Arthur Smith was among the winners at the 2018 Sunday Mail sportscotland Scottish Sports Awards after picking up the Local Hero award.
Despite his 84 years, Arthur remains a permanent fixture on the track at Kilbarchan Amateur Athletics Club as he continues to nurture the next batch of young runners looking to follow in the footsteps of clubmates such as Jemma Reekie and Callum Hawkins.
After more than 50 years as a member and an honorary vice-president at the club, Arthur still maintains his love of the sport and imparts a lifetime’s worth of wisdom to the Renfrewshire teenagers as the lead coach of the girls’ endurance group.
He is there summer and winter come rain or shine and has had a positive influence on hundreds of young athletes.
Awards night
A star-studded guest list gathered on 6 December in Glasgow to celebrate another exceptional year for Scottish sport.
Scotland’s athletes have once again shone on the global stage with Team Scotland winning a record number of medals at an overseas Commonwealth Games in the Gold Coast, while there were many fantastic performances at the PyeongChang Winter Olympic and Paralympic Games and the Glasgow 2018 European Championships.
But it’s about much more than delivering on the world stage. In communities across the country there are countless examples of sport making a difference.
Attendances at the national Active Schools programme have reached 7.3million – an all-time high. There are also now 192 community sport hubs in operation across the country, further increasing participation opportunities.
Other big winners on the night included the Scotland women’s football team, who were named Team of the Year, while head coach Shelley Kerr was named Coach of the Year after guiding the Scots to their first World Cup finals in France in 2019.
Duncan Scott won Scottish Sports Personality of the Year and Dame Katherine Grainger picked up the Lifetime Achievement Award.
Praise for Arthur
Stewart Harris, sportscotland chief executive, said: “Congratulations to Arthur, he’s a fully-deserving winner of this award after a lifetime of dedication to athletics and to Kilbarchan AAC.
“There is terrific work being done by the sporting community across the country to increase the opportunities for as many people as possible to take part in sport.
"It is wonderful to have another chance to recognise such dedicated and hard-working people alongside Scotland’s elite athletes.”
Find out more
- For more on club sport, coaching and volunteering opportunities visit the sportscotland website
- Discover more about the winners of the 2018 Scottish Sports Awards
