Sport in Scotland
Sport in Scotland concerns sport in Scotland.
Sport plays a central role in Scottish culture. The climate has played a key part in the evolution of Scotland's sporting traditions, with all-weather sports like football and rugby union dominating the national sporting conciousness. However, many other sports are played in the country, with popularity varying between sports and between regions.
Scots, and Scottish emigrants, has made several key contributions to the history of sport, with important innovations and developments in:
- Golf
- Curling
- Football
- Highland games (contributed to the evolution modern athletics events)
- Shinty (the predecessor of both ice hockey and bandy)
- Basketball
Some of the more popular sports are listed below.
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Scotland has produced several world-class cyclists. Probably the most renowned champion outwith Scotland is the great Robert Millar, a King of the Mountains, and fourth-place overall, at the 1984 Tour de France; and very nearly a winner of the 1985 Vuelta a España (where the strange manner of his defeat to Pedro Delgado is still a matter of some controversy). He came second in the 1987 Giro d'Italia and second twice in the Vuelta: 1985 and 1986. Indeed Millar is widely considered to be the best cyclist to have ever come out of the UK (although many would also argue the merits of the Englishman Tom Simpson).
Graeme Obree, David Millar (no relation), and Chris Hoy have also reached the very peak of their respective events.
Track cycling tends to be more popular than road racing, although Scotland has a long history of time-trialing on the road. This is largely to do with the refusal of Scottish local authorities to close public roads to allow road races to take place safely.
In recent years mountain biking has become very popular, with Scottish geography being ideal for training and racing. The Fort William World Cup event has become the highlight of the series.
Tennis and Royal tennis
Other sports
Olympic Games
Scottish athletes have competed at every Olympic Games, since the inaugural modern Games, as part of the Great Britain and Ireland team (prior to 1927) and then the Great Britain and Northern Ireland team (post-1927). A Scot, Launceston Elliot, won Great Britain and Ireland's very first Olympic gold medal, in 1896 in Athens.
Scotland have only ever won one Olympic medal as Scotland, when the mens' field hockey team won a bronze medal at the 1908 Summer Games. This was also the only occasion when either England (gold) or Wales (bronze) have won a medal in their own right; and was Ireland's only medal (silver) prior to independence.
Scottish summer olympic medallists
 | This list is incomplete; you can help by adding missing items. |
1896 Athens
- Launceston Elliot, Gold, weightlifting, one-handed
- Launceston Elliot, Silver, weightlifting, two-handed
1900 Paris
- Walter Rutherford, Silver, Golf
- David Robertson, Bronze, Golf
1904 Athens
- John McGough Silver 1,500m
- Wyndham Halswelle Silver 400m
- Wyndham Halswelle Bronze 800m
1908 London
- Arthur Robertson, Gold, Team steeplechase
- Wyndham Halswelle, Gold, 400m
- Angus Gillan, Gold, Coxless fours
- George Cornet, Gold, Water polo
- Royal Clyde YC, Gold, 12 metres class
- Arthur Robertson, Silver, Steeplechase
- Alex McCulloch, Silver, Single sculls
- Hugh Roddin, Bronze, Featherweight boxing
- Scotland, Bronze, Hockey
1912 Stockholm
- Philup Fleming, Gold, Rowing eights
- Angus Gillan, Gold, Rowing eights
- William Kinnear, Gold, Single sculls
- Robert Murray, Gold, Small bore shooting
- George Cornet, Gold, Water polo
- Isabella Moore, Gold, 100m freestyle swimming
- James Soutter, Bronze, 400m relay
- John Sewell, Silver, Tug of war team
1920 Antwerp
- Robert Lindsay, Gold, 400m relay
- John Sewell, Gold, Tug of war team
- William Peacock, Gold, Water polo
- James Wilson, Silver, Cross country team
- Alexander Ireland, Silver, Welterweight boxing
- James Wilson, Bronze, 10,000m
- George McKenzie, Bronze, Bantamweight bronze
1924 Paris
- Eric Liddell, Gold, 400m
- Eric Liddell, Bronze, 200m
- James McNabb, Gold, Coxless fours
- James McKenzie, Silver, Lightweight boxing
- Archie Macdonald, Bronze, 100kg freestyle wrestling
1928 Amsterdam
- Ellen King, Silver, 100m backstroke swimming
- Ellen King, Silver, 100m freestyle relay swimming
- Sarah Stewart, Silver, 100m freestyle relay swimming
1948 London
- Alistair McCorquodale, Silver, 4x100m relay
- David Brodie, Silver, Hockey team
- Robin Lindsay, Silver, Hockey team
- William Lindsay, Silver, Hockey team
- Geirge Sime, Silver, Hockey team
- Neil White, Silver, Hockey team
- Catherine Gibson, Bronze, 400m freestyle swimming
1952 Helsinki
- Douglas Stewart, Gold, Equestrian showjumping team
- Stephen Theobald, Bronze, Hockey team
- Helen Gordon, Bronze, 200m breaststroke swimming
1956 Melbourne
- Dick McTaggart, Gold, Lightweight boxing
- John McCormack, Bronze, Light middleweight boxing
1960 Rome
- Dick McTaggart, Bronze, Lightweight boxing
1964 Tokyo
- Bobby McGregor, Silver, 100m freestyle swimming
1968 Mexico
- Rodney Pattison, Gold, Yachting Flying Dutchman
1972 Munich
- Rodney Pattison, Gold, Yachting Flying Dutchman
- David Jenkins, Silver, 400m relay team
- David Wilkie, Silver, 200m breaststroke swimming
- Ian Stewart, Bronze, 5,000m
1976 Montreal
- David Wilkie, Gold, 200m breastroke swimming
- David Wilkie, Silver, 100m breastsroke swimming
- Rodney Pattison, Silver, Yachting Flying Dutchman
- Alan McClatchey, Bronze, 200m freestyle swimming relay
- Gordon Downie, Bronze, 200m freestyle swimming relay
1980 Moscow
- Allan Wells, Gold, 100m
- Allan Wells, Silver, 200m
- Linsey Macdonald, Bronze, 400m relay team
1984 Los Angeles
- Richard Budgett, Gold, Rowing coxed fours
- Ian Stark, Silver, Equestrian 3-day event team
- Veryan Pappin, Bronze, Hockey team
- Alister Allan, Bronze, Smallbore free rifle
- Neil Cochran, Bronze, 200m medley swimming
- Neil Cochran, Bronze, 200m frestyle relay
- Paul Easter, Bronze, 200m freestyle relay
1988 Seoul
- Veryan Pappin, Gold, Hockey team
- Michael McIntyre, Gold, Yachting star class
- Liz McColgan, Silver, 10,000m
- Elliot Bunney, Silver, 4x100m relay
- Ian Stark, Silver, Equestrian 3-day event team
- Alister Allan, Silver, Smallbore free rifle
- Yvonne Murray, Bronze, 3,000m
1992 Barcelona
- Simon Terry, Bronze, Archery individual
- Simon Terry, Bronze, Archery team
- Susan Fraser, Bronze, Hockey team
- Wendy Fraser, Bronze, Hockey team
- Alison Ramsay, Bronze, Hockey team
1996 Atlanta
- Graeme Smith, Bronze, 1,500m freestyle swimming
2000 Sydney
- Andrew Lindsay, Gold, Rowing men's eight
- Shirley Robertson, Gold, Sailing Europe class
- Stephanie Cook, Gold, Modern pentathlon
- Chris Hoy, Silver, Cycling Olympic sprint team
- Craig MacLean, Silver, Cycling Olympic sprint team
- Ian Stark, Silver, Equestrian 3-day event team
- Gillian Lindsay, Silver, Rowing quadruple sculls
- Katherine Grainger, Silver, Rowing quadruple sculls
- Mark Covell, Silver, Sailing star class
2004 Athens
- Chris Hoy, Gold, Cycling 1km time-trial
- Shirley Robertson, Gold, Sailing Yngling class
- Katherine Grainger, Silver, Rowing Women's pairs
- Campbell Walsh, Silver, Canoeing K1 Kayak (slalom)
Scottish winter olympic medallists
| This list is incomplete; you can help by adding missing items. |
1924 Chamonix
- Royal Caledonian Curling Club, Gold, Curling
1992 Salt Lake City
- Scottish team skipped by Rhona Martin, Gold, Curling
Commonwealth Games
University sport
References
- PDF - Scottish Summer Olympic Medal Winners, compiled by sportscotland
See also
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