Heroes of the Games: P-T

Paterson won silver in the 1950 British Empire Games, gold in the 1950 European Championships and silver in the 1946 European Championships for high jump. In the British Empire Games he competed for Scotland.

Personal Best: HJ - 2.019 (1947)

Alan Sinclair Paterson was educated at Hutchesons' Grammar School, and was the first British jumper to clear 2m at an international meeting in Antwerp in 1946.

A month earlier, he had broken the British record which had stood for 25 years. He was only 17 when he set the first of four Scottish records, and went on to win European Championship silver in Oslo with 1.96m, and gold in Brussels (also 1.96m) four years later.

The bulk of the Scottish team travelled to New Zealand by boat for the 1950 Empire Games, but Victoria Park's Paterson could not get off work so cinema magnate, Sir Alexander King, paid for him to fly, via Iceland, Gander, Hawaii, and Fiji. Despite competing in the northern winter, Paterson tied for silver with Nigerian J Majekodunmi. They both cleared 6ft 5ins.

Paterson competed in two Olympics. He was seventh, with 1.90m in London, in 1948, but failed to reach the final in Helsinki four years later.

Paterson did not compete seriously again after Helsinki, and emigrated to Canada.

Rosemary Payne

Payne took gold in the 1970 British Commonwealth Games, and silver in the 1974 British Commonwealth Games for discus throw.

She finished tenth in the 1958 British Empire and Commonwealth Games discus throw, fourth in the 1966 British Empire and Commonwealth Games discus throw, and seventh in the 1974 British Commonwealth Games shot put. In the British Empire and Commonwealth Games she competed for Scotland.

Personal Best: DT - 58.02 (1972)

Jim Peters

Born in 1918, Peters became champion of Essex over one mile before 1939. However, his athletics career was interrupted by the Second World War.

He joined the Royal Army Medical Corps, where he trained as an optician, and it was this work which he continued after demobilisation.

After the war Peters returned to running, and won the Essex county cross-country title over seven miles and the three mile championship on the track in 1946. But it was the marathon at the Commonwealth Games in Vancouver in 1954 which was to inscribe his name on British sports roll of heroic defeats.

Peters was the English team captain and the favourite. He set his usual fast pace and was actually three miles ahead of what was left of the sixteen-strong field as he began the final two hills up to the stadium. They proved a struggle.

By the time he reached the stadium he had become dangerously dehydrated. Peters did not normally take drinks during a marathon because he felt that slowing down would break his rhythm. Now he began swaying from side to side as he tried to cover the last 385 yards.

He fell down at least six times. He said later that he tried to reach the shade of the stand roof and that he was determined to finish so as not to disgrace his wife and children. He took eleven minutes to cover 200 yards, almost as painful for those who watched as for himself. His struggle was captured for future generations by Movietone news.

Mary Peters

An all-round athlete, Peters specialised in the pentathlon, a combination two-day event involving shot put, 100m hurdles, high jump, long jump, and 200m sprint. She won Olympic gold for this event in 1972.

Peters was born in Halewood, Lancashire and brought up in Northern Ireland, where she became a teacher of home economics. She represented Northern Ireland in the pentathlon at every Commonwealth Games from 1958 to 1974. At the 1970 Games she won gold for both the pentathlon and the shot put.

At the 1964 Tokyo Olympics she finished fourth, but an ankle injury pushed her back to ninth at the Mexico Olympics in 1968. In Munich in 1972 she needed to run a personal best in the 200m to win gold. In achieving this at the age of 33, she set a new world points record for the combined event.

In the course of her career she also set British records for the 100m hurdles, the shot put (twice), and pentathlon (six times).

Don Quarrie

Born in Kingston, Jamaica, Quarrie gained world recognition with the sprint trebles, 100m, 200m and the relay at the 1970 Commonwealth and 1971 Pan-American Games. He went on to have three more Commonwealth successes at the 100m and 200m in 1974, and the 100m in 1978. He set the world record for the 100m (9·9 seconds) in 1976 at Modesto, Italy, and 200m three times (19·8 seconds).

Graeme Randall

Randall's judo career began at the age of 12 and three years later he was awarded his black belt. By the age of 19 he had secured the Junior European Championship and a Junior World bronze medal while studying at the University of Edinburgh.

He continued his rise on the world stage, eventually winning the 1999 World Championship to become Scotland's first Judo World Champion. In 2002 he won a gold medal at the Commonwealth Games.

Randall has represented Scotland over 100 times. He represented Great Britain at the 1996 and 2000 Olympic Games and the 1997, 1999 and 2001 World Championships. He retired from the sport in 2002.

Meg Ritchie

Born in Kirkcaldy, Ritchie made more than thirty appearances for Great Britain in shot-put and discus. She was a competitor in the 1980 Moscow and 1984 Los Angeles Olympic Games, coming fifth in the latter competition.

She took part in the 1978 Commonwealth Games in Edmonton, Canada and won gold for discus in Brisbane in 1982, throwing a distance of 62.98m.

Henry Rono

Rono is arguably the most talented long distance runner Kenya has ever produced.

Born in 1952 in Nandi hills, he has been running seriously since his days in primary school. In 1976 he was awarded a scholarship to run at Washington State University. He went on to win the NCAA cross country championships three times.

In 1978 he performed what is probably the greatest feat in the history of athletics. In a span of 81 days, he set four world records: the 10,000m (27 minutes 22.5 seconds), the 5,000m (13 minutes 8.4 seconds), the 3,000m steeplechase (8 minutes 5.4 seconds), and the 3,000m (7 minutes 32.1 seconds); an achievement unparalleled in the history of distance running.

He lowered the 10,000m record by almost eight seconds, the 5,000m by 4.5 seconds, the steeplechase by 2.6 seconds, and the 3,000m by a full three seconds.

In the 1978 Commonwealth games, he won the 3,000m steeplechase and the 5,000m by huge margins. At the NCAA championships at the University of Oregon at Eugene's Hayward Field he completed a steeplechase and 5000m double in one day during qualifying.

He set meet records in both events, turning in an 8 minutes 18 seconds and 13minutes 22 seconds. The former took six seconds off the NCAA meet record for the steeple. When he ran the steeplechase final the next day, he won in 8 minutes 12.39 seconds, taking another six seconds off the steeplechase mark. He also won gold in the 10,000m and the 3,000m steeplechase at the 1978 All-Africa Games.

Alison Sheppard

Sheppard competed in five consecutive Olympic Games starting in 1988 and was one of Britain's leading freestyle sprinters until her retirement in 2005.  She learned to swim at the Milngavie and Bearsden club and emerged as a potential medal winner at the age of 15 when she was selected for the 1988 Olympics, held in Seoul, South Korea.

Over her career as a swimmer Sheppard gained more than sixteen medals at Commonwealth, European and World Championships. She hold the record for most consecutive appearances at an Olympic Games.

In the 2002 Manchester Commonwealth Games, Alison won the 50m freestyle and came third in the 50m Butterfly. To add to her many achievements, she was ranked number one in the world for her time on 24.72 seconds in the 50m Freestyle.

Sheppard was awarded an MBE in 2003 for her services to swimming.

Peter Snell

Three-time Olympic champion and world record-holder Snell is one of New Zealand's greatest sportmen. He was little-known outside of Auckland when he went to the Rome Olympics in 1960 but he became an instant national celebrity when he won the 800m, an hour before training partner Murray Halberg also won Olympic gold. Both were coached by Arthur Lydiard.

Two years later, Snell set a world mile record in Wanganui and a week later set new world marks in Christchurch for the 800m and 880 yards. Later the same year, he won the mile and 880 yards at the British Empire and Commonwealth Games in Perth, but was eliminated in the heats of the 4×440 yards relay (with Barry Robinson, Dave Norris, and the non-Olympian Gary Philpott).

In 1964, he successfully defended his Olympic 800m title and won the 1500m as well. In November 1964, he set world records for the 1,000m and the mile and retired in 1965.

In 2000 Snell was voted New Zealand's Sports Champion of the 20th Century. He was made a knight companion of the New Zealand Order of Merit in 2001.

Personal Bests: 800 - 1:44.3 (1962); 1500 - 3:37.6 (1964)

Marcus Stephen
Born in 1969, Stephen is a Nauruan politician and former sportsperson.

Initially playing Australian rules football, Stephen opted to pursue the sport of weightlifting, in which he represented Nauru at the Summer Olympics and Commonwealth Games between 1990 and 2002, winning seven Commonwealth gold medals.

After his retirement from weightlifting, Stephen worked at the Bank of Nauru before being elected to parliament at the 2003 elections.

Ian Stewart

Stewart's greatest achievement was winning the Commonwealth Games 5,000m in Edinburgh in 1970, beating fellow Scotsman Ian McCafferty in the finishing straight in what has often been described as one of the best races of all time.

His Commonwealth triumph came at the age of 21, the culmination of a fabulous junior career, in a family where he often ran against his brothers while his sister progressed to become a Commonwealth champion as well.

International Championships

1969: 1st 3000m European Indoors, 5000m Europeans

1970: 1st 5000m Commonwealth Games

1972: 3rd 5000m Olympics

1974: 5th 5000m, 6th 10000m Commonwealth Games

1975: 1st World CC, 1st 3000m European Indoors

1976: 7th 5000m Olympics

International CC: 1968- 6 Jnr, 1971- 9, 1972- 3

UK Internationals: 18 (1968-77)

Lachie Stewart

A gutsy victory for Stewart in the 10,000m final at the 1970 Commonwealth Games in Edinburgh ranks as one of the most memorable moments in Scottish sport.

Cheered on by a passionate home crowd, Stewart out-sprinted the multiple world record holder and overwhelming favourite, Australian Ron Clarke, to win gold on the first day of the Games. Stewart took more than 20 seconds off his previous best to win.

Stewart won 13 Scottish titles in seven years and established numerous Scottish records at two miles, 3,000m steeplechase, six miles and 10 miles.

Commonwealth Games gold medal, 10,000m 1970

British National Championships 3 miles winner, 1968

Scottish Championship: 3 miles winner, 1965, 1967 and 1968 / 5,000m winner, 1969 / 10,000m winner, 1967, 1968, 1970, 1971 and 1973 / 10 miles winner 1966, 1967, 1968 and 1971

Scottish Cross Country Championships winner 1967 and 1968

Rosemary Stirling

Stirling was a superbly versatile athlete and was part of five world record relay teams at four different distances. However, she enjoyed her greatest individual moment when representing Scotland at the British Commonwealth Games in Edinburgh in 1970 when she won the 800m in the closest finish in the event's history.

Having learned about the sport while living in Whatakane, New Zealand in the early 1960s, Stirling made her mark when she moved to England.

Stirling was one of Britain's top female 400m/800m runners between the 1960s and 1970s.

She joined Wolverhampton Harriers in 1962 and, two years later, aged 16, came to the fore by running 2 minutes 15.5 seconds for 880 yards, the fastest intermediate time in Britain that year. It was a time that she improved to 2 minutes 13.9 seconds in an international schools match in Brighton in 1965.

The following year she also started competing at 440 yards, clocking 55.2 seconds to take third place in that season's WAAA's Championships senior 440 yards final.

In 1966, still aged only 18, she competed for Scotland (due to her Scottish father) at the Commonwealth Games in Kingston, Jamaica, finishing fourth in the finals of both the 440 yards (54.4 seconds) and 880 yards (2 minutes 5.4 seconds).

She failed to make the Great Britain squad for the Mexico Olympics in 1968 but the following year, at the European Championships in Athens, she won her first major international medal, running the lead leg (54.2 seconds) as Britain took gold in an epic 4 x 400m relay final in a world record time of 3 minutes 30.8 seconds.

In 1970, she claimed the 800m title in front of her home crowd at the Commonwealth Games in Edinburgh, edging out Pat Lowe (England) and Cheryl Peasley (Australia) in a thrilling finish to win gold in 2 minutes 6.2 seconds.

Bill Sutherland

Sutherland competed for Britain on the track, finishing 13th in the European Championships, but was the victim of questionable selection procedures before the 1972 Olympics. Despite finishing third in the main Olympic trial, he was overlooked for Munich. Yet he continued to compete at lower level, in races up to 100 miles.

The son of a doctor, Sutherland was born in Kendal and brought up in Edinburgh where his first taste of athletics was on the university grounds at Craiglockhart.

Daley Thompson

Thompson claimed more decathlon honors than anybody before him. He was the only man in any event to win two Olympic gold medals and a world championship. He also secured four world records, three Commonwealth titles and a pair of European crowns.

Born in Kensington in 1958, Daley's athletic career started at boarding school, where he gave early notice of his all-around ability. He competed in his first decathlon when he was 16. His first major international win came in Edmonton, Canada, in 1978, the Commonwealth Games title.

Daley's competitive ability brought him unparalleled decathlon success. He won 19 of 31 meets and every major title open to him.

Ian Thorpe

Born in 1982 in Sydney, Thorpe was the most successful swimmer in Austrlia's history, accumulating five Olympic gold medals and 11 world championship titles between 1998 and 2004.

Thorpe began swimming competitively at the age of eight. Aged 13 he broke 10 national age-group records in one meet, and the following year he became the youngest swimmer to make Australia's national team. At the 1998 world championships, Thorpe, then aged 15, became the youngest world swimming champion with his world-record victory in the 400m freestyle.

Aided by his height (6 feet 4 inches [2 metres]) and extraordinarily large feet, which some compared to flippers, Thorpe soon became known as the "Thorpedo."

Thorpe attracted widespread attention during the 2000 Olympics in Sydney, where he won three gold medals (400m freestyle, 4 × 200m freestyle relay, 4 × 100m freestyle relay) and one silver medal (200m freestyle).

The following year, at the world swimming championships, he won six gold medals and set world records in the 200m freestyle, the 400m freestyle, and the 800m freestyle. He was also a member of the 4 × 200m freestyle relay team, which set a world record.

Thorpe's other gold medals were in the 4 × 100m freestyle relay and the 4 × 100m medley relay.

Thorpe continued his dominance of the freestyle as he won three golds at the 2003 world championships (200m freestyle, 400m freestyle, and 4 × 200m freestyle relay).

At the 2004 Olympic Games in Athens, Thorpe added gold in the 200m and 400m freestyle events as well as a silver in the 4 × 200m freestyle relay and a bronze in the 100m freestyle.

After his triumph in Athens, Thorpe spent a year away from swimming. He returned to the pool to prepare for the 2006 Commonwealth Games, but he was forced to withdraw from that event because of illness.

In November 2006 Thorpe shocked the swimming world by abruptly retiring from the sport at age 24. In February 2011 he announced that he would return to international swimming in preparation for the 2012 Olympic Games in London, but he failed to qualify for the Australian Olympic team.

Dan Travers

Travers was part of Scotland's first ever Commonwealth badminton team to win gold at the 1986 Games in Edinburgh. He also coached the 2002 Scottish badminton squad to Commonwealth Games bronze.

Growing up in Glasgow, Travers first found badminton upon joining a local sports group at St Paul's Church Hall in the city's east end.

Despite some ups and downs in his formative training years, at the age of 18, and with several junior titles under his belt, he made the decision to dedicate his life to the sport and his career quickly gained momentum.