Scotland ‘s wrestlers were in action at the British Closed Championships held in Glasgow at the end of June, the final opportunity to stake their claim for places on Team Scotland at this year’s Commonwealth Games in Delhi.

Outstanding performances saw Scottish female wrestlers win five gold and one bronze, whilst the men won one gold, one silver and one bronze.

The competition was the final of three qualification events for the India-bound Scottish team. Of the 10 Scottish wrestlers who have now achieved the selection criteria, 22 year old Sean Keogh is one of two to have achieved the targets in all three events along with Jane Clason in the women’s 55kg.

“I wanted to get qualification scores in all three to give myself the best chance of going to India so I’m really pleased about how I did in the qualification events,” said Sean, who competes in the 74kg category.

“It’s really good because I’ve been putting in a lot of training for the last two years and it’s pretty much all paying off now.

“The Commonwealth Games is really important for me because it’s one of the largest sporting events in the world and it’s the only chance you get to compete for Scotland in a multi sport event. So it would be phenomenal to go.”

Consistently good Scottish results across the board are testament to the success of the Scottish Wrestling Association’s programme managed by its Performance & Development Manager, John Keogh, and its National Coach, Volodymyr Gladkov. The wrestling programme started in February 2008, featuring a number of women who had transferred from judo.

“Ten of our athletes have met the qualification criteria for Delhi”, said Keogh. “With seven women qualifying I am fairly certain that we will have a female wrestler in each weight division in India. I am extremely happy with that.

“The British Closed was the final qualifier. We now have to submit our nominations to Commonwealth Games Scotland and then we’ll wait until 18 August to see who is in the team.”

British Closed Championship Scottish Medallists

Women

48kg Fiona Robertson Gold
51kg Donna Robertson Gold

55kg Jane Clason Gold

59kg Kathryn Marsh Bronze

63kg Tracy Connell Gold

72kg Sarah Jones Gold

Men

55kg Craig McKenna Bronze

74kg Sean Keogh Gold

Two wrestlers who did not take part in the British Closed Championships, but previously met the selection criteria, will also be nominated for Delhi: 67kg Ashlea McManus and 66kg Viorel Etko.