New investment from sportscotland will support Scotland’s top athletes as they prepare for the Glasgow 2026 Commonwealth Games.
The national agency for sport has today announced that 43 athletes from eight sports will share £210k of National Lottery funding from the sportscotland Athlete Personal Award programme (SAPA).
The programme is designed to ease financial pressures and allow athletes to dedicate more time to training, recovery and competitions as they build towards representing Team Scotland on home soil.
The latest group of awarded athletes is a mix of those who are still aiming for Team Scotland selection, and some who have already booked their place at Glasgow 2026.
Motherwell BC’s Caroline Brown is among those to receive funding. The list also includes Glasgow 2014 gold medal winners Sarah Adlington, Alex Marshall MBE and Neil Fachie OBE.
Among a host of medals and titles in a storied career, Caroline has won Ladies World Matchplay Singles, World Bowls Championships gold medal and a silver at the 2018 Commonwealth Games.
Chief Executive of sportscotland, Forbes Dunlop said: “Scotland is set for a truly memorable summer of sport. Hosting the Commonwealth Games in Glasgow once again is a huge moment for Scottish sport and our athletes. This National Lottery investment from the SAPA programme will ensure our athletes can focus fully on their training and performance as they prepare for one of the biggest events of their careers.”
The awards only make up a small part of the year-round support the athletes receive from their sport governing bodies and sportscotland.
Many benefit from a host of expert services provided by the sportscotland institute of sport which includes nutrition, physical preparation, physio, sports psychology, coaching and many more.
The latest round of funding means the SAPA programme has awarded over £2.2million of National Lottery funding to athletes since its inception for the Olympics and Paralympics in London in 2012.
Nearly 350 high performance athletes and coaches aiming to make their mark in summer or winter Olympic and Paralympic Games, as well as the Commonwealth Games have benefited from the scheme.
Bowls Scotland Head of High Performance, Kareena Cuthbert added: “The investment through sportscotland SAPA funding is massively beneficial for our bowlers, giving them the best possible support and preparation for the 2026 Games.
“This backing allows our athletes to train, compete and perform with confidence and reflects a shared ambition to deliver continued success on the biggest stage.”
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