Multiple World and European medal-winning judoka Euan Burton has been chosen to carry the Scottish Flag and lead Team Scotland into the Opening Ceremony of the XX Commonwealth Games, which takes place at Celtic Park on Wednesday 23 July.
The decision to select Burton as flag bearer was made by his fellow athletes and was announced today (21 July) at the Team reception held at Scotland House, with the flag presented by Scotland’s greatest ever Olympian and double Commonwealth Games gold medallist – Sir Chris Hoy.
Euan was selected from a strong final shortlist of four athletes; Linda Clement (Hockey), Jennifer McIntosh (Shooting) and Alex Marshall (Lawn Bowls), who will walk out immediately behind Euan as deputy flag bearers.
With two Olympics under his belt, Euan is set for his first Commonwealth Games with Judo returning to the programme for the first time since 2002. He was a reserve and training partner for Graeme Randall at the Manchester Games, when Graeme Randall went on to win an iconic Gold for Scotland. Euan has already tasted success in Glasgow, by winning Gold at the 2013 European Open and will be looking to repeat that success at the SECC on 26 July.
A true role model, his love and knowledge of the sport is already being transferred to the next generation of Scottish Judo champions, with Euan taking up a position in the coaching set-up at the National Training Centre at Ratho in Edinburgh. A number of athletes trained by Burton have made the final 14 for the Games, which puts him in a unique position as athlete and coach.
Reflecting on his selection, Euan said: “It’s a massive honour and it’s a big responsibility. We’re often in this relatively isolated judo bubble so for Scottish athletes of all 17 sports to nominate me as flag bearer is huge.
“It doesn’t get more special than this for me because it is a home Games. It’s also at the very end of my career, and I’m now involved in coaching a number of guys in the team, which adds a completely different dynamic. There’s also the fact my wife will be competing for England, and to add being flag bearer on top of that s incredible.
“I remember walking in behind Chris Hoy in London and experiencing that spine tingling moment when we entered the stadium. To think that I’m going to be at the front of Scotland’s largest ever team and hopefully our most successful ever just blows your mind.
“I probably shouldn’t say this, but I’ve been on YouTube a couple of times just to relive the moment Chris walked out in front of us in 2012 to take a few tips from that. I’ll walk out holding the flag with enormous pride and I’m sure the support we will get will be like nothing any of us have ever experienced before.”
Congratulating Euan on his selection, Jon Doig, Team Scotland Chef de Mission, said: “Euan is one of Scotland’s most successful, distinguished and well-respected athletes, and I am delighted that he has been selected by his fellow team members to lead us out at our home Games.
“Euan has been at the top of his sport for a number of years and with Judo making its return to the Games for the first time since 2002, he will have the chance to make his debut for Team Scotland in Glasgow. Judo was our most successful sport at the Manchester Games with ten medals and we are all looking forward to seeing them compete once again. Euan is a tremendous role model and the team will all be proud to follow him into the stadium for the Opening Ceremony.”
Presenting the flag to Euan, Sir Chris Hoy said: “I’ve been a team-mate of Euan’s over the years; he’s a great ambassador for his sport and for Scotland, so it makes complete sense that he’s been voted by his peers to carry the flag into the opening ceremony.
“I don’t think there’s a greater accolade than to be recognised by your peers because these are the guys who do the same thing as you; they know all about the hard work, the commitment, training and lifestyle that you have to adopt to become successful in your sport.
“I remember in London thinking the four years of hard work to get to this point have been worth it just for this. I thought if I win a medal on top of this it will be a bonus and I’m sure Euan will feel the same way. No matter what he thinks it will be like, it will be better. The atmosphere and the response he and the whole team will receive will be like nothing else.”
You can follow Euan on Twitter @Euan_Burton
Photo credit: Jeff Holmes
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The Squash draw has been announced with the prospect of some mouthwatering matches for the Scots in action at the Scotstoun venue.
Scottish number one Alan Clyne is seeded ninth in the men’s singles knockout draw of the Squash event which starts on Thursday.
Competing in his third Games, 27-year-old Clyne is drawn to face the top seeded Englishman Nick Matthew in the round of 16, an encounter Head Coach Roger Flynn knows would be a spectacular match.
“They’ve had some very tough physical tussles in the past,” said Flynn. “But that’s the nature of Alan. He tends to make it a pretty tough fight and on glass in front of thousands of Scots it’s going to be difficult for Nick.”
That assumes of course that Clyne wins his first two matches of the draw and neither of his first two opponents are pushovers. Harinder Pal Sandhu from India, his potential second round opponent, is talented, dangerous, fast and fit…not unlike Clyne himself.
The other seeded Scot in the men’s singles is Greg Lobban, a 21-year-old who Flynn says is “flying up” the rankings and is treated with respect by many circuit players. As the sixteenth seed, Lobban has a potential clash with top Australian player Camerron Pilley in the round of 32.
“They are both attacking players,” said Flynn. “Pilley is renowned as the player who hit the fastest Squash ball ever and again on glass the match could go either way, as Greg is very dangerous.”
Kevin Moran completes the Scottish trio in the men’s singles. The 23-year-old has a real flair for the game and loves to improvise moves. He faces a potential crunch match in the round of 64 with New Zealand’s Martin Knight, a player who has been consistently in the world’s top 40.
The doubles event starts with pool matches in which only the top two pairings progress to the knockout competition. In the men’s doubles, both Scottish pairs are favourites to win their pools.
Clyne and partner Harry Leitch, also competing in his third Games, are seeded fourth in the men’s doubles Pool 4. The main challenge in their group are the Welsh thirteenth seeds, Scott Fitzgerald and David Haley.
Lobban and Stuart Crawford, seeded eighth and in Pool 8, have the potentially toughest game against the ninth seeded Malaysians, Ong Beng Hee, a former world number eight and ex junior World Champion and the older Ivan Yuen.
In the mixed event, Clyne and Frania Gillen-Buchert, competing in her third Games, are seeded ninth whilst team-mates Alex Clark and Kevin Moran are fifteenth. Gillen-Buchert and Clark join forces in the women’s doubles.
Photo credit: Rob Eyton-Jones
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Exactly a week away from the Glasgow Games opening ceremony, Team Scotland’s lawn bowls team of 10 mainstream and seven para bowlers was working on their final preparation details at Kelvingrove.
The spectacular summer sunshine, the majestic museum backdrop and the recently installed stands, set to brim with spectators when the bowls competition starts next Thursday, have all turned the greens into a world class arena.
“It’s become really exciting now and the venue has taken amazing shape,” said Caroline Brown who, along with the rest of the bowls team, moves into the Athletes’ Village tomorrow.
“You can’t help but be excited that the Games is coming close now. We have all been working so hard towards it for such a long time that we are just looking forward to it starting now.”
Talk to any member of the Scotland bowls team and they are likely to tell you that this team is the best prepared ever.
Thousands of hours accumulated on the Kelvingrove greens will give Scotland’s top players the all important home advantage. A full team of coaches and support staff has left nothing to chance, whilst recent camps to bring athletes from all 17 sports together have helped gel the whole team.
“I’ve never played in a Games before, but the team around us is amazing, with psychologists and all sorts of other staff, as well as our own coaches,” said Para-Sport Open Triples player Kevin Wallace, a member of the team which won the 8 Nations Invitational at Kelvingrove a year ago.
“It’s been amazing to be part of the team camp with athletes from every other sport all wearing the same kit. And I’ve had a big boost in confidence from being on this week’s preparation camp at Kelvingrove.”
It’s impossible to predict the full effect that home support will give the Scots when they step out on the Kelvingrove greens in the coming weeks, but Caroline Brown believes that having her 10-year-old son, Kieran, watching most of her matches at Kelvingrove will make a big difference to her own performance.
It’s just as difficult to imagine exactly how it will feel to march out in front of a roaring crowd at Celtic Park in a week’s time, but Wallace has a pretty good idea.
“This is a once in a lifetime opportunity and now it’s just a couple of days away it’s incredibly exciting,” he said.
“I can’t really explain it but my legs are like jelly knowing I’m going to be in the Opening Ceremony next Wednesday and bowling here at Kelvingrove afterwards. It’s going to be amazing.”
Photo credit: Rob Eyton-Jones
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The young pretender and the polished performer met the media in the Granite City as Team Scotland’s swimmers and divers complete their final preparations ahead of the Glasgow 2014 Commonwealth Games.
Delhi 2010 Commonwealth 400m Individual Medley Gold medallist Hannah Miley and Team Scotland’s youngest ever athlete, 13-year-old Para-Sport SB9 100m Breaststroke swimmer Erraid Davies, welcomed the media to their training base at the Aberdeen Aquatics Centre.
All 44 Aquatics athletes are together, enjoying team camaraderie before the swimmers head to the Tollcross International Swimming Centre for six days of competition from Thursday 24 July. Following straight on from this is the two-day Diving programme, which gets under way at the Royal Commonwealth Pool on Wednesday 30 July.
North East swimmers were out in force for the media gathering, with Hannah, from Inverurie, and Erraid, from the Shetland Isles joined by Aberdeen-based swimmers Rachel Masson and Andrew McGovern and Inverurie-born Cameron Brodie.
Hannah kindly passed on some interview tips to Erraid and discussed her focus on defending her Commonwealth title. “I am expecting to face a stiff challenge from Aimee Wilmott and there are a couple of Australian girls who are six seconds behind, based on the Trials, but I’m not thinking because they’re six seconds behind, they are not to be thought about,” said Hannah.
“I’m always aware of the rivals that are around me and I have a respect and appreciation that anything can happen. I don’t leave things to chance and don’t assume things. It’s all about what I control. As much as I’d like to, I can’t control what my competitors do. I might be able to produce a four or five second PB and that might be a Silver or Bronze. I can’t argue with that, I’ve produced the best time I possibly could, but other people were just able to produce better times. For me, that puts it into perspective that I just have to control what I can do. The one thing I know I definitely can’t control is the result.
“My dad is the main driving force; he taught me how to swim, he coached me and he still coaches me to this day. To be able to show off the hard work he has put in is a nice reward for me. I like to be able to take as many people as I can on the journey as it’s a way for me to give back to them, especially when I am successful it’s because of them. Knowing that at the end of the race I can go and hug my dad is one of my favourite parts.”
The team camaraderie is there for all to see and for Erraid, this represents a whole new chapter in her swimming career. Erraid said: “When I was selected we thought I was going to be the youngest for these Games, but I had no idea I would be the youngest ever for Team Scotland and I’m really excited about it. I’m really looking to get as much experience as I can. I’m not asking for much; I just want to make the most of the opportunity.”
You can follow Hannah on Twitter @HannahMiley89
Photo credit: Getty Images
Squash player Harry Leitch has competed in three previous Commonwealth Games but feels that this week’s team preparation camp in Stirling is the best so far.
Speaking at the final pre competition media opportunity for the squash players this week the 29 year old doctor, who is studying stem cell research at University of Cambridge, said: “Melbourne was a really good team camp for a month but I was injured so that was pretty intense.
“Then at Delhi there was a media storm about the village and we arrived pretty late in the day. So this Games has certainly felt the easiest.
“We are being looked after really well and we all feel pretty pampered. It’s a great training environment and it’s great to have that singular focus on the Games.”
Leitch, will partner Alan Clyne in Men’s Doubles at the Scotstoun venue. The pair have already won the British Open Doubles Championships title and are keen to impress. The overriding aim now is to remain calm and conserve energy.
“We are going into the competition zone every day to train, then coming back here to Stirling and relaxing, ” said Leitch.
“It’s bubbling at the moment and I think that’s great because but you don’t want to get too up for it too soon which would be pretty exhausting
“This week is stepping up and I guess the opening ceremony will be when it really gets going.”
The Team Scotland squash player travelling the biggest distance to compete in Glasgow is Alexandra Clark, a 27 year from Edinburgh who makes her living in Philadelphia working as a squash professional.
Clark, who has put in the miles to qualify for the team and accumulate team training sessions, will compete in the women’s and mixed doubles.
“To qualify for the team I had to come across a lot for the test matches,” she said. “We were out in Australia last year and then there were a couple of test matches back here in Scotstoun.
“My doubles partner Kevin (Moran) came out to Philadelphia a while back and we did a lot of training. And every time I come back to the UK I stay a week or so around it to get some extra training in with the guys.”
Despite the distance from her team mates Clark believes her preparation for the Games has been good and is raring to get started.
“It’s the first Games for me and I’m ridiculously excited,” she said. “I’ve tried a couple of times to get in and this is the first time I’ve qualified so I’m really excited.
“I feel really prepared coming up to the Games, we have done everything we need to do to consolidate and I’m getting ready for competition.
“I’m a little nervous but I’m just looking forward to getting out there and doing my best.”
Photo credit: Rob Eyton-Jones