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Final chance for Scottish wrestlers 

HBOS

Thursday 30 May 2002

Scotland's top wrestlers hoping to be nominated for the Bank of Scotland Scottish Team competing at the Manchester Commonwealth Games this summer will have their final chance to impress selectors at the British Open Championships in Manchester on Saturday (1 June 2002).

The Scots, who will face a tough test against wrestlers from as far afield as Eastern Europe and Asia, have produced some encouraging results over recent weeks.

Kevin Campbell (Cumbernauld), at 84kg, and Douglas Thomson (Greenock), at 120kg, both won silver medals in this month's Dutch Open (6 May).

A week later, in the Odessa Open in Ukraine, (11 May), Thomson finished 4th at 120kg whilst Joseph Bianco (Haddington) took 6th place at 84kg

And last weekend (24 & 25 May) three Scots helped the British team into 4th place out of 17 nations at the Sassari Tournament in Sardinia. Bianco, at 84kg, produced the best Scottish performance, taking 3rd place after a narrow 3-4 semi-final loss to the Iranian champion. Other Scots in the GB team were Campbell and Steve McKeown (Cumbernauld).

Scots looking for good performances at this weekend British Open Championships are:

60kg - Viorel Etko (Glasgow) & William Taylor (Cove, nr Helensburgh)
Etko has moved up from his best wrestling weight of 55kg to challenge English Open Champion, Paul Stridgeon, already selected by England for the Games.
Taylor, just back from a year's training in the USA, is looking to impress the selectors and confirm his team nomination as the No 1 Scot at 60kg.

66kg - Kenny Devoy (Bishopbriggs)
Devoy has recently recovered from a knee problem and will be looking to prove his fitness ahead of next week's team nominations.

74kg - Steve McKeown (Cumbernauld) & Colin McLaren (Tullibody)
McKeown and McLaren recently went head-to-head in a 3 match trial for the 74kg nomination, which was won by McKeown by a single point in the final match for a 2-1 win.
Both wrestlers are to be nominated as they both meet the selection criteria. However, McLaren can only make the Games team in the case of an injury withdrawal by McKeown, as wrestling at the Games is restricted to one wrestler, per country, per weight group.

84kg - Joseph Bianco (Haddington) & Kevin Campbell (Cumbernauld)
Alterations to the international weight categories in January have created a situation at 84kg where both Scots are now fighting for the one available place. Bianco has shown good form since his return from university in Canada, particularly his 3rd place in Sardinia last weekend. Campbell faces a tough task in trying to displace an in-form Bianco from the Games team nominations.

96kg - Graeme English (East Kilbride)
Two-times Commonwealth medallist, English is recovering from recent knee surgery and will miss this final selection event. However he hopes to be nominated for the Scottish team, dependent on proving his fitness to compete before the Games closing date for entries on 25 June.

120kg - Douglas Thomson (Greenock)
Douglas faces stiff opposition from England's Amarjit Singh, a former Commonwealth Games silver medallist, who has already been selected for the Games. However, Thomson's commitment to his preparation programme in recent months gives him an excellent chance of scoring his first victory over the Englishman, at a crucial time just before the Games.

The selection nominations to CGCS from the Scottish Wrestling Association will be made immediately following the British Open, and forwarded for consideration by Friday 7 June.

All wrestlers fulfilling the selection criteria for the Bank of Scotland Scottish Team will be nominated to the Commonwealth Games Council for Scotland for ratification on 24 June. 

  • The Commonwealth Games Council for Scotland (CGCS) is responsible for selecting and preparing the team representing Scotland at the Games and is financed through sponsorship and fundraising activities, and grant support from sportscotland.
  • The total cost of preparing and taking a team to represent Scotland at the Commonwealth Games in 2002 is around £450,000.
  • A copy of the overall team and individual sport selection policy is available from the Commonwealth Games Council for Scotland.
  • The Scottish Team won 3 Gold, 2 Silver and 7 Bronze medals at the 1998 Commonwealth Games in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. Scotland's judo players picked up one gold, three silver and four bronze at the 1990 Commonwealth Games in Auckland - the only time the sport has been included in the Games.
  • Scotland has competed in every Games since the first British Empire Games in 1930 winning a total of 270 medals (65 Gold, 79 Silver, 126 Bronze).
  • 16 sports are taking part in Manchester: Athletics; Badminton; Bowls; Boxing; Cycling; Gymnastics; Hockey (women's); Judo; Rugby 7s; Shooting; Squash; Swimming; Table Tennis; Triathlon; Weightlifting; and Wrestling.
  • The 2002 Commonwealth Games are being held in Manchester 25 July - 4 August.
  • In December 2000 Bank of Scotland announced its second time sponsorship of the Bank of Scotland Scottish Team for the Commonwealth Games. The Bank's sponsorship specifically funds preparation for the team to help improve our athletes' medal chances.
  • Bank of Scotland is the largest commercial sponsor of youth sport in Scotland and this year over 20,000 young people will take part in youth development projects supported by Bank of Scotland.
  • Bank of Scotland recently merged with Halifax plc to create HBOS plc. With 25million customers, 60,000 staff, 3.1m shareholders, 1,100 branches and 3,600 ATMs HBOS is the new force in banking - to find out more visit www.hbosplc.com
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