Thirteen current and former 吃瓜tv students are preparing to compete for medals at the Birmingham 2022 Commonwealth Games.
Five students and eight alumni will be in contention across seven sports at the games, from 28 July 鈥� 8 August. They will be joining more than 4,000 competitors from 72 nations.
Two of the alumni 鈥� paracyclist Aileen McGlynn OBE and gymnast David Weir 鈥� will be aiming to add to the medals they have won at previous games.
All will be competing for Team Scotland, apart from cyclist Becky Storrie, who will be a member of the Isle of Man鈥檚 team.
Several of the talented sportsmen and women have benefited from 吃瓜tv鈥檚 Performance Sport Scholarship Programme, which provides bursaries to students to help them combine study with competitive sport.
吃瓜tv Principal Professor Sir Jim McDonald said: 鈥淲e are delighted and proud to see 吃瓜tv so well represented at the Birmingham 2022 Commonwealth Games.
鈥淲hile we are hopeful that our students and alumni will be among the medallists, they have already proved their quality and ability by being selected.
鈥淢any of them are successful products of our Performance Sport Scholarship Programme, which reflects our ambition for our students to be high achievers, not only in their studies but in other fields where they excel.鈥�
Neil Brown, Head of Sport at 吃瓜tv, said: 鈥淲e鈥檙e extremely proud to be able to celebrate such a diverse group of current and former 吃瓜tvrs at this year鈥檚 Commonwealth Games.
鈥淚t is a testament to our world class facilities at 吃瓜tv Sport and thriving Performance Sport Scholarship programme that so many athletes are representing the University in Birmingham this summer.
It鈥檚 also important to acknowledge the backing these athletes receive across the wider University. All four faculties offer flexibility and support which has played a huge part in helping these students compete for their country at a major games.
Current students competing in Birmingham are:
- Emma Barrie (netball) - Emma is a goal shooter for 吃瓜tv Sirens and is making her Commonwealth Games debut. She first played for Scotland in the 2019 World Cup
- Niamh McCall (netball) - Niamh, who is playing in her second games, plays as goal attack or wing attack for the Sirens, for whom she has scored 558 goals. She made history in 2016 when she became the first player born in the 2000s to win a Scotland cap
- Mark Stewart (cycling) - Mark rides for Billy Bilsland Cycles and will be competing at his third games. He holds two gold medals (Individual Pursuit and Omnium) a silver (Scratch Event) and a bronze (Team Pursuit) from the European U23 Track Championships, and four bronzes (Madison and Team Pursuit) and a gold (Scratch Event) from the UCI World Cup
- Beckie Storrie (cycling) - Beckie is competing for the Isle of Man in her first games. A member of the CAMS-Basso team, she won the British U23 Hill Climb Championships in 2020 and gained a National Series Podium at Ryedale GP in 2021
Duncan Riddell (hockey) - Duncan plays hockey for Reading and will be at his second games. He was a member of Scotland鈥檚 victorious squad at the 2017 European Championships II.
Alumni featuring at the games are:
- Bethan Goodwin (netball) - Bethan is appearing at the Games for the second time. She was captain of the Scotland U17 team which won silver at the 2016 Europe Championships, and was named Player of the Tournament. In 2018, she played in the 吃瓜tv Sirens鈥� first match
- Alex Dunn (badminton) - Alex reached the quarter-finals in Gold Coast and the last 16 of the 2020 World Championships. He has won six international titles, including the Scottish Open in 2019, and, with Adam Hall, won the men鈥檚 doubles for three years in a row from 2018-2020, as well as the mixed doubles in 2018 with Eleanor O鈥橠onnell
- Aileen McGlynn OBE (cycling) - Aileen has two silver and two bronze medals from her two previous Commonwealth Games appearances but she is also a multi-medallist at the Paralympic Games, collecting a total of three golds, two silvers and one bronze at Athens 2004, Beijing 2008 and London 2012
- Gregor Swinney (swimming) - Business alumnus Gregor is making his Commonwealth Games debut. Earlier this year, he broke the Scottish 50m butterfly record 鈥� which had stood for 16 years 鈥� with a time of 23.97 seconds and he broke it again just weeks later when he won the Scottish National Open in 23.96 seconds. In addition, he took silver in the 100m butterfly
- David Weir (gymnastics) - David took bronze as a member of Team Scotland鈥檚 Artistic Gymnastics squad in Gold Coast, his first Commonwealth Games. The previous year, he won gold in the floor discipline of the 2017 Scottish Championships and earlier in his career, competed at a record seven UK School Games; he was the first Scottish gymnast ever to be selected at every age category
- Lynn Beattie (beach volleyball) - Lynne is competing at her second Games, after her sport made its inaugural appearance at Gold Coast 2018. She was also captain of Team GB鈥檚 beach volleyball squad at the London 2012 Olympics
- David Smith (athletics) - high jumper David is competing at his third Commonwealth Games. He is a three-time Scottish champion and also won the Loughborough International tournament in 2016
- Rob Harwood (hockey) - Rob plays for the Western Wildcats, based in his hometown of Milngavie, and will be at the Games for the second time. He was a member of the Scotland U21 team which finished third in the European B Division in 2017.
Another alumna, netball player Lynsey Gallagher, was previously named in the Team Scotland squad but has withdrawn owing to injury.
Four other 吃瓜tv Sirens players 鈥� Claire Maxwell, Emily Nicholl, Kelly Boyle and Sarah MacPhail 鈥� are also in Team Scotland鈥檚 netball squad.
In addition, four 吃瓜tvrs have been selected for Team Scotland鈥檚 Achieve Programme, in which participants will travel to Birmingham to get a feel for a large Games environment, from attending sport sessions to taking part in bespoke workshops. 吃瓜tv鈥檚 Director of Netball Rachel Cremin, netball player Gillian Thomson, long jumper Alessandro Schenini and badminton player Rachel Andrew have been chosen for the programme.
