Aquatics
Aquatics was the largest team of the individual sports on Team Scotland for Gold Coast 2018, with 25 swimmers, including two para-sport swimmers and four divers selected. The Aquatics team had a mix of youth and experience with 14 of the 25 swimmers and two of the four divers having competed for Team Scotland at Glasgow 2014. This was complemented by a number of young talents making the team for the first time including Team Scotland’s most successful Youth Games athlete in history, Scott McLay, who won five medals at Bahamas 2017.
The magnificent atmosphere at the open-air Optus Aquatics Centre helped to create ten days of thrilling action and it proved a successful hunting ground for Team Scotland. Aquatics finished the Games with the most medals of any sport for Team Scotland with 11 – 2 gold, 4 silver and 5 bronze and only one less than their greatest ever medal haul of 12 which was also in Australia at Melbourne 2006. Duncan Scott truly delivered on his pre-Games top billing and was the star of the pool. He racked up six medals, including a first ever gold for Scotland in the Men’s 100m Freestyle, to become Scotland’s most successful athlete at a single Games with 1 gold, 1 silver and 4 bronze.
Hannah Miley took a third successive medal in the Women’s 400m Individual Medley, silver this time to add to the golds won in Delhi and Glasgow, while fellow defending champion from 2014, Ross Murdoch also won silver in the Men’s 200m Breaststroke, losing out by the smallest of margins. There was also a silver for Mark Szaranek in the Men’s 400m Individual Medley, whilst the Men’s 4x100m and 4x200m Freestyle Relay teams both won bronze.
The divers continued where the swimmers left off, with James Heatly winning the Men’s 1m Springboard bronze, Scotland’s first Diving medal for 60 years, the last being won by his grandfather, Sir Peter Heatly at the 1958 Cardiff Games. This was swiftly followed by Grace Reid taking gold in the same event to become the first female Scottish diver to win a medal at the Commonwealth Games.
Athletics
Twenty-two track and field athletes represented Team Scotland at Gold Coast 2018, including three para-sport athletes. 16 of the squad had previously competed at Glasgow 2014 including medallists Eilidh Doyle, Lynsey Sharp and Mark Dry. In addition, Beth Potter, selected primarily for Triathlon, also competed in the 10,000m on the track, marking a historic first.
The track and field action got underway at Carrara Stadium on day four, culminating a week later with the Marathon as one of the final events of the Games. Despite the early start to the competitive season, there were good performances from the Scottish team and with five medals, Athletics celebrated their biggest medal tally since 1990.
Hammer thrower, Mark Dry led the way, replicating his bronze medal winning feat from Glasgow 2014 with his final throw. Flag bearer Eilidh Doyle took a third successive silver medal over the 400m Hurdles, while there was also silver for 18-year-old Maria Lyle in the para-sport Women’s T35 100m on her Commonwealth Games debut. Jake Wightman was the final medallist on the track, bouncing back from the agony of a fourth place finish in the Men’s 1500m, with bronze in the 800m. There were also two near misses for Samantha Kinghorn. She finished fourth in the para-sport Women’s 1500m T54 on the track and again she came agonisingly close with another fourth place in the Women’s Wheelchair Marathon T54.
However, there was final day drama and contrasting fortunes for Scotland’s two Marathon men. There was on outpouring of concern and well wishes for long-time leader Callum Hawkins, as he succumbed to the heat with just a mile to go, while teammate Robbie Simpson came through to claim bronze and secure Team Scotland’s final medal of the Games.
Badminton
Eight Badminton players, four of whom competed at Glasgow 2014 were selected to represent Team Scotland at Gold Coast 2018. The line-up included Kirsty Gilmour, a silver medallist in 2014, competing in her third Commonwealth Games. Also making his third Games appearance was Kieran Merrilees in the Men’s Singles, while Men’s Doubles pairing, Martin Campbell and Patrick MacHugh, also brought experience from their home Games.
Based at the Carrara Sports and Leisure Centre, competition got underway on day one with the Mixed Team competition group stages and Team Scotland’s badminton players were quick off the mark, winning both their opening matches. They wasted little time in getting the better of Pakistan to confirm a 5-0, straight games victory followed by a 4-1 win over Sri Lanka in the evening to secure their place in the quarter finals regardless of their loss against top seeds India the following day.
However, Scotland’s chances of a Mixed Team medal came to an end after a spirited defeat 0-3 to defending champions Malaysia in the quarter finals.
In the individual events it was once again down to Kirsty Gilmour to contribute to the growing Team Scotland medal tally. On the penultimate day of the Gold Coast Games, Kirsty, seeded four, replicated her medal winning feat from Glasgow four years ago, this time landing bronze in the Women’s Singles.
Playing Michelle Li, the Canadian who beat her in the final in 2014, in the bronze medal match, Gilmour was on ferocious form and determined not to go home empty handed. Kirsty wasted little time asserting her authority on the match, winning the first game 21-11 as her opponent struggled. The second game was a closer affair in the opening stages, but Gilmour soon found her rhythm once more, moving Li around the court to secure the win 21-16, her first ever victory over the Canadian.
Basketball
Twelve of Scotland’s top Basketball players were selected to represent Team Scotland at Gold Coast 2018, when Basketball made its return to the Commonwealth Games for the first time since Melbourne 2006.
Glasgow Rocks and GB Basketball star, Gareth Murray, was the only returning Scot from the 2006 Games and was joined by fellow Rocks teammate and GB Basketball captain, Kieron Achara who missed out through injury last time round. Also amongst an exciting line up of players making their Games debut, 17-year-old Callan Low became the youngest player ever to represent Team Scotland in Basketball.
Drawn in Pool B alongside England, Cameroon and India, the Scots were based in Townsville, a two hour flight north of Gold Coast. Scotland tipped-off their Commonwealth campaign in style on day one as the sport made its return to the Commonwealth Games for the first time in twelve years. A fabulous 77-65 win over England got the team off to the perfect start to sit at the top of Pool B.
Matches against Cameroon and India swiftly followed and with the Scots growing in confidence they recorded a further two wins to confirm their place as Pool B winners and advance to the Qualifying Finals in Cairns. Once again the team defied the pre-tournament rankings, securing another hard fought victory, this time against Nigeria 66-61 to earn the right to fly south to join the rest of Team Scotland on the Gold Coast, to take part in the semi finals.
Drawn against hosts and tournament favorites Australia, Scotland suffered their first defeat 46-103 and then narrowly lost out 69-79 to New Zealand to see the bronze medal slip from their grasp on the final day of the Games.
Finishing fourth was a fabulous achievement and Basketball can be proud of posting Scotland’s best ever result by a team sport at a Commonwealth Games.
Beach Volleyball
Following a team qualification process, Scotland received invitations to compete in both men’s and women’s Beach Volleyball competitions at Gold Coast 2018 and four athletes were selected for the Games.
Seain Cook, a professional volleyball player based in Holland and Robin Miedzybrodzki, a former British Champion successfully qualified for the men’s 12-team competition with an impressive win at the official European qualifying tournament in Cyprus. They were later joined by Edinburgh duo, Lynne Beattie and Melissa Coutts for the women.
Lynne had major Games experience having captained Team GB’s indoor volleyball team to ninth place at London 2012, whilst beach volleyball veteran Melissa Coutts was part of the first ever Scottish team to play and win on the World Tour and a three times British Champion.
The inclusion of Beach Volleyball was another ‘first’ for Gold Coast 2018, as the sport made its full Commonwealth Games debut, only nine months after the sport was contested for the first time at the 2017 Commonwealth Youth Games in the Bahamas.
The competition got underway on day two of the Games with the venue built on the stunning Coolangatta Beachfront, a stone’s throw away from Team Scotland’s ‘Schools Connect’ programme school, Coolangatta Primary. Both Scotland’s pairs acquitted themselves well, reaching the quarter finals.
Playing in Pool B, the men clocked up two early victories against Sri Lanka and Sierra Leone before losing to Canada and eventually going out in the quarter finals against England. The women beat Grenada, but lost to both Cyprus and Australia in Pool A and also went out in the quarter finals, losing to Canada.
Boxing
Eleven boxers were selected to represent Team Scotland at Gold Coast 2018. Bronze medallist at Glasgow 2014, Reece McFadden returned to the team and was joined by fellow 2014 representatives Aqeel Ahmed and Scott Forrest. Samoa 2015 Youth Games gold medallists, John Docherty and Sean Lazzerini both stepped up to senior level, whilst Mitchell Barton, Stephen Newns, Robbie McKechnie and Nathaniel Collins, all Scottish champions, completed the men’s line-up. Vicky Glover became the first Scottish woman to be selected for a Commonwealth Games and was joined by Megan Gordon, who won bronze at the 2017 Commonwealth Youth Games.
The 10-day Boxing programme got underway on day one of the Games at the Oxenford Studios and despite some disappointments and close decisions, the sport continued its impressive record of being the only Scottish sport to win a medal at every Commonwealth Games.
Reece McFadden (52kg) and John Docherty (75kg) both took home bronze medals, after losing out in their respective semi finals. First up, Reece faced Northern Ireland fighter Brendan Irvine, with the Motherwell boxer looking sharp throughout the three rounds. McFadden looked to land the majority of the punches but at the end of three rounds, the judges awarded the bout to the Northern Irishman.
In the evening session, John faced the talented Cameroon fighter Dieudonne Wilfried Seyi Ntsengue, who had been impressing the crowds with his aggressive style. John started well, but couldn’t get the better of the African Middleweight, who went on to win silver.
Cycling
Fifteen athletes were selected for Team Scotland to compete at Gold Coast 2018 across Track, Road and Mountain Bike events. Eight of the cyclists had competed at Glasgow 2014 and the impressive line up included Olympic champions Katie Archibald and Callum Skinner.
The Track Cycling events were held 75km away at the Anna Meares Velodrome in Brisbane, with the team staying outside the Village to be close to the venue. By close of play on day one, Team Scotland had claimed its first gold medal of the Games, courtesy of para-cycling duo Neil Fachie and Matt Rotherham. Competing in the Blind and Visually Impaired Tandem classification, the pair carved almost two seconds off the previous Games record in
the 1000m Time Trial and went on to win a second gold in the Sprint later in the week, breaking the World Record in qualification. Defending champion in both events from Glasgow, Neil became Team Scotland’s most successful para-sport athlete of all time and now ranks fourth in the all-time top Scots list with four gold medals.
The early success quickly sparked a medal rush as eight cyclists claimed 10 medals between them, including four gold, to finish as Scotland’s most successful sport of 2018 in terms of gold medals won.
Siblings Katie and John Archibald made history as they became the first brother/sister pair to win medals for Team Scotland at the same Commonwealth Games on the same day. It was all the more remarkable, as John had only converted from Road to Track Cycling less than a year before the Games. Katie struck first, with a sensational performance to take gold in the Women’s 3000m Individual Pursuit, before her brother collected silver in the men’s equivalent, the 4000m Individual Pursuit. Both set Games records on the way to their respective finals.
Day three saw Katie add a silver in the Women’s 25km Scratch race, with teammate Neah Evans taking bronze, before Jack Carlin completed the night with a silver, in the Men’s Sprint.
And finally, endurance cyclist Mark Stewart won the sport’s fourth gold medal to bring the curtain down on the track events and see Scotland sit second on the Cycling medal table. Stewart put in the performance of his life in the Men’s 40km Points Race to complete a successful day on the boards that also saw Neah Evans win her second medal of the Games with silver in the Women’s 10km Scratch Race, whilst Callum Skinner won bronze in the Men’s 1000m Time Trial.
There were top ten finishes for both Team Scotland mountain bikers on the cross-country trails at Nerang. Isla Short shone well beyond her pre-race rankings to finish fifth in a strong field on her Games debut, whilst Grant Ferguson was unable to improve on his Glasgow 2014 fifth place finish, crossing the line in ninth.
The Time Trials and Road Races took place at the Currumbin Beachfront. Katie and John Archibald were Scotland’s top finishers in the Time Trials with fourth and 11th respectively, whilst Neah Evans posted the only top 10 result in the Road Race, coming eighth to conclude an action packed programme.
Gymnastics
A full squad of 10 artistic gymnasts (five men and five women) were selected for Team Scotland at Gold Coast 2018. Three gymnasts had competed at Glasgow 2014 including three-time Games medallist Daniel Purvis and Men’s Team silver medallist, Frank Baines.
Having won their first ever Team Event medal at Glasgow 2014, Scotland’s men followed up with their second at the Coomera Indoor Sports Centre, winning bronze on the opening day.
Scotland started on the Pommel Horse, and despite Kelvin Cham subsequently being ruled out through injury after a short landing on the Rings, the men rallied and carried out excellent performances on the Vault, Parallel Bars, and High Bar, before finishing with four impressive Floor routines. After completing all six pieces of apparatus, men had an overall score of 240.975, putting them in third place behind England on 258.95 and Canada on 248.65.
The results of the Team competition were also used as a means for individuals to qualify for the Individual All-Around and Apparatus Finals. For Scotland, Frank Baines and Hamish Carter both qualified for the Men’s Individual All-Around Final, where they finished fourth and sixth respectively.
In the men’s Individual Apparatus Finals there was further success for Team Scotland. Dan Purvis claimed bronze on the Floor, nudging team mate Hamish Carter into fourth and there was a bronze also for Frank Baines on Parallel Bars.
Team Scotland’s women placed fifth in the Women’s Team event, scoring 142.95 points. Both Cara Kennedy and Shannon Archer qualified for the Women’s Individual All-Around Final where they finished ninth and 10th respectively and the Vault Final where Shannon was fifth and Cara seventh.
Hockey
Team Scotland received an invitation to take part in both the Men’s and Women’s Hockey competitions at Gold Coast 2018. A full squad of 18 players were selected for each team, with both sides seeing a mix of returning players and debutants.
Scotland’s men took an outstanding victory in the 2017 EuroHockey Challenge II and went into the Games set on bettering their eighth place finish from Glasgow 2014. There was a wealth of experience in the squad with Kenny Bain, Alan Forsyth, William Marshall and Gordon McIntyre all selected for their third Games and a further four players returning from Glasgow 2014.
After qualification for the World League semi-finals in 2017 and a successful test series against Wales, the women’s side were looking to build on their sixth place in Glasgow. 12 players made their Games debut, while five returned from the Glasgow 2014 side, along with defender Kareena Cuthbert, whose last Games appearance was Delhi 2010.
The women had a difficult start to their campaign, with a heavy defeat against New Zealand, and then a draw against Canada. Things picked up with a 5-0 win over Ghana, before losing their final match in Pool B to Australia to finish fourth in their
Pool. They fought hard in their classification match against Malaysia to win the game 4-2 and finish the competition in seventh place.
The men got their Commonwealth Games off to a flying start with a 4-2 victory over South Africa in Pool A, before also facing Canada, New Zealand and Australia. Despite best efforts, they too succumbed to some top class opposition, but as a result of a better goal difference they finished third in their Pool and faced Malaysia in a play-off for fifth / sixth.
Alan Forsyth took the lead for Team Scotland when he scored on 10 minutes; but Malaysia, ranked 11 places above them in the world rankings, didn’t take long to equalise and then went ahead in the second half. 2-1 to Malaysia was the final score, however sixth place represents Scotland’s best ever finish in Men’s Hockey.
Lawn Bowls
A full complement of 17 bowlers were selected for Team Scotland at Gold Coast 2018. Alex ‘Tattie’ Marshall MBE was making his
sixth Commonwealth Games appearance and was joined by two fellow Glasgow gold medallists; Darren Burnett and Paul Foster MBE, making their fifth and fourth Games respectively. The men’s line-up was completed by first timers Ronnie Duncan and Derek Oliver.
On the women’s team Caroline Brown and Claire Johnston each returned for a third Games, while Kay Moran, now living in Australia made her second Games appearance, 12 years after her silver medal winning performance at Melbourne 2006 in the Women’s Pairs. They were joined by Lesley Doig and Stacey McDougall who represented Team Scotland for the first time.
Team Scotland also had entries in both para-sport Lawn Bowls events. Irene Edgar and her Director, David Thomas made a return to Team Scotland having won silver in Glasgow in the B2/B3 Mixed Pairs and teamed up this time around with Robert Barr, directed by Sarah Jane Ewing. In the B6/B7/B8 Open Triples, Michael Simpson was the sole returning member of the team that took fourth place in Glasgow and was joined by Mike Nicoll and Garry Brown.
The competition got underway on day one of the Games at the Broadbeach Bowls Club, a world-class venue which is regular host to the Australian National Championships and a range of top level international events. And it proved to be an incredible nine days for Scotland’s bowlers on the hard baked greens, with 10 of them
returning home with medals as they steadily accumulated two gold, two silver and a bronze, to become the most successful nation of all-time in Commonwealth Games Lawn Bowls.
There was a first ever medal for the Women’s Triples team, with Kay Moran, Stacey McDougall and Caroline Brown winning silver, and there was a bronze for Lesley Doig and Claire Johnston in the
Women’s Pairs.
Ronnie Duncan and Derek Oliver both made perfect Games debuts, being crowned double gold medallists. They won gold in the Men’s Triples, with 2014 Men’s Singles gold medallist Darren Burnett then in the Men’s Fours with Alex Marshall and Paul Foster.
Alex Marshall soon overcame the disappointment of losing out to Wales in the Pairs gold medal match, winning gold in the Fours to take his career tally to five gold and one silver and become Scotland’s most successful Commonwealth Games athlete of all time, with teammate Paul Foster only just behind him with four gold and a silver, moving up to third.
Netball
Team Scotland received an invitation to compete in the Netball competition at Gold Coast 2018 and a talented squad of 12 players were selected. There was an even split of youth and experience, with six returning from the Glasgow 2014 team, including Captain, Claire Brownie, Vice-captain Lynsey Gallagher and stalwart Hayley Mulheron, who had over 100 caps for the national side.
Of the six athletes making their Games debut, three were age 20 or younger; Bethany Sutherland who captained the 2017 World Youth Cup team to eighth place, Beth Goodwin, named Player of the Tournament on her senior debut at 2017 Netball Europe and Niamh McCall, the first player born in the 2000s to receive a senior cap.
In the 12 team competition held at the Gold Coast Exhibition Centre, Scotland were drawn in Pool B alongside England, New Zealand, Wales, Uganda and Malawi.
Scotland lost 28-74 in their opening match as they battled hard in a fierce contest with England, the eventual
winners of the gold medal match. They then enjoyed a win over Wales in their second home nations clash. After a cagey opening half Scotland were trailing 23-24, but some good passages of play and sharp shooting from 18 year old Beth Goodwin helped drive the team on to prevail 51-47. However Scotland lost their final three Pool matches against New Zealand, Malawi and Uganda, with the loss by one point to Malawi 50-51 in a thrilling match ultimately proving costly.
Placed fifth in Pool A, Scotland faced Barbados in the classification games. In a topsy-turvy match, Lynsey Gallagher continued to keep the Scots within touching distance and as time expired Gallagher scored to tie the game at 39-39, forcing overtime. Scotland ran out the winners 50-48 to conclude their Commonwealth Games in ninth place, matching their result at Glasgow 2014.
Rugby 7s
Team Scotland received an invitation to compete in the Men’s Rugby 7s competition at Gold Coast 2018 and 13 athletes were selected, with two replacements subsequently made prior to the sport’s arrival on the Gold Coast.
The 13-man squad was made up of seven core Scotland 7s squad players (captain Scott Riddell, Jamie Farndale, Robbie Fergusson, James Fleming, Nyle Godsmark, Max McFarland and Joe Nayacavou), supplemented by three from Edinburgh Rugby (Glenn Bryce, Ally Miller and Darcy Graham) and three representatives from Glasgow Warriors (George Horne, Ruaridh Jackson and Lee Jones).
Captain Riddell – Scotland’s most capped 7s player in history – and Lee Jones were among the most experienced 7s exponents in the group and were selected for their third Commonwealth Games, having featured in both Delhi 2010 and Glasgow 2014. Jamie Farndale had also enjoyed Commonwealth Games experience, captaining the side at the 2011 Commonwealth Youth Games in the Isle of Man.
In the men’s competition, the 16 competing nations were split into four pools, with Scotland drawn in Pool A alongside Papua New Guinea, Malaysia and South Africa, who beat New Zealand 17-12 in the final in Glasgow four years earlier.
Following the pool round robin format, only the top team in each pool progressed through to the medal competition. This was a revised format from previous Games, reflecting the congested calendar and the fact that teams were in the midst of the World Rugby 7s Series. Scotland started well with convincing wins against Papua New Guinea 27-0 and Malaysia 41-0 at the Robina Stadium.
However a decisive defeat 5-26 to World Rugby Series leaders and reigning Commonwealth champions South Africa ended hopes of securing Team Scotland’s first ever team medal and relegated them to the classification matches.
The Scots opened their day-two account with an impressive 19-12 win over home nations rivals Wales, with George Horne combining his ever-present support and lighting acceleration to score twice, before Jamie Farndale strode over for his sixth try of the weekend.
The win set up a fifth / sixth place playoff against host nation Australia, who defeated Scotland 26-0 to bring their 2018 Commonwealth Games to an end with a sixth place finish, an improvement of one place on Glasgow 2014.
Shooting
Team Scotland selected 13 athletes to compete at Gold Coast 2018 across all four shooting disciplines of Smallbore, Clay Target, Fullbore and Pistol. There was a wealth of experience in the team with Ian Shaw making his sixth Commonwealth Games appearance and chasing his third back-to-back Commonwealth Games medal.
Five time Commonwealth Games medallist Jennifer McIntosh and younger sister Seonaid were also in the team and making their third and second Games appearances respectively. Also competing in Smallbore and with a gold, silver and bronze to his name from previous Games, Neil Stirton was selected for his fourth Games, while Caroline Brownlie made her third Games appearance in the Pistol discipline. 20-year-old Aedan Evans, headed a list of six shooters who made their debut for Team Scotland.
Like Cycling, the Shooting venue was an hour away just outside Brisbane, however the shooters chose to stay in the Village on the Gold Coast and travel to the Belmont Shooting Centre on a daily basis for competition.
Shooting has an outstanding track record, winning medals for Team Scotland at every Games since 1974 and 2018 was no exception. 1 gold, 1 silver and 4 bronze was the final tally to give them the third highest medal count across Team Scotland sports and ranked fourth in terms of golds.
Ian Shaw took bronze in the Fullbore Open Queen’s Prize Pairs alongside Games debutant, Sandy Walker, while David McMath, competing at his first Games, took Scotland’s first ever individual gold in the Clay Target Men’s Double Trap, setting a Games record in a thrilling final. Linda Pearson competing in her second Games after missing out in 2014, also showed Scotland’s prowess at Double Trap with a bronze, to win her first Games medal.
There was a fourth Commonwealth Games medal and his first in an individual event for Neil Stirton with silver in the Smallbore Men’s 50m Rifle Prone, whilst Seonaid McIntosh added to her family’s Commonwealth Games legacy, with two bronze medals in the Women’s 50m Rifle events rounding out a successful Games on the range up in Brisbane.
Squash
Five athletes were selected to represent Team Scotland at Squash at Gold Coast 2018. Alan Clyne and Greg Lobban were amongst the first athletes to be selected and they had their sights set on reaching the podium, with Clyne having finished fourth in Men’s Doubles at both the Delhi 2010 and Glasgow 2014 Games. In their first major tournament as a doubles pairing, they claimed World Doubles Championship gold against Australia in 2016 and in a reversal of fortunes backed this up with silver in 2017.
Kevin Moran, part of Scotland’s bronze medal winning team at the 2016 European Team Championships, completed the men’s line-up, returning for his second Games playing in the Singles and joining forces with Lisa Aitken in the Mixed Doubles. Aitken reached the quarter-finals of both Women’s and Mixed Doubles at the Delhi 2010 Games and returned to Team Scotland, after an incredible comeback from serious illness. Aitken also played Women’s Doubles in Gold Coast alongside 21 year-old Alison Thomson, who also contested the Women’s Singles.
In the Men’s Singles Alan Clyne faced off against Joel Makin of Wales in the quarter finals in a gruelling 99-minute match on the show court at Oxenford Studios. The two hugely physical players pushed each other all the way, with Makin eventually coming out on top winning the final game 12-10 to take the match. Clyne finished fifth equal, his best Singles result at a Games. Greg Lobban reached the last 16 in the Singles, whilst, Kevin Moran who lost his first round match showed good form to reach the Classic Plate Final where he lost to Micah Franklin of Bermuda.
Sadly, there was further disappointment for Clyne and Lobban in the Men’s Doubles. Playing against number four seeds, English pair James Willstrop and Declan James, the Scots just fell short and lost the match 2-0 and along with it, the bronze medal for the third successive Games.
Battling against an ankle injury picked up in training, Lisa Aitken withdrew from the Women’s Singles to focus on the Women’s Doubles and Mixed Doubles. Unfortunately neither pair progressed from the group stages.
Table Tennis
Three athletes were selected to represent Team Scotland at Table Tennis for the 2018 Gold Coast Commonwealth Games. Perth’s Gavin Rumgay returned to Team Scotland for a fourth Commonwealth Games, having taken a record-equalling 12th Scottish Championship Singles title in 2017. He was joined by Craig Howieson, making his third Games appearance and debutant Colin Dalgleish, who represented Great Britain at the 2017 World University Games. Each played in the Men’s Singles and Men’s Team event, with Gavin and Craig joining forces in the Men’s Doubles.
Playing at the Oxenford Studios, their Games got underway on day one with the Team event. Drawn in Group 5, Scotland lost their opening match to Australia 0-3 before beating Kiribati 3-0 to qualify for the last 16 as second in the group. They faced Malaysia in the next round where they lost 1-3.
In the Men’s Singles, Colin Dalgleish was unable to qualify through the group stages, whilst Craig Howieson went out in the last 32. Once again, Gavin Rumgay reached the last 16 where this time he fell short against England’s Liam Pitchford who closed out the match 4-1.
In the Men’s Doubles the Scots had a bye in the first round, then took a convincing win over Northern Ireland 3-0. However they lost in the last 16, 0-3 to England’s McBeath and Walker to conclude their Gold Coast Games.
Triathlon
Five triathletes were selected for Team Scotland to compete at Gold Coast 2018. There was a return to Team Scotland for Marc Austin, who thrilled the home crowd in Strathclyde Park during Glasgow 2014 as part of a three-man breakaway with the Brownlee brothers, while Grant Sheldon, 2017 World University Championships gold medallist was also selected for his second Games. Better known as a track endurance athlete, running at both the Rio 2016 Olympic Games and 2017 World Athletics Championships, Beth Potter was selected to make her Commonwealth Games debut as a triathlete following a successful transition to the sport. She also ran the 10,000m on the track to become the first athlete to compete in two sports for Team Scotland at a single Games. Also showing her multi-sport prowess, Team Scotland’s golden girl of the track at the Bahamas 2017 Commonwealth Youth Games, Erin Wallace made an immediate step up into the senior team in Triathlon, having competed in both sports for several years. She was selected to complete the quartet for the Mixed Team Relay.
Gold Coast proved a fantastic watershed for Triathlon Scotland, as Marc Austin took the first Scottish medal of the Games and a first ever Triathlon medal for Scotland. He put in an inspirational performance to claim bronze in the Men’s Individual event, ahead of World and Olympic medallists Alistair and Jonathan Brownlee with Grant Sheldon 17th. In the women’s event Beth Potter was 12th.
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 their performance in Glasgow four years ago. A new event making its debut on the Gold Coast was Para-Triathlon in the PTWC classification for athletes who predominantly use a wheelchair and Scotland was represented by Paralympic Handcycling gold medallist Karen Darke.
After a solid swim in very choppy water, her weakest element of the swim-hand cycling-wheelchair racing combination, Darke was fifth, but produced the second fastest bike split to move up to fourth. Despite pushing hard all the way, her rivals had just too much on the day and the Inverness athlete was unable to haul herself into the medal positions, finishing fourth.
Weightlifting
Four weightlifters and one para-sport powerlifter were selected for Team Scotland at Gold Coast 2018. All four weightlifters were making their Games debut following a successful Commonwealth Championships. Former World and European record breaking powerlifter Lisa Tobias was joined by British silver medallist Jodey Hughes, 2015 Australian Champion, Scott Wilson and Scottish U23 record holder Zach Courtney.
Lisa Tobias was the first lifter to take centre stage at the Carrara Sports and Leisure Centre in the Women’s 48kg category. The former gymnast only took up the sport post-Glasgow 2014 and has made huge strides to make her first Commonwealth Games. After a shaky start she nailed her final attempt at 60kg in the Snatch, before setting a Scottish Clean and Jerk record of 79kg for a combined total of 139kg, just 1kg shy of her personal best to finish in eighth position.
Teammate Jodey Hughes, also new to the sport, produced a strong performance in the final of the Women’s 58kg category, amassing a total of 160kg having snatched 70kg before producing 90kg in the clean and jerk to finish ninth. Sydney based Scot, Scott Wilson, produced a strong performance in the final of the Men’s 94kg category, accumulating a total of 311kg to finish seventh. After snatching 142kg, just 3kg shy of his personal best, Wilson went on to clean and jerk a new lifetime best of 171kg to finish above his pre-event ranking. There was disappointment for Zach Courtney in the Men’s 105kg competition. He posted 130kg in the Snatch, but was then forced to withdraw due to illness.
Competing in his second Games, there was heartbreak for para-sport powerlifter Micky Yule, when for the second time in a row he finished just outside the medals in fourth place in the Men’s Heavyweight final. After failing his opening lift, Micky was successful at 172kg and 174kg to put himself in bronze medal position. Only India’s Sachin Chaudhary could deny him a medal which unfortunately he did. Having battled back from a double leg break over the last 12 months, it was an incredible performance nevertheless.
Wrestling
Four wrestlers were selected for Team Scotland to compete at Gold Coast 2018. The Wrestling team saw the return of Glasgow 2014 medallists Alex Gladkov and Viorel Etko making their second and third Games appearances respectively. Their bronze medals in Glasgow were Scotland’s first in the sport for 20 years. They were joined by Commonwealth Championships bronze medallist, Ross Connelly, and British Open champion, Joe Hendry, best known for his performances in the professional arm of the sport.
Team Scotland’s wrestlers opened their Gold Coast campaign at the Carrara Sports and Leisure Centre, with Ross Connolly and Viorel Etko both contesting the Men’s Freestyle 57kg weight category and Alex Gladkov in action in the 74kg event. With all three wrestlers facing extremely tough draws it was always going to prove an uphill battle to get on the podium, with the trio losing out in their opening bout.
Unfortunately for Etko, his Nigerian opponent who was tipped for gold, lost out in the semi-final after a poor tactical decision when clearly in front, costing the Scot a place in the Repechage and a chance to repeat his bronze medal feat from four years earlier.
Joe Hendry was the final Team Scotland wrestler in action as he took to the mat in the Men’s Freestyle 97kg category. Hendry was more than a match for crowd favourite Nicolaas Verreynne of Australia, but trailed 2-0 at the halfway mark. With neither man able to find a winning move, Hendry threw caution to the wind in the closing 30 seconds, which ultimately cost him defeat by a fall.