until swimmer Erin Robertson stormed down the pool to take Scotland’s first win of the Games in the 50m Breaststroke.
The first event of the night, Erin’s swim set the tone for the whole session, prompting a further two Bronze medals from Kieran Preston in the men’s equivalent and from Tain Bruce in the 100m Butterfly.
“It’s amazing,” said Erin. “I can’t believe it. As soon as I touched I turned around straight away and when I saw that I’d won it felt like I was dreaming, like none of it was real. When I saw the scoreboard and the number one next to my name, I realised it was the first Gold medal for Scotland and I just couldn’t believe it.
“It was amazing to stand on the podium and see the Scottish flag up the top and hearing the Scottish national anthem being played for the first time, it was everything I dreamed it would be.
“I’ve won golds before but I’ve never had the anthem played for me, it’s definitely an experience I’ll never forget. It’s really not sunk in yet.”
Up next was Kieran Preston in the men’s 50m Breaststroke and, inspired by Erin’s performance minutes before, he touched just ahead of team mate Benedict Tortolano for a surprise Bronze medal in what he considers one of his weaker events.
“After watching Erin get the Gold it really boosted me,” he said. With Craig getting the silver and the other medals yesterday, the swimming team just has a real buzz at the moment, it’s a great feeling.
“It’s great preparation for my main event tomorrow. This was my weakest event and I’m just so surprised to get a Bronze.”
There was joy for Tain Bruce as, after two fourth place finishes, she finally got her hands on a medal, taking Bronze in the 100m Butterfly.
“Finally,” she said. “I’m really happy with that because I was a wee bit disappointed with my fourths, I would have liked to get medals. I’m really happy with tonight’s swim. It’s just off my best time as well so I’m really happy with that.”
The moment was made all the better as she initially thought she had finished outside the medals again.
“At first I actually thought I’d come sixth,” she said. I was swimming in lane six and when I looked up at the board I thought that six related to my placing but it was actually my lane. I was a bit confused at first but when I realised that I’d won the bronze I was so happy.”
Meg Finnon took sixth place in the 400m Freestyle and will go in the 800m event tomorrow.
The swimming concludes tomorrow with all six of the squad back in action. Tonight’s haul in the pool takes Youth Team Scotland’s medal total to fourteen with two days of the Games left and several medals guaranteed with athletes through to finals.
For the results of all sports visit http://www.samoacyg2015.ws/?page_id=942
Follow us on Twitter @Team_Scotland for Scottish results as they happen.

Athletics continued their incredible medal rush, adding two Silver and a Bronze to their tally on day three of the Samoa 2015 Youth Games. Medals for Ben Greenwood and Carys McAulay in the 800m and a second medal of the Games for Alisha Rees means that every member of the athletics squad leave the Games with medals, an unprecedented feat.
Alisha Rees, already a medallist in the 100m, put in the performance of her life to take Silver in the 200m in a time of 23.61 behind Nigerian winner Idamadudu Praise Oghenefejiro. Going below 24 seconds for only the second time in her career she was visibly shocked by her time and delighted with a second medal.
“It’s incredible, it’s the best feeling ever,” she said. Coming across that line and hearing I’d come second, nothing can beat it. That time is insane! Unfortunately it’s slightly wind assisted but it’s good to go sub 24 by such a long way.”
Alisha was not the only athlete overwhelmed by her performance. In the 800m Ben Greenwood closed a seemingly insurmountable gap down the home straight to out dip Jamaican Leon Clarke for Bronze by seven hundredths of a second and claim a new Scottish U17 record. His time of 1.50.42 erases his own mark set back in May and his delight was obvious.
“I’m shocked,” he said. “At no point did I think I could get the Jamaican boy, I was fifth or something with 200m to go and I saw the Jamaican tiring. I picked it up and dipped him on the line but I didn’t think it was possible I’d got it. I didn’t expect to get a medal here but I was feeling the pressure a bit, thinking this morning that everyone in athletics has got medals so far. It’s a bit unbelievable to get a medal.”
There was Silver for Carys McAulay in the women’s 800m, leading into the final straight and just pipped for Gold by Australia’s Amy Harding-Delooze.
“The girl that won is a brilliant athlete,” said Carys. “I couldn’t have asked from any more from myself. Everybody in athletics got a medal so that’s pretty amazing, to get a Commonwealth medal you can’t get any better than that. I’ve enjoyed the experience so much.”
George Evans, Silver medallist in the discus, took sixth in the shot putt while Cameron Tindle was agonisingly close to a second sprint medal with 4th in the 200m.
Athletics finish the Games with seven medals; three Silver and four Bronze.
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Elsewhere on day three…
SQUASH: Richard Hollins and Carrie Hallam got their mixed doubles off to a flying start with three wins from three. They defeated St Vincent 11-1, 11-1 in the first pool match of the day before taking a further pool win over England 11-4, 11-7. In rhe quarter final they came through a close encounter with Australia to win 11-10, 11-9 to progress to today’s semi-finals and medal matches.
BOXING: Three of Scotland’s four boxers progressed to finals, guaranteeing them at least Silver medals. Billy Stuart defeated Emmanuel Ngoma of Zambia in the 56kg category while in the 75kg division John Docherty beat Christopher Alberte of Mauritius, both by unanimous decision. Sean Lazzerini was particularly impressive taking less than a round to dispatch his opponent in the 81kg class. Kieran McMaster put in a great bout, pushing his opponent from the Isle of Man all the way to the final bell. He was devastated to lose by split decision but is rightly proud of his Bronze medal which will be presented after tonight’s finals.
TENNIS: It was a busy day for the tennis duo Ewen Lumsden and Louie McLelland, with Ewen progressing to the boys’ singles semi-finals and reaching the boys’ doubles final with his Cypriot partner. Louie reached the girls’ doubles final with her partner from Barbados and then teamed up with Ewen to reach the final of the mixed doubles where they will play for Gold tomorrow.
WEIGHTLIFTING: In the men’s 77kg division Jason Epton lifted 89kg in the snatch and 120kg in the clean and jerk, just 3kg off his own British record. His total of 209kg placed him 4th in the competition.
LAWN BOWLS: Carla Banks and Darren Weir got their day off to a fantastic start with a win over England 23-8 but losses to India 15-11 and Malaysia 14-8 leave them needing a win over New Zealand and for England to beat Malaysia in the final group game to progress to the semi-finals.
ARCHERY: Evelina D’Arcy and her partner from Barbados shot fantastically well to take second place in the morning’s non-medal mixed doubles event before both Evelina and Struan Caughey were unfortunately eliminated the singles quarter finals, both just missing the semi-finals in 5th place.

Having led Scotland into the opening ceremony on Saturday night, swimmer Craig McLean was feeling the pressure to perform in the pool and he delivered tonight with a fantastic swim for Silver in the 100m Freestyle.

“I’ve felt a bit of extra pressure as flag bearer, being the person that’s aiming to lead everybody, so to be up there winning a medal means I can go out there and just enjoy the rest of my swims. I’ve done what I came here to do. It also means a lot for me, being the flagbearer as well, that I haven’t crumbled, I’ve managed to come out here and deal with the pressure of a multi-sport Games, being surrounded by a team and travelling to the other side of the world and having to perform.”

“After a strong opening 50m Craig dug deep in a tussle for Silver with Lewis Clough and just got the touch ahead of the Englishman by two hundredths of a second. The race was won by Vincent Dai of Australia and Craig enjoyed the opportunity to scope out the potential competition he could face at future Commonwealth Games when these swimmers hit the senior ranks.

“Hopefully this is a stepping stone onto greater things and I’ll see what I can do next year. After next year it will be straight onto the Gold Coast and the journey towards that. This will be an ideal stepping stone, I’m at the top of the Youths so hopefully by the time I get to Gold Coast I’ll have made that jump to senior and it’s given me a good opportunity to see who’s out there in Australia and the other side of the Commonwealth.

“It was amazing being on the podium, I’ve never felt anything like it before. Even though my flag wasn’t at the top it was still amazing to see my flag, not just Scotland’s flag but MY flag, there for me, not there for anyone else. The reason it was up there was because of me and that was really satisfying. I’d love to get a Gold and hear that national anthem, it’s my favourite song!”

Silver for Craig was quickly followed by a Bronze for Erin Robertson in the 100m Breaststroke behind Layla Black of England and Kaylene Corbett of South Africa.

“It feels absolutely brilliant,” said Erin. “It’s the one thing I wanted to do when I came here, to bring home a medal for Scotland, regardless of what colour it was and I’ve done that tonight. It means so much. Ever since I was little I wanted to represent my country and bring home a medal and that’s me done it tonight. I’ve satisfied my ten year self in representing Scotland and I’m really, really happy.”

“This is the biggest experience I’ve ever had, the first time over this side of the world, I’ve never come anywhere over here before. Samoa is amazing. It’s so hot and the people are so nice, I’ve never met anyone as friendly as the people here. The mood in the camp has been great, everyone is really excited. It really spurred me on tonight and hearing all the national anthems as well, I wanted to hear the Scottish one up there. I didn’t quite manage it tonight but it’s enough just to stand on the podium and have the Scotland flag beside me.”

Rachel Alexander kept up the momentum over at the Apia Park athletics stadium with a Bronze in the long jump and produced a brilliant jump under pressure in the third round after two fouls in the opening two rounds. With a third foul meaning an exit from the competition there was no room for error but Rachel held her nerve to put in a jump of 5.90m which eventually secured her the medal.

“After the first two no jumps I was so scared so the third one I just moved my run up way back to make sure I got one in. After that I couldn’t really get it all together but I guess I’ll just go home and train for that and come back another time and do it better. Watching the guys do so well yesterday definitely made me want to do better as well so it’s just brilliant for the athletics team.

“It’s good to come away with a medal because it’s something else to my name but I’m obviously hoping to keep improving from it and learn from what I’ve done here. I’m looking forward to relaxing now and getting out to support everyone else. I think I’m going to go and watch as many other sports as I can.”

Today’s three medals bring Youth Team Scotland’s total to eight with four Silver and four Bronze.

Follow us on Twitter: @Team _Scotland for leading Scottish results as they happen.

Elsewhere on day two…
BOXING: All four boxer are now guaranteed a medal after a great night in the ring. Billy Stuart was up first for Youth Team Scotland fighting in the 56kg category. He was in control of the bout throughout, beating his opponent from Bangladesh by unanimous decision. Kieran McMaster was due to go up against the boxer from St Lucia in the 64kg division but received a walkover. In the 75kg category John Docherty powered his way to victory by unanimous decision against his Australian opponent meaning Scotland will have four boxers in tomorrow’s semi-finals. Billy Stuart takes on Emmanuel Ngoma of Zambia, John Docherty faces Christopher Alberte of Mauritius, Sean Lazzerini is up against Kanongata Antonio of Tonga in the 81kg class and Kieran McMaster faces Matthew Rennie from the Isle of Man.
WEIGHTLIFTING: Daniel Richardson set new Scottish record figures in the men’s 69kg category as he lifted 88kg in the snatch and 111kg in the clean and jerk to finish sixth, despite being the youngest competitor in the field. With some of his competitors up to two years his senior it bodes well for the future. Rowan Morrogh Bernard took to the platform in the women’s 58kg, lifting 40kg in the snatch. Struggling with her timing in the clean and jerk she failed to register a total but will take the experience forward into a promising future career.
SQUASH: Carrie Hallam played a fantastic match to win the women’s singles plate final, defeating her Australian opponent 3-0.
TENNIS: It was another full day on the tennis courts with both players in singles and doubles action. Ewen Lumsden progressed to the boys’ singles quarter-finals with a convincing 6-0 6-0 win over Antigua and then teamed up with his Cypriot partner to defeat Wales for a place in the boys’ doubles event. Louie McLelland lost to fourth seed Violet Apisah of Papua New Guinea in the girls’ singles but bounced back with Ewen in the mixed doubles with a convincing 6-2 6-4 win over the second seeds South Africa to progress to the semi-finals.
LAWN BOWLS: Darren Weir finished his singles group games in style with a convincing 21-14 win over his Northern Irish opponent, finishing with three wins from five. Unfortunately it was not enough to progress to the semi-finals, just missing out on shots. Carla Banks was also up against a competitor from Northern Ireland and agonisingly lost 21-20 also leaving her on three wins and two losses and missing out on a semi-final place. The bowlers now turn their attention to the mixed pairs which starts tomorrow.
ARCHERY: Evelina D’Arcy and Struan Caughey produced a great qualifying round to move into the tomorrow’s elimination finals ranked 5th and 4th respectively. Evelina will pair up with her partner from Barbados in an non-medal mixed pairs event in the morning before both Struan and Evelina return to individual action in the quarter finals.

It was a fantastic start to Samoa 2015 at the Apia Park Athletics Stadium where three athletes were in action for Youth Team Scotland. Discus thrower George Evans became the first Scottish medallist of the Games taking Silver behind the reigning World Junior Champion, swiftly followed by Bronze medals for sprinters Cameron Tindle and Alisha Rees.

“It feels amazing to be Scotland’s first medallist of the Games, said George. “Coming away with a Silver medal, only beaten by the World Champion is the best thing that could have happened. I knew there were two guys who were ranked two metres and four metres above me so I thought it would be close depending on what happened on the day. To come out and get second, it couldn’t have gone any better. It feels great to be the first but I’m sure there’s plenty more to come from everyone else.”

That was proved true just minutes later as Alisha Rees powered her way to Bronze in the women’s 100m, just one hundredth of second outside her PB. “I always knew a medal was a possibility but it’s all about performing on the day,” she said. “The wind was pretty much perfect so it was quite good conditions to run a fast time. I was really close to my PB but it’s about getting medals here. I’m really excited to get back on the track again, it puts me in a really good place for tomorrow in the 200m. Once someone has won a medal it puts everyone in a good place to win one so it’s really good to be one of the first, it’s a great feeling.

And the medals didn’t stop there. The day’s athletics action was rounded off by Cameron Tindle smashing his previous best to grab an unexpected Bronze in the men’s 100m. Coming into the event his best stood at 10.63 and from the morning’s heat it was clear he meant business, setting new figures of 10.47 to progress as fastest qualifier to the semi-finals. He was just one hundredth slower in booking his place in the final where he unleashed a late surge to clinch Bronze in another new best of 10.42.

“It means a lot because I’ve been working hard to even get selected for these Games. Since I’ve been selected I have been working mega hard to do everything I can to put myself in the best position to do well. To come away with a medal is great. My plan was to go in and run a PB, I wanted to run 10.4 this season so this was my last chance to do it. To run 10.47 in my heat it was great so everything from then on was a bonus. I just thought of my family back home and it drove me into third place. I had a look across and knew I had to go for the dip. I wasn’t expecting a medal. I knew going in I was placed about 5th going on my PB and I knew if I could run 10.4 it might grab me fourth or something like that. I didn’t realise I could come out with a medal so it was a shock but a nice shock.”

The early success for Youth Team Scotland has boosted a team spirit that was already booming. “Everyone is so supportive of each other,” said Alisha. We all want each other to do well. Everyone is saying good luck to each other in the morning and asking if you’re competing so it’s a really good atmosphere. Hopefully when I’m done on Wednesday I can get out and watch everyone and see more medals for Scotland.”

Weightlifter Biatrice Gabell exceeded her own expectations when she landed a silver medal in the 53kg class on the opening day of competition. The 17 year old from Ayrshire has only been lifting for two years after a switch from badminton, but showed no sign of nerves as she excelled against the best young talent from around the Commonwealth.
Successful in all six of her lifts she ended with a 56kg snatch and 73kg clean and jerk for a 129kg total to put her in second behind Ulina Sagone of Fiji. Both weights were personal bests and with the bar still held above her head in her final lift there was already a proud smile on her face.
“It is so brilliant, it’s an amazing achievement to get a medal on the first day. I am so excited and I can’t wait to see the others compete. I have done well so I hope they also do well. I won’t lie, I was expecting a bronze, I thought at least a bronze, but a silver is even better. I mean I was expecting a bronze so I’m so happy.
This is a highlight of my career, a good starting point you could say. I’ll definitely be out tomorrow, I can’t wait! I’ll be out with my coach Georgi setting up the bars and everything for the others. I’ll be there supporting the team because they support and encourage me all the time.”
Away from competition Biatrice has also been embracing another Commonwealth ideal, that of friendship and developing an appreciation other cultures.
“I’ve loved meeting people from lots of different countries,” she said. “I find everyone so friendly to me and it’s really amazing to get to know the different cultures. They are teaching me new languages as well, it’s so much fun.”
Weightlifting action continues tomorrow with 14 year old Rowan Morrogh Bernard in the 58kg category and 15 year old Daniel Richardson in the 69kg class.