mEG RITCHIE, who won Commonwealth discus gold in Brisbane in 1982, broke the mould for female athletes, both in and out of the throwing circle.

The catalogue of superlatives, viewed now, beggars belief, but in the middle distance-dominated era of Coe and Ovett in which she performed, she was never properly appreciated.

The Kirkcaldy woman was the first and only Scot to hold the UK shot putt and discus records, the latter of which she broke seven times. She has now held it for more than 36 years. Her ninth place in the 1980 Moscow Olympics (only Western athlete to reach the final) was then the best finish by a UK woman. She improved that to fifth in Los Angeles, missing bronze by just 1.06 metres, a placing no UK thrower has matched in this event. And when she competed at the inaugural World Championships in Helsinki, in 1983, she was a laudable eighth in a contest which included the world's 15 top-ranked throwers. No Briton has since reached the discus final.

Ritchie is the only Scottish thrower to have competed in Commonwealth and Olympic Games (twice), European and World Championships. She held the UK shot record for three years and was also a Commonwealth finalist in that discipline. And her National Collegiate Athletics Association shot and discus titles in 1982 make her the only Briton ever to do the US title double. She still holds the NCAA record in both, and needless to say, her Scottish records remain.

Ritchie retired in 1984 but continued to be a trailblazer. She became head of strength and conditioning at the university of Arizona, the first woman to do so at a division-one US college. She experienced some negative reaction in the weights room from the meatheads on the gridiron team. Her response was to load the bar with more than the jocks were lifting, and then out-rep them. When she squatted 550lbs in the gym owned by Lou Ferigno (Incredible Hulk), the whole gym was clapping as she put the bar back on the rack unaided.

She returned from the US to become Scotland national coach in 1999, the first woman in Europe to hold such a post. Her appointment was regrettably short-lived. Nine months before the 2002 Manchester Commonwealth Games, she resigned, but many of the standards she had set for those Games are higher than the athletics ones for Glasgow 2014, the team for which will be announced today.

She says she is "reluctant to criticise" but adds, damningly: "I don't think you encourage excellence by laying out mediocrity. You have to challenge people to aspire to something. Realistically, how many medals might they get? Two? Scots are great at talking themselves down, and like to criticise everything. There are a lot of armchair critics.

"We have a hard time in Scotland, supporting each other. That was probably 75% of the reason for my leaving. Mike [Stone], my husband was worried about me because I sensed I could not change the culture. I was at a USOC presentation recently - the message was about leaving egos at the door. That was how the US put a man and woman on the podium in the Olympic marathon in 2004. They'd have been ridiculed if the idea had got out, but they achieved it. Scotland needs to leave the egos at the door and target selected events."

Scottishathletics is currently seeking a fourth performance chief in 38 months, with Stephen Maguire serving his notice. "With that turnover there is no consistency," she says. "Who's steering the boat? It will take a very special person to change that culture."

It has been suggested that there is a shortage of appropriate Scottish candidates. Meg Ritchie is proof that this is wrong. It would be nice to think she had been approached. "I can tell you that did not happen," she says. "I was never approached. It might be good to go back, but not with the present personnel. It will take a very special person to turn the boat and effect the required culture change."

No Scottish athlete, and only one throws coach, Hugh Murray, has been in touch with Meg since she went back to the US. "People said I was too strong to throw far. Sitting here now, with that record 36 years old, maybe I was strong enough to throw far. When I first started, I weighed 12 stone. I was always a big girl and was never embarrassed. I went up to almost 20 stone doing weights. Now I am back to just over 11. Take it off when you don't need it. I have lost a whole person!"

She laughs at those who suggest women pumping iron is unfeminine. "That was the view when I started. I remember walking into a class in Arizona, and heard the word 'freak'. I sat down and thought: 'I am going to be competing at the Moscow Olympics. What will you be doing?'

"Do you want to be Meg Mediocre, or do what it takes to be successful? See what your max can be, see how good you can be, and when you are finished, pass it on. There's no reason why a Scottish girl, if she lifts the weights, can't throw what I threw. I don't want to come back in my 80s and get wheeled out in my bathchair for the crowd to be told: 'Here's the Scottish record-holder.' I want somebody to break those records. I wanted to coach somebody to do it, but could not find anyone committed to do the strength work required."

Now married to strength guru Mike Stone (formerly of the Scottish Institute of Sport), Ritchie is director of the centre of excellence for sport science and coach education at East Tennessee State University. She is also director of their Olympic training site, designated by the US Olympic Committee as the centre for weightlifting and kayak. "We are working on about four or five others, including bobsleigh," says Ritchie, who oversees strength and conditioning for 17 sports. She supervises more than 50 doctorate and masters students. "When I was an athlete, it was all about me. When you are a coach, it's all about the athlete. When a young person comes into your sport, or gym, and asks you to coach them, it's a huge responsibilty. They're putting their dreams and potential in your hands. You have to be knowledgeable enough to ensure they reach their genetic potential, and know the science and the art of coaching."

At world and Olympic level, Meg's performances have stood the test of time. Her GB record of 67.48m would have won silver at last year's World championships, bronze in London 2012, and gold in the 2008 Beijing Olympics. "You know the era I was competing in [a reference to doping]. You are what you are in your time. I did the best I could, and I'm satisfied. I should have got a medal in LA, but I did not, and I left and drove to the football camp in Arizona and got on with my job and my life," she says.

Kirsty Law, who can expect to be deservedly named today in the team for Glasgow 2014, is 11th on the UK all-time list. She is the only Scot and one of only three Brits in the past 10 years to have come within 10m of Ritchie's discus best.