Brian Whittle who comments below played on the wing for GHK
Brian also helped organise Hawks tours to Paris and Rome

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Scotland's Olympic Voices share their thoughts on the 2012 Games: Part 2
From gold medal prospects and coaches, to volunteers and armchair pundits, STV talks all things London Olympics.

18 July 2012 06:30

Eilish McColgan: Her mother, Liz, has high hopes for the distance runner at the Games.
Pic: STV
As the countdown continues to the 2012 Olympics, STV has been finding out what some of the current competitors, former Games luminaries, coaches, and a variety of other Scots think about the looming London extravaganza.

Here, they share their thoughts and provide insight on being involved in and around the world's biggest sporting event.

Mother and Daughter

Liz McColgan (Arbroath, a former Olympic medallist, whose daughter, Eilish, is competing at her maiden Games).

“Eilish has had lots of determination and mental strength since she was very little. She has come from a different background from me, but there has always been something in her that she has always wanted to run. I never started her running. You find so many parents who push their children and the kids end up not enjoying the sport, or even disliking it, but Eilish has always wanted to do it. Although she is a very nice girl, when it comes to running and competing, she has the killer instinct in it and really thrives on it.

“We’re different in temperament because I was too serious about athletics, whereas Eilish has a lighter side. I was always going at 100 miles an hour, always pushing, and driving myself on, but there again, I never thought that I would be an Olympian when I took up athletics, because there were no role models in the sport in Scotland.

"When I got the silver [at the Seoul Games in 1988], I just put the medal in a drawer and never looked at it again for ages. I never showed it to anybody, and that was because I honestly felt that I had let a few people down. But eventually, later on, I thought to myself 'Getting an Olympic medal is pretty good, it’s hard to get one, and I tried my hardest' and I realised that I shouldn’t be quite as disappointed about it. I’m not afraid to show it now.”

The Former Athlete

Hugh Barrow (Glasgow, a one-time Scottish cross-country champion and stalwart of the Glasgow rugby scene).

“My interest in sport started when I saw the grainy pictures of Emil Zatopek winning the 5000m, 10,000m and the marathon at the 1952 Olympics in Helsinki. As a wee boy, I didn’t realise that I was witnessing an achievement which would never be equalled, but I was inspired by the Games and I thought they were something worth cherishing.

“It’s a completely different world now, of course, compared with that austere, post-war period, but I have to admit I am disappointed there is not a single male Scottish athlete in the GB squad. During my career, we produced plenty of middle and long-distance runners, who were world-class and could hold their own on the Olympic stage; men such as Donald Macgregor, Ian McCafferty, Fergus Murray and Lachie Stewart.

"The common feature with all these lads was that they lived and competed in Scotland and greatly enhanced the domestic scene, which, in its turn, inspired everybody else to raise their standards. They were not remote figures, but runners who lined up against you every Saturday across Scotland, although they normally shot ahead once the action started!

“Looking forward, I am so pleased to see Lynsey Sharp make the GB team and I am sure this is just the beginning for her. The Olympics in London and the re-release of “Chariots of Fire” will, hopefully, inspire us to produce another generation of champions.”

The Local Hero

Brian Whittle (Ayr, who is heavily involved in grassroots coaching, and represented Scotland and Great Britain in athletics).

"The Games mean an awful lot to me and I don't think many people yet appreciate just how massive the London Olympics will be for this country. In the last couple of decades, our society has seen sporting participation numbers dwindle, but this should be the shot in the arm to encourage kids, adults....everybody to return to their local clubs and, hopefully, come to understand the value of healthy exercise, no matter what sport you choose.

"I don't blame the younger generation for the current situation and it is a lazy stereotype to argue that modern kids are lazy and are only interested in playing computer games. Basically, we have made it harder for youngsters to participate in sport, we have made it more difficult for people to go into coaching and we have decreased the amount of incentive for volunteers to keep working away at the grassroots.

"London and the Olympics can change that and I am confident it will succeed. One of the best things about the Games is how they produce heroes and life-affirming stories and, in my experience, they can put a smile on everybody's faces and improve the morale of the whole country.

"We are often too negative in Britain; there has been a furore over the difficulties some people have had in buying Games tickets, but if you flip that round, surely it highlights how popular the Olympics are and how many members of the public are desperate to be at the various events. Ultimately, I think Seb [Lord Coe] and his team have done a fantastic job and I can't wait for the Olympics to get started."

This article was originally posted on 18-Jul-2012, 08:27 by Hugh Barrow.
Last updated by Hugh Barrow on 18-Jul-2012, 08:45.