First Minister: athletes at the top of their fields inspirational
As the 2024 Paralympic Games draws to a close, First Minister John Swinney has commended Scottish athletes for their world-class performances which will inspire future generations.
21 Scottish athletes took part individually or in team events, securing 11 gold medals, eight silver medals and one bronze medal – contributing to ParalympicsGB’s overall medals tally of 124 medals.
Athletes from Scotland broke records in pursuit of gold medals, including Stephen Clegg’s record-breaking S12 backstroke time, Jenny Holl’s effort as pilot for Sophie Unwin on her way to gold and a world record in the Women’s B 3,000m individual cycling pursuit, and Sammi Kinghorn achieving a gold medal while setting a new Paralympic Record for the Women’s T53 100m.
The First Minister said: “I want to pay tribute to and congratulate all of the ParalympicsGB squad, including the 21 Scots on the team, for your performances in Paris.
“You are all athletes at the top of your field, and Scotland has been cheering you on throughout these Games.
“Your performances will inspire people of all ages, backgrounds, and abilities to take up sport, achieve their own goals and become more active in their own lives. The next generation will be inspired by where you are now, and the Scottish Government and partners will work to ensure there will be opportunities for them to follow suit.”
Forbes Dunlop, CEO of sportscotland, said: “On behalf of everyone at sportscotland I want to congratulate every single one of the Scottish athletes who have represented Paralympics GB in Paris over the last couple of weeks.
“There have been some extremely strong performances from our athletes, including personal bests, Paralympic and World records and a very impressive haul of medals, demonstrating the enormous level of commitment and talent across the team.
“All of this success is down to years of hard work from the athletes, their coaches and their wider support teams including Scottish Governing Bodies of Sport and the sportscotland institute of sport and we are proud to be part of the ‘team behind team’ supporting the athletes.”
Gavin Macleod, CEO of Scottish Disability Sport, said: “Congratulations to all the Scottish Paralympians and their significant support networks in Paris.
“The performances are testimony to the inclusive approach Scottish Governing Bodies of sport are taking to ensuring para-athletes are supported.
“Not all of us will be able to reach the heights of these international high-performance athletes however, what we can do is commit to working in partnership to ensure that children, young people and adults can access quality PE, comprehensive sporting opportunities and the chance to move more every day.”
As Scotland’s official Team GB Fanzone, St James Quarter is hosting a Festival of Sport to celebrate the 2024 Olympics. From screenings to interactive fitness and competitive classes, the spirit of sport will be all around the Quarter.
Inspired by the Paris 2024 Olympics, St James Quarter will invite guests to ‘get active’ from 26 July—11 August, with a whole host of sporting festivities and special guests, as it launches its ‘Festival of Sport’ right in the heart of the city.
As the official Team GB Fanzone in Scotland, the Quarter will show all the live action from the Olympics in Paris on a giant screen, delivered in partnership with Ocean Outdoor.
Spectators can visit the Fanzone on Level 5 to cheer on their favourite athletes from the comfort of the Quarter’s rooftop bar, with captivating views of Edinburgh’s historic Calton Hill.
The official Team GB mascot Pride the Lion will join in the fun, heading to the Quarter to celebrate with sporting fans on 30th July.
Guests will also have the chance to meet and greet Olympic athletes, with Badminton player Kirsty Gilmour, who is competing in this year’s games, visiting the Fanzone on 7thAugust, and Joel Fearon, who competes in Athletics (Sprint) and Bobsleigh on 8th August.
As part of the two-week-long Festival of Sport, St James Quarter, in partnership with Edinburgh Leisure, is hosting a range of free fitness activities for all guests inspired by the UK’s success at the Olympics.
From Pilates to Body Combat, Hatton Boxing to Musical Theatre Fitness, there’s something for everyone to get into the spirit of the Games, including family-friendly classes.
In addition, with breakdancing making its Olympic debut, B-Boys will ‘pop and lock’ around the Quarter, rocking live battles on Register Square and offering guests the opportunity to give it a spin. There will also be football freestyling exhibitions to wow sporting fans.
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During the two-week Festival of Sport, the St James Quarter team, along with invited guests will be gearing up and ‘cycling’ to Paris in the heart of the Galleria, to raise money for the Quarter’s charity partners Health in Mind and Edinburgh Women’s Aid.
Home to over 80 brands from luxury boutiques to high-street stores, plus an enticing mix of restaurants and bars, St James Quarter is the perfect place to shop, dine, play and stay this summer.
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To keep up to date with events happening throughout the Quarter, visit the St James Quarter website or download the St James Quarter App.
Demand for access to Edinburgh Leisure top-class sporting facilities from talented athletes is growing year on year, as participants look to get to their peak fitness in the hope of representing their county or country at major sporting events, including the Olympic Games.
The Edinburgh Talented Athlete Support Scheme (E TASS) is a City of Edinburgh Council and Edinburgh Leisure funded programme that represents a strong and unique partnership between talented athletes, National Governing Bodies of Sport (NGB’s) and the Scottish Institute of Sport Network (SISN).
E TASS aims to provide free access to Edinburgh Leisure’s gym, swimming pool and track venues, to support talented athletes to achieve more, develop to their full potential and accomplish world class performance levels.
Gary Hocknull, Sports Development Manager at Ediburgh Leisure explains: “Being able to deliver the E TASS programme supports Edinburgh Leisure’s values of providing opportunities and support to athletes to participate, progress and achieve in sport and makes a clear statement that we invest in athletes and sport at all levels.
“All athletes accepted onto E TASS enjoy free access to Edinburgh Leisure gyms, swimming pools, and athletics tracks for recovery, rehabilitation, strength and conditioning, and endurance training.
“Access is made available for athletes’ own individual training requirements and does not apply to club or National Governing Body squad training. Competition is tough with demand growing year on year. For 2024/2025, we received applications from 158 new, and 108 from existing athletes.”
With only 150 spaces available on ETASS, Edinburgh Leisure works closely with NGB’s and sportscotland to ensure our support reaches the right athletes.
Consideration is given to applicants in postcode areas identified through the Scottish Index of Multiple Deprivation (SMID). The performance levels of these athletes range from those beginning their elite sporting journey to those that have achieved success at international events.
Scottish number one at target shooting, Seonaid McIntosh, is supported by the E-TASS scheme and is hoping to medal in Paris. Seonaid said: “Having the support of the ETASS scheme has been fundamental to my success in shooting as it complements my rifle training and improves my fitness with the ability to use Edinburgh Leisure’s fantastic sporting facilities across the city.”
Seonaid McIntosh became the World Champion at the 2018 ISSF World Shooting Championships in the 50m Prone Rifle event. In 2019 she became Britain’s most successful female rifle shooter of all time, winning five World Cup medals (including the first World Cup Gold to be won by a British Woman).
She also became the first British Woman to rank World #1 for the 50m Rifle Three Position event and became European Champion in the 300m Rifle Prone event with an equal World Record score.
Rory Brogan, a talented athlete and rugby player explained why E TASS has been crucial for his training: “The membership went really well in the way that it gave me a place to go for Strength and Conditioning.As a young person at school, I don’t have a lot of money to spend on gym memberships, so having this Athlete scheme massively helped boost that.
“Furthermore, the Edinburgh Leisure gym I went to at Meadowbank is great for athletes, as it has space for plyos, plenty of squat racks, etc. I made the Scotland U20 relay team, and we set the record when we competed down in Cardiff in August 2023. Furthermore, I got into the wider Scotland U18 rugby team.”
To qualify for E TASS athletes must be resident in Edinburgh and a member of an Edinburgh constituted sports club. The athlete must also represent their sport at any of the following standards:
Scottish Institute of Sport (SISN)
Scottish/British/European/World Championship Title Holder
The coaches of GB Paralympian Kadeena Cox MBE have won The Coaching Chain award and will receive their accolade at this year’s UK Coaching Awards on Tuesday 7 December.
Further award winners on the night include the recipient of the Lifetime Achievement Award, Richard Brickley and Mussabini Medallists – coaches who supported their athletes to gold medals at this year’s Tokyo Games.
Kadeena Cox’s coaching chain has been recognised for their tremendous impact on her journey to success. The award signifies and celebrates the importance of progressive person-centred coaching and the continuous dedicated support and time invested in athletes throughout their careers.
The coaches behind the growth and development of multi-medallist Cox, who is currently starring in ‘I’m a Celebrity… Get Me Out of Here!’ are Tom Hodgkinson, Joe McDonnell, Jon Norfolk MBE, Brian Scobie, Sue Bowles, John Westerman and Nathan Wells.
Leeds-born Kadeena’s journey into athletics started when her school hockey coach, Sue Bowles, suggested she tried sprinting after noticing her greatest asset was her speed. After success on the track with athletics coaches John Westerman, Brian Scobie and strength and conditioning coach, Nathan Wells, Cox was diagnosed with the lifelong condition of Multiple Sclerosis (MS).
Just two years after her diagnosis, Paralympic Head Coach for GB Cycling Jon Norfolk MBE supported Cox to achieve an incredible feat when she became the first British Paralympian in 32 years to win gold medals in different sports at a single Games at the 2016 Rio Paralympics.
With the help of sprints coach, Joe McDonnell and British Cycling’s Paralympic Programme coach Tom Hodgkinson, Cox followed this success at the Tokyo 2020 Paralympic Games, retaining her C4-5 time trial gold medal and adding further gold in the mixed team sprint C1–5.
Discussing Cox’s achievements, her school hockey coach, Sue Bowles said: “Kadeena is a huge role model to young and old that no matter what obstacles come to you in life, you can still achieve your goals with determination and positivity.
“Kadeena – I cannot tell you how proud I am of you. You totally deserve everything you have achieved and I feel privileged to have played a small part in your incredible journey.”
Tom Hodgkinson, her cycling coach added: “Medals define the champion to the public. However, the great champions are defined by not only what they win but how they take people with them, which Kadeena does more often than anyone else I work with.
“Kadeena has the highest performance behaviours and expectations of her team and her performance. This level is met with her own personal behaviours which make you want to do more for Kadeena, with her unwavering care to check in with her team outside of the sessions that everyone is OK personally, looking after her family, gifting presents to my twins on their birthdays and Christmas, and when times are tough the ability to keep perspective beyond the now and into the future whilst keeping a smile on her face.”
The Coaching Chain category has become one of the highlights of the UK Coaching Awards. Recent winners have included the coaches behind Three Lions superstar Marcus Rashford, Cricket World Cup winner Ben Stokes, Olympic sailing gold medallist Hannah Mills, Tour de France winner Geraint Thomas, Scotland rugby union full-back Stuart Hogg and Olympic hockey gold medallist Kate Richardson-Walsh.
The UK Coaching Awards showcases the diverse work of coaches, projects and organisations, making a huge difference to the health and happiness of the nation – especially against the backdrop of the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic.
Along with Cox’s coaching chain to receive accolades on the night will include the recipient of the Lifetime Achievement Award, Richard Brickley.
Richard is to be recognised for his outstanding service to participants with disabilities having worked for over 40 years to give disabled people the best possible experience in sport and physical activity.
His dedication to creating a culture of inclusion within sport led him to become the inaugural chair of the UK Coaching Learning and Leadership Group, which was formed in 2007 acting as an advisory group to help embed inclusive practices throughout coaching across the UK.
Reflecting on his award, Richard said: “I am thrilled to receive the UK Coaching Lifetime Achievement Award but at the same time recognise that there are so many others who could equally claim the right to be here.
“Being able to influence the physical activity behaviours of so many participants with physical, sensory, or learning disabilities of all levels of ability over so many years is undoubtedly high up on the list of proudest moments.
“As a member of the Scottish Disability Sport education and coaching tutor team, to be involved in so many projects and programmes that have changed lives – it fills me with enormous satisfaction and pride.”
Coaches of gold medallists at the 2020 Olympic and Paralympic Games in Tokyo, will receive a special accolade of the Mussabini Medal – named after Scipio Africanus Mussabini (Sam), widely recognised as a pioneer of modern sports coaching.
Between the 1908 and 1928 Games, Sam coached athletes to 11 Olympic medals, including five Golds. The tradition of awarding medals in Sam’s name dates back to the very start of the UK Coaching Awards.
The Lord Provost has wished all those born or based in the Capital the very best for the Tokyo Olympic games which open today (Friday 23 July).
Team Edinburgh includes rowers Katherine Douglas, Harry Leask, Polly Swan, Karen Bennett and Lucy Hope as well as Bradley Forbes-Cryans going for gold in the canoe slalom. In the pool will be divers Grace Reid and James Heatly, as well as swimmers Lucy Hope and Cassie Wild.
Ross McCann will compete in the GB Rugby Sevens team, while Sarah Addlington will battle for Team GB in judo. On the track, Joshua Kerr will compete in the 1500m and shooting star Seonaid McIntosh will be gunning for a gold medal this weekend.
Lord Provost Frank Ross, said: “As Lord Provost and on behalf of the people of Edinburgh, I would like to congratulate all the athletes on their selection to represent Team GB at the forthcoming Olympic Games. They are fantastic ambassadors for the City.
“In taking part in the Games they are representing extraordinary dedication and determination in their sports and are an inspiration for sporting fans throughout the Capital. Edinburgh has impressive representation with athletes born, based or training and studying in the Capital and I’m sure residents will join me in cheering them on as they go for gold. I wish you all the very best for Tokyo 2020.”
