A record number of athletes from Stirling University will compete in the Commonwealth Games – with 20 set to travel to Birmingham.
As Scotland’s University for Sporting Excellence, Stirling will send 16 swimmers – including record-breaking Duncan Scott – as well as a triathlete, a judoka, and two hockey players.
The athletes represent a total of five nations, including Scotland, England, Northern Ireland, the Isle of Man, and Trinidad and Tobago.
In addition to the 20, recent graduates from the university’s sports scholarship programmes will also compete in the games – including in cycling, netball and triathlon.
Swim coaches Steve Tigg (head performance) and Bradley Hay (high performance) will head south with Team Scotland.
And the group is also supported at Stirling by high performance swim coach Josh Williamson.
Last year, Duncan Scott became the most successful British athlete at an Olympics and, in 2018, claimed the accolade of most decorated swimmer at a single Commonwealth Games.
Speaking ahead of the Birmingham Games, Scott said: “I still experience the same sort of feelings in the build-up to major international competitions – but I’m much more relaxed.
“I’m an athlete and a competitor and, no matter what race I’m going into, I want to win.”
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His Scotland teammate Martyn Walton will make his games debut after being part of the programme for seven years.
On his selection, the BSc Sport and Exercise Science and MSc Sports Management graduate said: “This has given me a great end to my career. I plan for this to be my last meet before I go into coaching.It’s probably something, two or three years ago, I didn’t think was possible so it’s amazing.”
Scott and Walton will be joined in the Team Scotland swim squad by fellow Stirling athletes Lucy Hope, Keanna Macinnes, Craig McNally, Stephen Milne, Ross Murdoch, Mark Szaranek, Emma Russell, Cassie Wild, Ollie Carter, Abby Kane and Toni Shaw.
Kathleen Dawson – who won gold at last year’s Olympics – was also selected for Scotland but was forced to withdraw due to injury.
Meanwhile, Peter Allen (Isle of Man), Jack McMillan (Northern Ireland), and Cameron Kurle (England) will also swim for their respective countries.
Stirling sports scholar Gabriella Wood – who last year became the first woman to represent Trinidad and Tobago in judo at the Olympics – will also travel to Birmingham, as will Team Scotland’s Sophia Green (triathlon), and Bronwyn Shields and Rob Harwood (both hockey).
A number of recent graduates from the university’s sports scholarship programmes will also compete.
They include cyclists Finn Crockett (Scotland) and Becky Storrie (Isle of Man); judoka Rachel Tytler (Scotland); netball player Lauren Tait (Scotland); and triathletes Cameron Main and Grant Sheldon (both Scotland).
The much anticipated games will run from Thursday, July 28, to Monday, August 8.
