Team Scotland grew to 36 members yesterday with the selection of eight shooters and a triathlete to join the 23 track and field athletes and four squash players whose places had been confirmed in September to represent Scotland at Glasgow 2014.
The shooters are headed by Scotland's most successful male and female athletes from Delhi 2010, Jonathan Hammond and Jennifer McIntosh. Ian Shaw, Angus Mcleod, Neil Stirton, Caroline Brownlie and Shona Marshall, who all have previous Commonwealth Games experience, also had selection confirmed and they were joined by rookie Sian Bruce who, at 20, will be competing in her first Commonwealth Games next summer.
Triathlete David McNamee's place is confirmed in what will be the sport's third appearance in the Games.
McIntosh, pictured above, returned from Delhi three years ago with two gold medals and one bronze to take the title of most successful female athlete at a single Games from her mother, Shirley, who won shooting gold and silver in 1994. McIntosh was just 19 when she garnered that impressive haul in India but went into those Games with little pressure upon her shoulders. "There was no expectation on me before Delhi so it's very different this time," she said. "Back then I was an up-and-coming athlete, now I'm defending champion. There's a lot more awareness from the press but that makes it exciting."
McIntosh was a member of Team GB at London 2012 so has had a taste of home support and thinks this will be a hugely valuable asset to have next summer, saying "I really thrived off the home support at the Olympics and it'll be the same next year. "
One bonus for McIntosh is that she will be able to attend an opening ceremony for the first time. "At London 2012, I was competing at 8.15 the next morning so I was in bed before the opening ceremony had even begun. I slept through the whole thing so it will be great to be involved this time," she said.
Just two years McIntosh's junior, debutante Bruce has had a stellar junior career, which peaked when she won gold in the Youth Olympic Festival in Australia earlier this year. A home Commonwealth Games would be a daunting prospect for many but Bruce, who lives just a few miles from Barry Budden in Carnoustie, where the shooting event will take place next summer, is relishing the prospect.
"I'm so excited," she said. "I've been to World Cups before but a multi-sport event will be so different." One thing she will not have to worry about is a lack of support. "My mum and dad both applied for tickets in the ballot and both got them so they've got about a dozen tickets," she said.
Shooting events often experience something of a restrained atmosphere but Bruce does not expect this to be the case next summer. "When I watched Jen [McIntosh] at the Olympics in London, everyone was cheering and shouting," she said. "I haven't asked anyone for advice on how to cope with it yet - I wanted to wait until I was selected first."
Bruce has been shooting for 10 years and will be half the age of some of her team-mates but her youthfulness hasn't stemmed her ambition. "Hopefully I've got a medal chance," she says coyly. "The rules have changed now so, if you get to the final, then it's anybody's."
Bruce doesn't have the luxury that McIntosh enjoys of being a full-time athlete. She works in a casino but will cut down her hours in the new year in order to concentrate on her training. "It's a really expensive sport. I don't know how much I spend every year; I don't like to think about it or I'd cry," she says, smiling. "My mum and dad have had to help me out a lot, especially when I was younger. Hopefully, by qualifying, I've paid them back a little bit. It is an expensive sport but I'm willing to do whatever I can to fund it. When you get to a Commonwealth Games, it makes it all worth it."
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