Scottish athletes on Team GB have returned triumphant from the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games with a record medal total of 14 including 3 gold, 8 silver and 3 bronze.
The overall total surpasses the 13 medals won by Scottish athletes at both the London and Rio Olympic Games. Swimmer Duncan Scott, who has written himself into the history books by becoming the first ever British athlete to win four medals at a single Olympic Games, got the Scots off to a flying start with silver in the 200m freestyle event.
Some incredible performances followed in cycling, rowing, sailing, hockey and athletics:
- Swimming - Duncan Scott, one gold and three silver
- Rowing – Angus Groom & Harry Leask, silver
- Swimming – Kathleen Dawson, gold
- Sailing – Anna Burnet, silver
- Cycling – Katie Archibald, one silver (with Neah Evans) one gold
- Cycling – Jack Carlin, one silver and one bronze
- Hockey – Sarah Robertson, bronze
- Athletics – Laura Muir, silver
- Athletics – Josh Kerr, bronze
Meanwhile the Scots on ParalympicsGB are continuing the excellent performances on the world stage with 12 medals won in Tokyo so far.
Minister for Public Health, Women's Health and Sport, Maree Todd, said: “It has been fantastic to see so much success for the Scots on Team GB and we have witnessed some incredible performances over the last few weeks.
"Each and every one of our athletes should be so proud of their achievements and the inspiration they are providing for future generations.”
Chief Executive of sportscotland, Stewart Harris, said: “The performances of the Scots on Team GB have been nothing short of sensational. A total of 14 medals delivered, Duncan Scott has confirmed himself as one of Team GB’s greatest ever Olympians and Kathleen Dawson has played her part in setting a new world record.
“But this success did not happen overnight.
"It is down to years of hard work and commitment from the athletes, their coaches and their wider support teams including Scottish Governing Bodies of sport and the sportscotland institute of sport."
"It also wouldn’t have been possible with the support of the National Lottery and in particular National Lottery players, who help raise £36million each week to help good causes.”
Alan Lynn, Scottish Swimming National Coach, said: “Duncan Scott’s performances and herculean contribution to this team success must be celebrated. Nobody is more deserving of the ‘greatest Olympian from a single games’ accolade than him. Kathleen Dawson should also be lauded for the part she played in the gold medal and world record performance of the first ever Olympic champions in a mixed medley relay.
“All swimmers and divers should return home proud with the knowledge that they have inspired a new generation to try swimming and diving and continue the great legacy Scotland has in these sports.”
Nick Rennie, CEO of Scottish Cycling, said: “Tokyo 2020 will live long in the memory given all the ups and downs in the build-up, but the Scottish success has been a pleasure to witness.
"For us to have five representatives on Team GB and to have five medals coming back to Scotland is remarkable, with Katie’s historic gold in the madison the icing on the cake.
“This sets us up wonderfully for the Commonwealth Games next year and a home World Championships in Scotland in 2023 – but perhaps more importantly, we hope these performances will inspire people to get on a bike, and in time we’ll see the next wave of Scottish Olympic medallists.”
Ian Beattie, Chair of Scottish Athletics, said: "Congratulations to Laura and her coach Andy Young, Josh Kerr and their families and all the support team out in Japan. It is a massive achievement and one of the lovely aspects of it is that I do believe the whole sport enjoys it and feeds off it. The athletics community in Scotland are very supportive of our athletes and over the weekend the social media channels just exploded with that pride.
“Laura and Andy have been around the scene for a good ten years now and very visible during that time. Laura competed at Scottish Championships and Scottish Unis Championships as she progressed and was involved in cross country. So many people feel as if they know her and they know this silver medal is the reward for lots of hard work and great patience, too.
“There is real strength in middle distance running and Josh winning a bronze medal in the 1500m underlines that fact.”
