Grampian swimmer Toni Shaw claimed her second medal of the World Para Swimming European Championships in Dublin on Wednesday 16^th August.  The 15-year old secured a Silver medal in the Woman’s S9 100m butterfly to accompany her bronze medal won the previous day.  Shaw (University of Aberdeen Performance) touched in a time of 1:09.18 to set a new Scottish best and pick up her second medal of the Championships, all in what is her first event representing Great Britain.

Stephen Clegg broke the British S12 50m freestyle record twice in the same day, first as he won his morning heat and then later in the final of the event, clocking a time of 24.79 which meant he finished 5^th overall.  City of Sunderland swimmer Clegg continued his record breaking form into day 4 of the competition, recording another British record in the S12 100m backstroke (1:01.46) and making sure he qualified quickest going into this evening’s final.

Toni Shaw and Andrew Mullen added further medals to the haul won by Scottish swimmers at the World Para Swimming European Championships in Dublin on Tuesday 14^th August. 

Fifteen year old Grampian and University of Aberdeen Performance swimmer, Shaw claimed top sport in her heat of the S9 100m freestyle in a time of 1:05.72 and took this form into the final later that day.  Shaw, making her first appearance for Britain and fresh from competing for Scotland at the Commonwealth Games, claimed bronze in a time of 1:04.27.

City of Glasgow swimmer Mullen also claimed Bronze in the S5 50m backstroke, touching in 36.39 behind Ukraine’s Yaroslav Semenenko (Gold) and Italy’s Antonio Fantin (Silver).  Earlier in the day, multi international medallist Mullen had broken the European record in the heats only for the record to be bettered in the next heat.

The previous day saw East of Scotland swimmer Scott Quin storm to the European Gold Medal in the Men’s SB14 100m breaststroke in a time of 1:07.21, finishing just in front of another Scot – Grampian’s Conner Morrison (University of Aberdeen Performance) who touched in a time of 1.07.53.  Warrender Bath Club’s swimmer Quin turned at the half way point in second spot, just behind Ukranian Vasyl Krainyyhk, however used his notorious strong finish to claim first place and retain the Gold medal won in Funchal, Portugal two years previous.  The Midlothian man highlighted ‘I have swum better but sometimes you have to dig deep’.

Another East swimmer, Stephen Clegg, makes up the Scottish contingent of the Great Britain team at the World Para Swimming European Championships.  The City of Sunderland swimmer claimed first place in the heats of the S12 50m Freestyle (24.82) and will move into the final later on day 3.

Para Sailor Rory McKinna selected to represent Britain and heading for the Para World Sailing Championship in September and coming along to the Scottish Club Trophy to share his experiences.

Ayrshire’s Rory McKinna has had swift rise in competitive sailing having started his sporting journey in 2016 and now enjoying international competition for his country and inspiring other young sailors to take up racing. Over the past year he has been recognised widely receiving both the RYA UK Sailability Young Person of the Year and RYA Scotland Young Person of The Year alongside the Ayrshire Sportability Award.

The full article can be seen on the RYA Scotland website here:

https://www.rya.org.uk/newsevents/news/Pages/Para-World-Championship-beckon-for-Rory.aspx

 

Stephen McGuire, Jamie McCowan and Patrick Wilson all qualified for the last 16 stage of their respective events after day two of the World Boccia Championships at Liverpool’s Exhibition Centre.

BC4 player Stephen McGuire made it safely through to the knockout stages of the competition after some comprehensive victories during the group stages of the competition including a 12 v 1 win against American Kevin Stokes and a 12 v 0 triumph against Spaniard Vasile Agache.

It was equally as impressive for BC3 player Jamie McCowan who secured 3 wins over the first two days of individual action.  The West of Scotland player and current world number 2 recoded victories over Maria Bjurstrom (Sweden) (7-3), Pieter Cilissen (Belgium) (4-3) and Eric Bussiere (Canada) (4-3) to secure his passage into the last 16 on day 3.

Edinburgh based player Patrick Wilson found things slightly trickier in Pool G, scraping through to the last 16 stage on points difference.  Wilson recorded one victory (5 – 1 v Ling Yan Tsang) and lost 2 group matches, including one against current Paralympic BC3 Champion Howon Jeong (7 – 3) with Wilson claiming the last end by 3 shots to take some confidence into day 3 of the competition.  However, this was to prove the end of the road for the Borders born BC3 player as he was defeated 7-1 by Russian player Aleksander Legostaev at the last 16 stage, meaning an exit from the individual competition.

BC4 World number 1, Stephen McGuire was up against German athlete Boris Nicolai and struggled for momentum after losing the first end by 3.  McGuire managed to win the next two ends, leaving the score 3-2 to Nicolai moving into the final end.  The German managed to defend the lead and eventually claimed the match, 4-2 and knocking the Scot out.

Jamie McCowan continued his impressive form the first two days, as he came up against Hong Kong’s Wing Tung Liu at the last 16 stage.  McCowan raced into an early lead and his opponent from Hong Kong found it difficult to get back into the match despite winning the 3^rd end by 1 shot – McCowan eventually claiming the victory 3-1.

Great Britain’s David Smith also moved into the Quarter Final stage with a 9-o victory against Spain’s Ferran Ribas.

Father of three Michael Mellon from Cardenden is an established member of Disability Sport Fife and within only a few years he has made an immense impression. It does not seem all that long since Michael competed in his first DSF Track and Field Championships at Pitreavie and Scottish Championships at Grangemouth. He has established himself as the leading ambulant physically disabled thrower in the country.

Michael will once again be part of a strong Fife squad of physically disabled athletes that will compete in the Scottish Disability Sport National Senior Championships in September at Grangemouth Stadium. Michael is now very competent in all three throws.

At school Michael was a very keen rugby player and javelin thrower and he excelled in both. Michael’s father was in the Royal Air Force and he joined up in 1997. He sustained a tibia and fibula injury playing rugby and attended Headley Court Rehabilitation hospital for a short period. In 2005 Michael was medically discharged and whilst on sick leave met his wife and they married in 2004. Because of all the leg pain he was experiencing Michael decided to progress with an amputation.

In 2014 Michael signed up with Dundee Dragons and become involved in the Dragons wheelchair rugby league team. Michael loves the camaraderie of the club and the sport and values the friendships he has made over the years. Michael is always thrilled when he is selected for Team Scotland and has the opportunity to play in the Four Nations Tournament.

Michael has been selected for the 2018 Invictus Games that will be held in Sydney, Australia in October. Such is the talent of the man that he has been selected to represent Team UK in sitting volleyball, wheelchair basketball, wheelchair rugby and wheelchair tennis. Michael has had to miss out on his beloved athletics because of the intense schedule of the team sports.

Due to participation in multiple events Michael will be away almost every weekend from June until the start of October for different training camps. For the 2018 Games some of the camps are held during the week. For Michael each camp tends to be a 7 hour day of training in a wheelchair or on court for sitting volleyball. In addition there are competitions against teams around the UK. The sitting vollyball team for example played against the GB women’s team and the GB men’s development squad. The wheelchair basketball team played against the Scotland under 23 team at Inverclyde in Largs. The wheelchair rugby team have played games against many excellent teams but the real test will come one week before Team UK fly out to Australia when they play the best team in GB. By then the Invictus team should have fully bonded and will be ready for the international challenges that lie ahead.

Michel indicated that selection was pretty tough this year because the UK team will comprise of only 72 athletes. As the Games grow in popularity more wounded injured or sick serving personnel and veterans apply. This year there were more applications than ever for the UK squad. Invictus squad trials were held in April at Bath University and the squad was announced on 15 May. The team announcement was made at Horse Guards Parade in central London in the presence of the Prime Minister and many representatives from the national media.

Disability Sport Fife is once again fiercely proud of Michael and all that he has achieved to date as an Invictus competitor. Last Games were massively successful for him and he is preparing well for competitions in four team games. An incredible undertaking but he is a very special athlete.

On the down side Michael misses being with his wife and children as much as he would like to be. They are however his greatest fans and have supported him since day one of his Invictus Games career. Michael values immensely the quality time spent with like minded personnel who have been through much of what he has as an ex serviceman. Training is challenging but there is time in the evenings to socialise and recharge the batteries.

Well done Michael we are all so proud of you.

Richard Brickley MBE – President Disability Sport Fife

Owen Miller from Dunfermline and Fife Athletic Club recently broke through the 4 minute barrier for 1500 metres for the first time in his career. The occasion was the Scottish Athletics Open Graded Meet at Grangemouth Stadium. The ex Woodmill HS T20 middle distance athlete recorded a sensational personal best time of 3:57.35.

Yesterday at the Scottish Championships at Grangmouth Stadium, Owen finished second in his heat in a time of 4.01.21 to qualify for the final. To day in the final, Owen finished 7th in a time of 3.58.97 to record his second fastest performance of all time and run under the four minute barrier for the second occasion in a few weeks. Owen’s coach Steve Doig reckoned he could have run faster had he not been accidentally bumped with 80 metres to go when he was attempting to overtake an athlete.

This weekend Owen has recorded his second and third fastest times for 1500 metres and the Scottish Championships are an approved IPC event. As an IPC registered athlete Owen will be listed on the IPC international ranking list for 1500 metres and able to compare his performances with other T20 1500 metre runners from all over the world.

Owen’s Fife AC team mate Sam Fernado also had another outstanding run on Saturday in 3000m steeplechase finishing 6th in a time of 10.04.25. Like Owen, Sam is enjoying his most successful season to date having recently won two medals at the INAS European Championships in Paris. Coached by Ron Morrison, the Gateside athlete is a relative novice in steeplechase but he consistently turns in excellent performances on the big occasions.

Richard Brickley MBE – President Disability Sport Fife

Congratulations to Ollie Carter who lives in Cupar and is a member of Carnegie Swimming Club. Ollie is coached by Morag Mitchell.

Ollie ended the swimming season on a high at the British Para Swimming Championships at Ponds Forge in Sheffield. Ollie reached the finals of 100m and 400m freestyle and set a massive personal best for 400m freestyle of 4.21.85. This will be yet another S10 Scottish record for the ex Bell Baxter HS pupil who heads to university after the holidays.

Not surprisingly Ollie is over the moon at maintaining the form he has displayed throughout the swimming year. Ollie has learned that he has been selected for the Scottish Swimming Senior Silver Squad and is waiting to hear about his position within the British Swimming performance framework.

Richard Brickley MBE – President Disability Sport Fife

 

On the last day of competition Team Scotland added to the medal tally in all three sports: athletics, boccia and swimming.

Swimming

In the pool the first event was the S9 400m freestyle, which included Kyle Hughes, Rhys Gill and Isaac Dunning.  In what was a very closing contest Kyle led the Scots charge finishing bronze position, whilst Rhys and Isaac battled hard for 4^th and 5^th respectively.

Erin Swann was up next in the 50m freestyle and continued her battle with Paula Van Zyl as the pair went head to head for the fourth time.  Paula led from the start and in the closing meter Erin came back strongly but narrowly missed out on the gold medal.  No other medals are awarded due to only being two competitors.

As in the previous event, Kyle, Rhys, and Isaac went head to head once again in the S9 100m freestyle.  Kyle was the first Scot home in silver medal position but was quickly followed by Rhys and Isaac, who were just outside the medals, in 4^th and 5^th place.

Boccia

In the individual events Team Scotland had Reegan Stevenson (BC1), Callum Glasgow (BC2) and Sean McCann (BC3) all in action in what was must win matches in the morning.  Callum took on Joaquim Soares (POR) and although put up a great fight, he succumbed to 1 – 6 to end his competition.  Sean took on the skilful Ladamanee Kla-han (THA) in what was a very entertaining encounter.  In the end the player from Phuket was too strong for the young Scott, winning 8-0.  Reegan had Lois Martin (CAN) between him and the final.  In what was a nervy affair, Reegan pulled through with a 4-1 win to set up a match against the talented Thai BC1, Natthawut Deemak.  Reegan performed admirably but it eventually ended with a 0-10 defeat but the match was much closer than the score suggested. Although very disappointed, Reegan reflected on the performance and learnt a lot from his counterpart, which he can use to develop his own game.

The medal ceremony from mixed nation BC1/2 team and the B3 pair’s events (that took place on Friday) also took place and all three players were awarded an unexpected bronze medal for their part in the team.  Thus adding another two medals to Team Scotland’s tally

Athletics

The track today began with the T34 1500m final where Nathan Blackie raced to an excellent bronze medal to start the day on a high for Team Scotland.

Field events this morning saw Kirsty Soutar in the F32 club throw, Connaire McAlindon the T37 javelin and Graham Condie in the F32 club throw.  All 3 athletes performed exceptionally well with Graham taking his place on the podium in bronze medal position, Connaire surpassing his previous PB by over 3m and Kirsty coming in third in a strong competition but not reaching the podium due to the minus one rule.

The T38 1500m final included Scotlands Ewan Waite who coming back from injury was looking to put in a good performance.  Ewan finished in 4^th place with a determined effort.

Golden girl Shelby Watson was in her final event of the games, the T33 400m final.  She lead from the gun and crossed the line to claim her fifth gold in what has been a superb championships for her.

Abbie McInally jumped her way to a silver medal in the F38 long jump. Her polish rival had the edge but Abbie gave her best effort.

In the T34 400m final Nathan Blackie continued his impressive medal count with a silver medal in a thrilled race where he took second place with 20m to go. The last medal of the championships on the track, gave Team Scotland one final medal with Ross Paterson running a tactical and powerful race crossing the line in bronze medal position.

With the sun about to set on Team Scotland’s time at the CPISRA World Games in Sant Cugat, Scotland delivered an impressive 30 medals, including 8 gold.  Scottish Disability Sport (SDS) is extremely proud of the athletes performances, commitment, camaraderie and conduct during the Games.  We were extremely fortunate to be supported by such a dedicated, experienced and passionate coaches and support staff.  These individuals add so much to the athlete experience and their work ethic was exemplary.  SDS can thank them enough.

The Scottish athletes were supported in numbers by family members and friends who turned out in force during competition and medal ceremonies.  They added to Team Scotlands identity throughout the games.

The Games will conclude with Games Celebreation on Saturday evening and the team fly home on Sunday Morning.

Results and medal table

The sun shone brightly on Team Scotland as the medal count continued to rise.  It was the first official day of competition in the pool, whilst the boccia players competed in teams, pairs and individuals for the first time.  The athletes continued to flourish on the track and in the field with many personal bests achieved.

In the team competition Scotland were paired with Canada, who played against a very strong Canadian team in their first match and a Thailand/Portugal team in their final match.  They were defeated 7-1 by the Canadians and 14-1 by Thailand/Portugal.

Sean McCann paired up with Canada’s Jennica Gagne to compete gainst other assembled pairs from the rest of the competitors. It provided an excellent opportunity for Sean to play in this format against a variety of players from around the world.

The Individuals event started today with Reegan Stevenson first up and was unfortunate to meet a Thai opponent in scintillating form. Callum Glasgow ultimately ended up on the wrong side of an incredibly close-fought match against his Canadian opponent whilst Sean McCann won an even closer match versus his South African opponent, Elaanza Jordaan. The second round of matches saw an upturn in fortune for Callum who claimed a victory against local favourite Nando Diedhiou. Sean saw a 5-4 lead after three ends evaporate as Andrea Gimenez ultimately claimed an overall 8-5 win. The three Scots will complete their fixtures tomorrow ass the event draws to a close.

And now to the pool where hopes were high for the Scottish team as they had been training hard under the watchful eye of Head Coach Jen Quinton. Erin Swann was in imperious form and swam personal bests in all three of her events coming within 1% of a gold medal in the 400m Freestyle event.

In a hugely competitive field Rhys Gill swam personal best times in three out of his four races which saw an immediate reward with a bronze in the 200m Individual Medley which included an incredible ten second PB.

Kyle Hughes had the most successful outing of all the swimming Scots by securing a bronze and silver medal for his efforts in the 100m Breaststroke and the 50m Freestyle, which also saw Isaac Dunning claim a Bronze to ensure the podium was bedecked in the Saltire. Isaac added another bronze to his haul in the 100m Breaststroke to make it an incredible first day of competition in the pool for Team Scotland.

On Day 2 of the athletics event Team Scotland continued to produce medal-winning performances following on from yesterday’s success. Up first was Shelby Watson in the T33 1500m final where she cruised to victory to ensure Flower of Scotland would be played at least once.

On the field Kirsty Soutar made her CP World Games debut in F32 discus. She performed well to finish in third place but unfortunately no bronze medal was awarded due to the minus one rule in place.

Connaire McAlindon was in action in the F37 discus.  He got over yesterday’s disappointment to throw a 2m PB and finish in 6^th position.

The evening session kicked off with Nathan Blackie claiming silver in the T34 200m.  Five minutes later Shelby Watson won her fourth Gold of the games in the T33 200m.  In T37 200m men’s final Lewis Clow was in confident mood following a PB in his heat.  He started well and coming down the home straight got himself into 3^rd place, unfortunately he stumbled 10m from the line to shatter his hopes of a medal position.

Next up was the women’s T37 200m final and Abbie McInally delivered another stunning performance to bring home another Gold for Team Scotland.  The 200m events were rounded off with Ross ‘the Scottish Rocket’ Paterson in the T38 men’s final.  Ross was ranked fourth after the heats started well and in the home straight lived up to his name as he stormed over the line in bronze medal position.

In the T34 800m Nathan Blackie looked comfortable in his first lap, and in the back straight was in second position.  Nathan headed down the home straight battling to keep ahead but was overtaken on the line to take a respectable bronze medal.

Last but certainly not least, Graham Condie was outstanding in the throwing cage.  First to throw he had a long wait to be declared champion.  A phenomenal performance and personal best ensured the day was rounded off with Flower of Scotland.

Looking forward to the final day of competition with athletes from all three sports in action.

Scottish Disability Sport are delighted to support and welcome Special Olympics Scotland to Stirling to host their 40th Anniversary Games. 

The Games are hosted in Stirling between the 9-13th August 2018 and will welcome 1,200 athletes, 400 coaches and officials, 500 volunteers and attract 5,000 family members and spectators to the event from across the UK and Europe.

The evening of Thursday 9th August saw the event’s Opening Ceremony hosted at Forthbank Stadium with presenters Greg Wallace and Gail Porter and special guests Red Hot Chilli Pipers headlining the celebration.

The games consist of three days of competition, with athletes competing in nine different sports:

• Badminton
• Boccia
• Cycling
• Football
• Golf
• Athletics (lower ability)
• Table tennis
• Swimming (lower ability)
• Indoor Rink Bowls

All sports are divisioned to cater for all ability levels, including exclusive lower ability competition in swimming, athletics and multi activity training programme (MATP), enabling very low ability and multi disability athletes to enjoy competing at a high-profile national games.

Laura Davies, Special Olympics GB rep, said: “We are delighted to welcome all the athletes to Stirling for the Games, it’s great to see all the athletes and families full of smiles, fun competition and sportsmanship- exactly what the Special Olympics is all about.”

Scottish Disability Sport would like to wish Special Olympics Scotland, and all the athletes, coaches, volunteers and partners involved, success at the 40th Anniversary Games. For full information on the Anniversary Games, the sports schedule, and latest news and press updates please visit: www.specialolympicsscotland40.com/

If you would like to find out more information about disability sport in the Central area please contact SDS RDM Cheryl Lappin on 07577 830360 or cheryl.lappin@scottishdisabilitysport.com