Commonwealth Games: Ayrshire bowler George Miller, 75, sets new record as oldest gold medallist

Scotland’s George Miller became the oldest gold medallist in Commonwealth Games history after winning the para-bowls mixed pairs final in Leamington Spa at the age of 75.

OAP Miller, who is lead director for partially-sighted team-mate Melanie Inness, succeeds his para-bowls team-mate, 72-year-old Rosemary Lenton, from Dumfries, who briefly held the record after winning the women’s pairs title on Wednesday.

Scotland dominated their B2/B3 final against Wales, who also included a 75-year-old player in Gordon Llewellyn, pulling away in the final four ends to claim a comfortable 16-9 win.

“I’m reasonably pleased, but I think Rosemary is more pleased than I am,” joked Miller, who is from Ardrossan in Ayrshire. “I was told I could be the oldest winner and I wondered what it meant, and now I’m starting to find out.

“It means a lot to me. I started bowling when I was 42 or 43 and progressed into coach. To be picked to play for Scotland is a dream.”

Saltcoats Bowling Club member Miller’s role is effectively to act as an assistant for Innes, helping her to establish her line and describing plays and ends in progress.

Team-mate Sarah Jane Ewing fulfils a similar role in the four-strong unit for Innes’ para-bowls team-mate, Robert Barr.

Innes said: “I couldn’t do it without George. You can’t see what’s happening or how the balls are running, so George has to give me the information so I can visualise it.”

Neither Miller – a member of Saltcoats Bowling Club, nor his fellow 75-year-old Llewellyn, who had to settle for a silver medal, are both planning to vie for a place at the Victoria Games in 2026.