Sir Craig Reedie
Born: May 6, 1941;
Died: April 5, 2026.
Sir Craig Reedie, who has died aged 84, was a leading Sottish sportsman and, as chairman of the British Olympic Association, overcame many obstacles to secure London’s bid to host the 2012 Olympics. The media, many MPs and the public all thought it was beyond the country’s resources and would cost too much. Reedie proved them wrong and delivered the Games and the paralympic games on time, to huge success and many medals.
In his youth, Sir Craig was a talented athlete especially at badminton and in the 1960s he represented Scotland and Great Britain as a player, notably in the doubles. As an administrator, he also ensured the sport obtained a higher profile in Scotland.
Badminton Scotland has commented, “Sir Craig served as Chair of Badminton Scotland from 1977 to 1979 with distinction, helping to guide and shape the organisation during a period of significant development. His leadership, vision and unwavering commitment to badminton in Scotland laid strong foundations for the growth of the sport at all levels.”
It was fitting, therefore, that the badminton club in Bogmoor Place, Glasgow was renamed The Sir Craig Reedie Badminton Centre in 2014.
Craig Collins Reedie was born in Stirling, the son of Anne and Robert Reedie, an Inland Revenue surveyor. He played badminton at primary school and golf at Dunblane golf course as a junior. But it was badminton where he excelled, originally in the village hall. He attended Stirling High School and played in the 1st XV and was a good athlete. He read history and then law at Glasgow University where his contemporary legal students included the Labour politicians John Smith and Donald Dewar and the Liberal Democrat leader Menzies (‘Ming’) Campbell.
He represented the university at badminton, and it was in a match against Queen’s University Belfast in 1962 that he met his future wife, Rosemary Biggart, then a medical student. He was to go on to win the doubles titles at the Glasgow Open and proved an able administrator when he was appointed, in 1965, the secretary and treasurer of the Scottish Badminton Union. He became chairman of the British Olympic Association in 1992-2007.
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But it was his determined and arduous campaign to secure the Olympics for London in 2012 for which he will rightly be remembered. He gathered around him a band of equally dedicated administrators who masterminded a plan to secure government support and funding and then convince the Olympic Committee. That was a highly competitive campaign, but Sir Craig held a trump card: he secured a dinner invitation for the entire committee, hosted by the Queen, at Buckingham Palace.
Once having secured the nomination Sir Richard had to ensure the stadiums and all the preparations were in place. He wanted to make the games were accessible and the atmosphere relaxed. He was particularly keen that the scores of voluntary helpers were welcoming and cheerful.
Sir Craig, himself, was very much involved throughout and he carried the Olympic torch on its way to London past the Old Course at St Andrews where he just happened to be a member. That torch is now in his home at Bridge of Weir.
Sebastian Coe, the World Athletics president of the organising committee has said: “Craig was my mentor, wise counsel, passionate advisor, and great friend. Without Craig we may never have won the right to host London 2012. Craig was a sportsman at heart, but he had the mind and tenacity of a politician. He was equal parts opinionated, wise, canny, and, most of all loyal. The epitome of a gentleman.”
Sir Craig was elected president of the World Anti-Doping Agency in 2013 and led it through some turbulent and controversial years, not least the doping in Russia. He was scrupulous in maintaining a balanced perspective. “We set the international standard for tests; we check the laboratories,” he said. “But the actual testing is fragmented, done by anti-doping organisations in individual countries. We are not a police force of drug testers.”
For many years he had lived in Bridge of Weir and had recently moved to a smaller house with a fine view of the Campsie Fells and Ben Lomand. He remained a keen sportsman all his life – in Who’s Who he lists one interest as, ‘sport and more sport’ – but he remained a keen golfer all his life and, apart from the R&A, he was a member of Western Gailes and Ranfurly Castle clubs.
Sir Craig married Rosemary Biggart in 1967 and she and their two children, Colin and Catriona, survive him.
Alasdair Steven
