Sky Academy Sports Scholars show their potential

For 10 days Glasgow bore witness to some fantastic sport as athletes from all over the Commonwealth put on a brilliant show in Scotland’s second city. Amongst those involved were six Sky Academy Sports Scholars, each of whom delivered positive performances to bring home a combined eight medals – three of them gold.

The Games marked the halfway stage of this Olympic cycle and with the six Scholars all aiming, with the support of Sky, to make an impression in Rio in 2016, Glasgow provided the perfect opportunity to gauge where they are now and how much further they have to go in the next two years.

Siobhan-Marie O’Connor – Swimming (Various)

Few athletes could claim to have had as successful a Games as Siobhan-Marie O’Connor. The Bath swimmer left Glasgow with an astonishing six medals – one gold, four silver and a bronze – to equal the record for the most medals won by a female athlete at a Commonwealth Games.

“It definitely surpassed my own expectations. I could never have dreamt of winning six medals, I was genuinely hoping to come away with just one,” O’Connor told Sky Sports.

Savannah Marshall – Middleweight boxing

World champion, EU champion and now Commonwealth champion. Savannah Marshall reasserted her dominance in the women’s middleweight division by winning gold in Glasgow, despite admitting she is still some way from her best following shoulder surgery earlier in the year.

“It was my first tournament in eight months and I was just going to enjoy it and get rid of a bit of ring rust,” Marshall admitted. “I’m just happy to be back boxing and to medal, let alone get gold, is overwhelming.”

Sam Oldham – Gymnastics

Sam Oldham left the Commonwealth Games with a gold medal but was still left with a sense of what might have been after an injury on the second day of the team final ruled him out of the remaining three days of the gymnastics. England secured the gold medal, with Oldham’s efforts on the first day boosting them significantly, but the Nottingham gymnast’s hopes of competing in the all-around and apparatus finals were dashed.

That Oldham’s score from just four apparatus would have qualified him for the all-around final shows the level he was competing at and a medal was a very realistic prospect. He now faces a race against time to be fit for the World Championships later in the year.

Olivia Breen – T37/38 long jump

This time last year, the thought of competing in the long jump hadn’t even crossed Olivia Breen’s mind. Indeed, she didn’t even begin training for the event until late in 2013. Yet at Glasgow 2014, the 18-year-old was a matter of centimetres away from a major championship medal.

Breen, better known as a sprinter, finished fourth after a leap of 4.06m. With the IPC European Championships in Swansea to come later this month, Breen will have a chance to go one better in the long jump and will also compete in the T38 100m.

Lucy Garner – Road cycling

In this her second season as a senior rider, Lucy Garner played a key supporting role as England’s Lizzie Armitstead and Emma Pooley won gold and silver, respectively, in Glasgow.

As a sprinter, the hilly course meant that a medal was never realistic for Garner and instead her focus was to give gold medal favourite Armitstead the best possible chance of victory. 

“I was really happy with how I performed because that isn’t really my sort of course,” said Garner. “For me to help out for the win and stay in the group that I did, I was really happy because only 27 finished the race and I think 65 started.” 

Jessica Judd – 800m

It is often said that fourth is the worst place to finish in athletics but for Jessica Judd that might not ring true. The 19-year-old middle distance runner crossed the line just outside the medal spots but in her first major championship final it was a result to savour.

Judd had reached the final after comfortably qualifying from her heat before an impressive run saw her win her semi-final courtesy of an excellent burst down the final straight. 

August’s European Championships in Zurich will provide another stern test for Judd, for whom a final would represent another successful championship.

For a full overview of the success of the Sky Academy Sports Scholars at the Commonwealth Games, visit: http://www1.skysports.com/scholarships.