Roll of Honour Booklet
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SCOTTISH ATHLETICS ROLL OF HONOUR 9 201 March A scottishathletics history publication Date: Roll of Honour 1 CONTENTS Introduction 2 Track and Field I. Olympic Games 5 II. World Championships 5-6 III. European Championships 6-7 IV. Commonwealth Games 7-8 Road Running 9 Cross Country 10 Hill Running 12 Ultra Running 15 Para Athletics 17 Index to Medal Winners 20 This version of the booklet has been updated to 4 March 2019. Cover photo – 2017 double European Indoor gold medallist Laura Muir, photographed by Bobby Gavin. Roll of Honour 1 INTRODUCTION This booklet recognizes the Scottish athletes who have won medals at major championships while representing Scotland or as part of the Great Britain & Northern Ireland team. The first Scottish athletes to win medals in international competition were in the inaugural International Cross Country Championships of 1903, where the six scoring Scottish team members won the bronze medal. It may be churlish to observe that only 4 nations competed – the 4 home countries. Three years later, Wyndham Halswelle and John McGough, both won silver medals at the Olympic Games of 1906 on 30 April. Born in Ireland, John McGough moved to Scotland when only six months old and became the leading Scottish middle distance runner in the early years of the century. Living and working as a postman in the Gorbals district of Glasgow, he joined Bellahouston Harriers and won their 1900 cross-country title. At one time he held every Scottish record from 1000 yards to 4 miles. He won a total of 12 Scottish AAA titles: 880 yards (1903-04, 1907); mile (1902-07, 1910), and 4 miles (1902-03). At Ibrox Stadium on 20 June 1903, McGough won the half-mile, mile and 4-miles titles all in the same afternoon. He was also the Irish AAA champion at both 2 and 3 miles in 1905 and at one mile in 1907. He finished as runner-up at three successive AAA Championships (1904-06). This was undoubtedly his best distance and he won a silver medal in the 1500 at the 1906 Olympic Games. After a notable athletic career at Charterhouse and the RMC, Sandhurst Wyndham Halswelle was commissioned into the Highland Light Infantry in 1901. When the HLI returned to Edinburgh from the Boer War, Halswelle took up the sport in earnest. In 1904, he won the 1904 Army 880 yards championship. In 1905 he turned to quarter-miling and won the AAA and Scottish titles. In 1906, Halswelle won a silver medal in the 400 and bronze in the 800 metres at the Olympic Games in Athens and, on his return for the British season, he won the 100 yards, 220 yards, 440 yards and the 880 yards all on the same afternoon at the Scottish Championships. Two years later, in the Olympic year of 1908, he set a world record of 31.2 seconds for 300 yards and then posted a British 440 yards record of 48.4 seconds before facing the world's best at the Olympic Games in London. Halswelle was the fastest qualifier and faced three Americans in the final. The race was not run in lanes and the starter warned the runners against jostling, but coming into the home-straight, the American John Carpenter blocked off Halswelle, was disqualified, and a re-run was ordered. The re-run, in lanes this time, was set but Robbins and Taylor, the other Americans, sided with the disqualified Carpenter and refused to run. Halswelle appeared alone and won the 1908 Olympic 400 metre title on a walk-over. He thus became the first Briton to win gold, silver and bronze medals in individual Olympic events. However, Arthur Robertson is generally recognised to have been the first Scot to win a gold medal. Born in Sheffield, England, he was the son of a Glasgow doctor and educated at Kelvinside Academy, Glasgow, before moving to King's School, Peterborough, as a 14-year- Roll of Honour 2 old. In March 1908, Robertson won the English and the International cross country titles (that victory is not recognised in the following lists as he was representing England at the time). At the Games, he won a gold medal in the 3-mile team race, in which he individually finished second, a silver medal in the steeplechase and was fifth in the 5 miles. In 1930, the first British Empire Games were held in Hamilton, Canada, and Scotland were one of 10 countries competing in athletics and on day two of the track and field programme, Scotland won their only medal of the Games as Duncan McLeod Wright, the current AAA champion, was a comfortable winner of the marathon, finishing approximately 3½ minutes ahead of England’s Sam Ferris. Four years later, Scotland’s team at the London Games included 6 women athletes and the women’s relay team became the first female medal winners for Scotland, finishing 3rd in the 660 yards relay. It was the easiest medal of the event to win, there being only 3 competitors. SCOTTISH MEDALS IN INDIVIDUAL COMPETITION AT MAJOR CHAMPIONSHIPS Gold Silver Bronze Total Track and Field Olympic Games 6 9 8 23 World Championships 1 3 8 12 World Indoor Championships 2 4 4 10 European Championships 17 9 13 39 European Indoor Championships 10 10 9 29 Commonwealth Games 21 26 52 99 Road Running World Half Marathon 1 1 Cross Country ICCU Championships 2 6 5 13 World Championships 1 1 2 European Championships 2 2 Ultra Running IAU World Championships 3 5 4 12 IAU European Championships 1 3 5 9 Commonwealth Championships 1 1 Hill Running World Championships 2 4 2 8 World Long-Distance Champs 2 2 1 5 European Championships 4 4 Commonwealth Championships 1 1 Para Athletics Paralympic Games 37 26 19 82 World Championships 16 10 12 38 World Marathon Cup 1 1 2 European Championships 22 6 1 29 TOTAL 145 128 148 421 Roll of Honour 3 Since then, Scotland’s medal tally has increased to 421 in individual events as can be seen from the above table, which does not include the team medals awarded in cross country, road, hill and ultra-running. The development of Paralympic Athletics has been a major contributory factor to the above total, with 151 medals coming from that source. The leading medal winners, including team medals, to date are: MAINSTREAM ATHLETICS Athlete Discipline Gold Silver Bronze Total Eilidh Child Track & Field 3 8 6 17 Angela Mudge Hill 2 9 3 14 Yvonne Murray Track & Field 4 3 4 11 John Suttie Smith Cross Country 4 7 11 Lee McConnell Track & Field 3 8 11 Joasia Zakrzewski Ultra 1 3 6 10 Liz Lynch/McColgan T&F/Road/CC 4 4 1 9 Robbie Simpson Hill/T&F 1 4 4 9 Allan Wells Track & Field 5 2 1 8 Stephanie Twell T&F/CC 4 2 2 8 Duncan Wright T&F/CC 1 7 8 Robbie Sutherland Cross Country 4 4 8 George Wallach Cross Country 3 5 8 Laura Muir Track & Field 5 1 1 7 Tracey Brindley Hill 1 2 4 7 Sharon Law Ultra 2 5 7 Eleanor Greenwood Ultra 6 6 David Jenkins Track & Field 3 3 6 Tom McKean Track & Field 3 3 6 Brian Whittle Track & Field 3 3 6 Simon Pride Ultra 1 1 4 6 Cameron Sharp Track & Field 1 1 4 6 George MacKenzie Cross Country 4 2 6 Donald Ritchie Ultra 1 5 6 PARA ATHLETICS Stephen Payton 12 4 5 21 Maria Lyle 7 4 4 15 Libby Clegg 6 5 11 Caroline Innes 6 3 2 11 Karen Lewis 4 3 2 9 Samantha Kinghorn 5 2 7 Stefanie Reid 2 2 3 7 Colin Keay 5 1 6 Joanna Butterfield 4 1 1 6 Roll of Honour 4 TRACK AND FIELD OLYMPIC GAMES The major pinnacle for international athletes is competition at the highest level, the Olympic Games. The Games were first held in Athens in 1896 and are held every 4 years. Scottish athletes have won gold medals, silver medals and bronze medals at the Olympic Games as follows: GOLD Allan Wells 1980 200 metres Elliot Bunney 1988 4x100 metres Wyndham Halswelle 1908 400 metres Liz McColgan 1988 10000 metres Arthur Robertson 1908 3 miles team Henry Macintosh 1912 4x100 metres Robert Lindsay 1920 4x400 metres Eric Liddell 1924 400 metres BRONZE Allan Wells 1980 100 metres Wyndham Halswelle 1906 800 metres James Soutter 1912 4x400 metres SILVER James Wilson 1920 10000 metres Eric Liddell 1924 200 metres Wyndham Halswelle 1906 400 metres Ian Stewart 1972 5000 metres John McGough 1906 1500 metres Linsey Macdonald 1980 4x400 metres Arthur Robertson 1908 3200m S’case Yvonne Murray 1988 3000 metres James Wilson 1920 Cross Country team Eilidh Doyle 2016 4x400 metres Alistair McCorquodale 1948 4x100 metres David Jenkins 1972 4x400 metres WORLD CHAMPIONSHIPS The IAAF World Championships commenced in 1983 and were held four-yearly until 1991, after which they became a bi-annual event. Scottish athletes who have won medals at these Championships are: GOLD BRONZE Liz McColgan 1991 10000 metres Dougie Walker 1997 4x100 metres Lee McConnell 2005 4x400 metres Lee McConnell 2007 4x400 metres SILVER Lee McConnell 2009 4x400 metres Lee McConnell 2011 4x400 metres Eilidh Child 2013 4x400 metres Jamie Bowie 2013 4x400 metres Eilidh Doyle 2017 4x400 metres Eilidh Child 2015 4x400 metres Zoey Clark 2017 4x400 metres Kirsten McAslan 2015 4x400 metres Roll of Honour 5 WORLD INDOOR CHAMPIONSHIPS The IAAF World Indoor Championships commenced in 1985 with the first championships being called the World Indoor Games.