Scottish athletes on Team GB have returned from the Paris 2024 Olympic Games after a strong showing which brought multiple new records, personal bests, impressive Olympic debuts and 13 medals.
Swimmer Duncan Scott wrote his name into the history books for the second successive Olympics. In Tokyo he became the most decorated British athlete ever at a single Games, winning four medals. In Paris, the Alloa man became the Scottish athlete with the most Olympic medals. His gold as part of the 4x200m Freestyle Relay team and silver in the 200m Individual Medley took him to eight Olympic medals, surpassing Sir Chris Hoy’s total of seven.
There was equestrian gold for Scott Brash riding Hello Jefferson in the Team Jumping event, while in rowing Sholto Carnegie and the rest of the Team GB Men’s Eights put on a memorable display to win gold. Rowan McKellar added to the Scottish success in the water as part of the Women’s Eights team who won bronze.
In triathlon, Beth Potter became a double Olympic medalist winning bronze in the individual event and the Mixed Team Relay.
In athletics, Josh Kerr ran his fastest ever time in the 1500m. The former Edinburgh Athletics Club athlete clocked 3:27.79, a new British record, beating Mo Farah’s previous record by nearly a second. Laura Muir beat her own Scottish record in the 1500m to claim a fifth placed finish. Nicole Yeargin won two bronze medals as part of the Women’s 4x400m and the Mixed 4x400m relay teams.
There was more Scottish success in the velodrome. Paisley’s Jack Carlin won bronze in the Sprint and silver in the Men’s Team Sprint. Neah Evans claimed a silver in the Madison alongside Elinor Barker.
There were some standout performances from young athletes at their first Olympic Games. Swimmer Katie Shanahan, who turned 20 a month before the Games, made two finals on her Olympic debut. She placed fifth in a stacked 200m Backstroke final and seventh in 400m Individual Medley.
In taekwondo Rebecca McGowan came so close to making history. Her bronze medal match with Turkish world champion Nafia Kus Aydin was in the balance until the final seconds, Rebecca eventually losing 2-1 after a strong showing at her first Games.
Charlie Aldridge had a brilliant run in the Men’s MTB Cross Country. The 23-year-old was riding close to the medal positions for most of the race up against a strong field and secured an eighth place to be proud of.
Chief Executive of sportscotland, Forbes Dunlop, said: “Scottish athletes have once again delivered on the biggest stage.
"There have been consistently strong performances from Scottish athletes at the highest level for a number of years now across a range of sports, demonstrating that Scotland's approach to developing a pathway to performance sport is paying off.
“That success 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.
“Ensuring Scotland’s athletes are ready to compete with the best is a real team effort and we are proud to play our part in that.”
Scottish medal winners at Paris 2024
Athletics
Josh Kerr – Silver (1500m)
Nicole Yeargin – Bronze (Mixed 4x400m Relay), Bronze (Women’s 4x400m Relay)
Cycling
Jack Carlin – Silver (Team Sprint), Bronze (Sprint)
Neah Evans – Silver (Madison)
Equestrian
Scott Brash – Gold (Team Jumping)
Rowing
Sholto Carnegie – Gold (Men’s Eights)
Rowan McKellar – Bronze (Women’s Eights)
Swimming
Duncan Scott – Gold (Men’s 4x200m Freestyle Relay), Silver (200m Individual Medley)
Triathlon
Beth Potter – Bronze (Individual Event), Bronze (Mixed Team Relay)
