As Glasgow 2018 draws to a close, we celebrate two stars of the European Championships, Duncan Scott and Katie Archibald, who won seven medals between them in Glasgow and are now in the running for another prize as finalists in the National Lottery Awards.
Duncan Scott
With three gold medals and a silver at Glasgow 2018, University of Stirling freestyle swimmer Duncan added to his six medals from this year's Commonwealth Games, which made him the most successful Scot at a single Games.
Duncan had achieved this feat by the time he had won his fifth medal in the Gold Coast, and he then went on to win a sixth for good measure, coming away with a final haul of 100m freestyle gold, one silver and four bronzes. He was selected to carry the Team Scotland flag at the closing ceremony.
Aged 21, Duncan also picked up two World Championships medals over the past 12 months, a gold as part of the freestyle team and a silver in the 4x100m medley as well as double bronze in his first short-course meet in Copenhagen in December, and two national medals at the British Championships in March.
Since returning from the Gold Coast, Duncan has helped people of all abilities learn to swim in Troon, South Ayrshire where he learned to swim as a boy.
Duncan said: “It is a real honour to be nominated for Athlete of the Year at this year’s National Lottery Awards.
"Without the support of National Lottery funding, I would never have achieved this much in the pool so it is amazing to be in the running for an iconic National Lottery Award.
"All the finalists would be worthy winners but it would be fantastic for myself and everyone in swimming to be named Athlete of the Year so I do hope the public support me.”
Vote for Duncan
You can vote for Duncan by tweeting #NLADuncan, by going to the voting page or by telephone 0844 836 9732 (calls cost 5p max; a connection charge may be applied by some networks).
Katie Archibald
Aged 24, Katie is already a multiple world and European cycling champion in individual and team events.
In 2018, Katie brought home three medals from the Gold Coast Commonwealth Games medals and added a gold and two silvers at the Glasgow 2018 European Championships. Katie has inspired many people to race, as well as simply ride their bikes for pleasure.
Swimming’s loss was cycling’s gain as far as Katie Archibald is concerned. The track rider turned her back on the pool, switching to two wheels at the relatively mature age of 17 and turning her considerable skills to the world of grass track racing.
The Milngavie, East Dunbartonshire native converted to the velodrome at the age of 18 and enjoyed remarkable progression; within a year she had claimed team pursuit gold medals in both the UCI Track Cycling World Cup and the UEC European Track Championships.
A serious injury late in 2015, ruled Katie out of the 2016 UCI Track Cycling World Championships in London although she returned in time to earn selection for the summer’s Olympic Games in Rio and became a 2016 Olympic champion in the team pursuit.
Since her Olympic success, Katie has won two World Championship, two European Championship and seven British Championship titles on the track as well as gold and silver Commonwealth Games medals for Team Scotland in the individual pursuit and points race respectively.
Katie clearly has a huge passion for cycling and has inspired many people to not only race but simply ride their bikes, whether it’s for pleasure or as a mode of transport.
Katie really does epitomise what can be achieved with hard work, motivation, commitment and the belief you can achieve anything if you set your mind to it.
Vote for Katie
Vote for Katie by tweeting #NLAKatie, visiting the voting page or by telephone 0844 836 9733 - Telephone voting calls cost 5p max. A connection charge may be applied by some networks.
Find out more
Discover more about the awards at the National Lottery website.
