Rugby star Wainwright rushes to stricken mother's bedside in Cuba

• Rugby star Rob Wainwright in action as captain of Scotland

Marathon runner and cycling enthusiast Jean Wainwright, 75, is believed to be seriously ill after fracturing her skull. She has been in a coma for several days.

Rob Wainwright, 45, who now runs a bed and breakfast on the island of Coll, has flown to be by her side, along with her husband James - a former warden of Glenalmond College in Perthshire - and daughters Holly, Sasha, Alison and Joanna.

Mrs Wainwright's friends last night paid tribute to her.

Gordon Woods, warden of Glenalmond College, said yesterday: "The staff and pupils are shocked and saddened to hear of Mrs Wainwright's accident, and our thoughts and prayers are with the family at this difficult time.

"Jean Wainwright and her family have had a long and close association with the school. She has been an active runner and cyclist well into her seventies and a frequent visitor to Glenalmond over the years. She is much loved and respected by everyone who knows her."

Jean Wainwright took up sport late in life as an antidote to arthritis and became a keen cyclist and runner. She was the first British woman to run marathons on every continent - even running around the deck of a cruise ship in Antarctica.

She is believed to have been nearing the end of the cycling holiday in Cuba when the accident happened. Although she was wearing a helmet, she suffered serious head injuries and needed an emergency operation.

Grant Wooler, chairman of the Perth Road Runners Club, said: "We don't know too much about what happened. She seems to have gone over the handlebars. She had a cycling helmet on, but there was a hairline fracture.

"There was internal haemorrhaging and I believe they have already operated on her. Her family have all flown out to be with her.

"I've only known Jean for three or four years, but she is an extraordinary character. Everyone who knows her is willing her on.

"She was doing more and more as she got older. She is an incredible person really. She is genuinely liked by everyone.

"She has got a hell of a history as a runner. If you took the whole population of Perth and ran them in a marathon - all 50,000 of them - Jean would be at the back after a mile. But she would be in the top 5 per cent by the end."

Fellow runner Fiona Morrison said: "All we can do is say that our prayers and thoughts are with the family and with Jean at the moment. She is one of my closest friends. She is a very special lady, she is so active and such an inspiration.

"I run with Jean, and even though she's quite a bit older than me, she is probably fitter than I am. She is a keen cyclist and was always very careful."

Jean Wainwright encouraged her son in his rugby career when he was a pupil at Glenalmond.

Rob Wainwright went on to study medicine at Cambridge on an army scholarship. He served in the army, but retired in 1999 to run the B&B on Coll with his wife, Romayne.

In an interview in 2004, he said he and his family loved life on Coll.