Fly the flag for a nation of sporting heroes

Published on 19/08/2012 00:00

IT IS a misunderstanding of the world of sport for your Leader (12 August) to conclude that Team GB has been able to bring to Scotland more medals than any Scottish team standing alone would be able to.

Scottish athletes are currently lost within a pool of UK athletes and many potential future stars could have made their way to competing for the first time in these games but were excluded because they were superseded in their position by athletes from other nations of the UK. This makes no sense when smaller nations such as the Cook Islands or Hong Kong, which are both an integral part of other nations, can compete independently.

To compete at the very highest level you need the largest exposure possible to international competition. You also need the sporting infrastructure. This can be achieved only by a Scottish team standing alone and receiving adequate funding.

My brother competed in his first ever Olympics at the age of 18 and made it to an Olympic final in the 100m freestyle in swimming. This exposure gave him the confidence and stimuli to continue on to the following two Olympics and gain two medals for his ­country. This success inspired other fellow youngsters to ­follow his example.

The Olympics is about the future of sport for the youth of Scotland, not politics. Scotland needs role models to inspire them to compete and take up sport. This will build a fitter, healthier, stronger and prouder nation. This cannot be achieved by the current Team GB. Many of the youth of Castlemilk, Drumchapel and Sighthill will not have been inspired by seeing athletes draped in a Union Jack. They are more likely to pay attention when they have fellow Scottish role models supporting their own proud nation rather than their friendly neighbours.

Antony McCallum-Caron, Glasgow