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Top 5 Scottish Sports Stars
We asked Anne-Marie Harrison, Executive Director of the Scottish Institute of Sport, to pick her Top 5 Scottish Sports Stars; past, present and future.
Anne-Marie has now left the Scottish Institute of Sport to return to Australia.
"It was a tough call sticking to just five," Anne-Marie laughs.
"I've focused mostly on the present and future because that's where my knowledge is. Controversially, there are no footballers or rugby players in my selection either because I have a natural bias towards Olympic sports!"
So, in no particular order, here is Anne-Marie's selection…
Allan Wells, Athletics
"I really struggled to pick just one athlete from the past. I couldn't decide between two great track and field athletes, Allan Wells and Eric Liddle (whom many people know through the movie Chariots of Fire). In the end, I picked Allan Wells because I can remember watching him at the 1980 Olympics, recognising his incredible performance and also recognising that he was a Scot, albeit with a UK vest on.
"The men's 100-metre sprint is the premier Olympic event and when you win that, you're known as the fastest man on earth. To confirm that by winning the Commonwealth Games, that makes Allan Wells a pretty important Scottish athlete."
Allan Wells was born in Edinburgh and was a triple jumper and long jumper before turning to sprinting. He won gold in the 100m at the 1980 Olympic Games in Moscow, and won four Commonwealth gold medals during his career. In 2001, he was one of the first athletes inducted into the Scottish Sports Hall of Fame.
Shirley Robertson, Sailing
"My next choice is Shirley Robertson, who has done so brilliantly in two different classes, as an individual and also in pulling together a fantastic team in a new boat. The consequent Olympic performance was really a stand-out performance and Shirley’s age profile means she'll hopefully be around for many years to come."
Dundee-born Shirley Robertson began sailing on the River Tay. After a 4th place in the Atlanta Olympics in 1996, she won a gold medal for Europe class dingy sailing at Sydney in 2000 making her the first Scottish woman to win an Olympic medal since 1912. She took another gold medal in Athens in 2004 in the Yngling class. Shirley was awarded an OBE in the 2001 New Year Honours list.
Chris Hoy, Cycling
"I was in the velodrome when Chris won his Olympic gold in Athens in 2004. The velodrome is a small spectator stadium and the atmosphere was breathtaking. He was the last to go, the world record had already been broken twice and Chris was going to have to break the record to win. To be able to face that kind of pressure, really put yourself on the line like that, makes you a world-class athlete.
"Plus Chris' gold medal was the UK's first medal in Athens, so that made it even more special. Chris has got to be one of our greatest ever athletes."
Chris Hoy was born in Edinburgh. Prior to track cycling, he raced BMX and competed at rowing for the Scottish junior team. When he took gold in the 1km time trial at the Athens Olympics, he set a new Olympic record in the process. He also won silver in the team sprint at the 2000 Olympics in Sydney.
He was named Scottish Sportsperson of the Year for the third successive year at the Commonwealth Games Council for Scotland (CGCS) awards in 2005. Also in 2005, Chris was awarded an MBE for services to cycling.
Rhona Martin, Curling
"This choice includes Rhona's team too, for their performance in Salt Lake City. They'd had such a difficult time getting through the preliminary rounds to make the play-offs. To get into the finals, it would have been so easy for them to settle for the silver. But not only did they get the gold, it went right down to the last stone. Millions of crazy Brits stayed up all night to watch. It was a great night for the sport of curling, which, of course, originated in Scotland."
Rhona Martin is from East Ayrshire. She led the British team which took gold in the 2002 Winter Olympics in Salt Lake City and won a silver medal at the 1998 European Championships. Rhona was awarded an MBE in the Queen's Birthday Honours List in 2002. She also recently led the British ladies curling team at the 2006 Winter Olympics in Turin.
Andy Murray, Tennis
"My final choice is one for the future, although obviously Andy is also a current athlete. He's made the transition between the junior and senior tours, and I think he not only has the potential to be a great tennis player but also to be a great personality on the world stage – to be a great Scot, I suppose.
"He's a real gold medal contender for Beijing and also for London in 2012. He'll be competing for himself first and foremost, and quite rightly so, but the residual benefit for Scottish sport and for British tennis will be enormous."
Andrew Murray was born in Dunblane, Perthshire and started playing
tennis at the age of 3. He won the US Open tennis boy's title in 2004,
was the youngest player ever picked for Great Britain's Davis Cup
squad, and was named BBC Young Sports Personality of the Year in
December 2004. He made his debut at Junior Wimbledon in 2002.
After turning professional and joining the senior tour, Andy
reached the third round of both the Stella Artois Championship and
Wimbledon in 2005. He recently won his first ATP Tour title in the SAP
Open in San Jose. Andy is currently the British Number 1 and is ranked
Number 42 in the world.
More about the Scottish Institute of Sport
It was the chance to develop Scottish sport through the brand new Scottish Institute of Sport that enticed Anne-Marie Harrison to move from Australia to Scotland.
"It was the job that brought me here," Anne-Marie explains.
"Being the first executive of the Institute I felt like a pioneer. We set up from scratch at a time when British sport was struggling a little. Scotland made a decision to transform the performance system and that was very appealing."
Established in 1998, the Scottish Institute for Sport is performance focused, coach led and athlete centred. Some 250 of Scotland's top athletes currently benefit from the support of the Institute.
Being Australian doesn't stop Anne-Marie being committed to Scottish sport.
"I'm terribly passionate about Scottish athletes. Of course, I have a great interest in Australian sports but if there's a Scot and an Australian on the starting line, I'll be rooting for the Scot. There's no divided loyalty there for me. These are people we work with day-in, day-out and I’m totally committed to their success.
“You'd think after six years I'd be able to put my feet up," Anne-Marie laughs, "but it's more challenging every day. We've made incredible progress but we can't afford to be complacent. Other countries made this kind of investment twenty years ago, so we're playing catch-up.
"I was in Scotland in 1986 for the Commonwealth Games and it rained every single day, so I knew what to expect before I moved here! The natural beauty in Scotland is just breathtaking. It's so different from the geography and scenery of Australia – the different colours of green, the autumn hues. Australia is pretty much sunburnt all year round.
"When I drive through the Trossachs I have to remind myself to stop and smell the roses while I'm here."
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