Thousands of athletes from across the globe are gearing up for this year’s Olympic Games.
The sporting spotlight will shine on Paris as more than 10,000 competitors from over 200 nations prepare for the 33rd edition of the sporting extravaganza.
Among the 300-plus strong Team GB contingent are stars from Tayside, Fife and Stirlingshire.
Competing in sports ranging from athletics to mountain biking, the Courier Country contingent are all vying for gold.
These are our local heroes.
Eilish McColgan
Dundee’s Eilish McColgan is one of the most recognisable names competing for Team GB in Paris.
The 33-year-old is taking part in her fourth Olympic games, making her the first Scot in track and field to do so.
She will compete in the 10,000m and hope to emulate her Commonwealth success which saw her claim gold in the same event.
She has had a difficult build up to the Paris games, however, having failed to finish the 10,000m race at the European Championships in Rome last month.
The competition was her first in six months following knee surgery.
Speaking to Scottish Athletics afterwards, McColgan said: “It’s no secret I’ve had a really disrupted build-up coming into it.
“The last three or four weeks’ training have been really, really good and I’ve been on an upward trajectory.
“Before that I was way, way off.”
Despite her struggles, the former High School of Dundee pupils secured her spot on Team GB in July.
Laura Muir
Another Scot competing in track and field for Team GB in Paris is Milnathort’s Laura Muir.
The qualified vet, who trains with Dundee’s Hawkhill Harriers, is competing in her third Olympic Games and looking to add to the silver medal she secured three years ago in Tokyo.
Muir has been in good form in the lead up to the games having beat her own British record in the 1500m at the Diamond League in Paris earlier this month.
Speaking after the event, the 31-year-old said: “I absolutely had to run my own race and I’ve only ever run 3:54 once and that was in Tokyo.
“I knew it would take something special to beat that time.
“In fact, it would have been special to hit 3:54 again. I’m emotional to run that time – it means a lot to me.”
Nicole Yeargin
Completing the Courier Country track and field contingent in Paris is 26-year Nicole Yeargin.
Although born and raised in the United States, Yeargin qualifies for Team GB through her mum Lynn who’s from Dunfermline.
She ran for Pitreavie AAC as part of her preparations for the Tokyo Olympics in 2021.
Nicole competed at the 2022 Commonwealth Games in Birmingham, where she took bronze in the 4x400m relay with Team Scotland.
Yeargin can’t wait for Paris.
She said: “Second Olympics, that’s amazing.
“Obviously the one per cent goes to the Olympics the first time, but two-time Olympian, it really just puts it on the head, or hits it on the nail, whatever you call it, and it’s just so, so nice because, last time, when it was in Tokyo, we didn’t have any fans.
“I didn’t feel like I got the true Olympic experience, so it’s really, really nice to go to Paris, out of all places.”
Charlotte Watson
Dundonian Charlotte Watson will be competing in her first Olympic Games.
The 26-year-old made the provisional Team GB hockey squad for the 2020 games but missed out following its postponement due to the Covid pandemic..
She made her Team GB debut July 2019, having already amassed more than 60 caps for Scotland by the age of 21.
Away from hockey, Stobswell native Charlotte studied accountancy and finance at Dundee University.
Speaking to The Courier three years ago, the former St Joseph’s Primary and St John’s High pupil said: “When I was coming through the age groups I was always one of maybe a handful of people who went to state school.
“It was mostly just private schools but I’m very proud of where I come from.
“When I was younger I don’t know if subconsciously I knew I had to work a wee bit harder because I wasn’t getting on the pitch as much.”
Kathleen Dawson
Paris 2024 will be the second Olympic Games for Kirkcaldy swimmer Kathleen Dawson.
And the 26-year-old will be hoping to replicate the success of Tokyo, where she secured gold in the inaugural mixed medley relay final.
Things have not been easy in the intervening years, however, and the Stirling University swimmer has battled a career-threatening back injury.
Speaking to the BBC after qualifying for the Olympics in April, Dawson said: “Straight after (Tokyo) my back went ‘right I’m done now’ and gave up on me.
“I couldn’t bend over to put socks on. It was hard just getting out of bed.
“It has been a big test of my mental character.
“There have been a lot of times I could have chucked it in.
“This was the goal I set myself for coming back, to make it to Paris.”
Charlie Aldridge
Competing in his first Olympic Games, the Perth native will go for glory in the mountain biking.
It comes two years after he took his place on the Team Scotland squad at the Commonwealth Games in Birmingham.
He finished 16th in the men’s mountain bike cross-country final there, having been on course for bronze before coming off on a corner on the small, grassy finish circuit, ripping his rear derailleur clean off his bike.
The 23-year-old calls Crieff home and grew up pedalling in the Perthshire countryside.
Charlie, a mechanical engineering student at Edinburgh University, was world junior mountain-bike champion in 2019.
Mark Stewart
Dundee cyclist Mark Stewart, 28, is the travelling reserve in Team GB’s men’s track endurance group.
The 2018 Gold Coast Commonwealth Games points’ race champion plans to document the Paris adventure on his YouTube channel which has more than a thousand subscribers.
On his British Cycling profile, he says his parents are his inspiration.
Mark writes: “I know its cliché but they do everything so that I can ride my bike.
“My dad works eight hours plus a day in all weathers scaffolding and has done since I can remember, just so my brothers, sister and I can pursue anything we want to in life.
“I could write forever about my mum but she is the most selfless and modest person I know.
“She was a great runner and has two degrees but chose to stay at home to look after her family.”
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