AUGUST 31 – TRIPLE gold medal winning cyclist Chris Hoy (pictured) said today that he hopes a compromise can be worked out so Scotland can take part in a united British football team at the 2012 Olympics.
The 32-year-old from Edinburgh became Scotland’s most successful ever Olympian with his three golds in Beijing which took his career total to four.
Upon his return from the Chinese capital he refuted calls from Scotland’s First Minister Alex Salmond for the country to compete seperately in future Games because he said they did not have the facilities to prepare top-class competitors.
Salmond has also ruled out Scotland having any involvement in a British football team at the 2012 Olympics for fear it will compromise the country’s independence to compete in events such as the World Cup and European Championships.
Wales have expressed similar fears.
Hoy told Scotland on Sunday in an interview published today: “All I would say is that Scotland wouldn’t want to lose its identity from a FIFA perspective but I think it would also be a shame not to have representation at all the sports.
“So if there was any way of getting round the situation, it would be great to have a British team, hopefully with Scottish players involved too.
“The debate will rage from all angles but I still think the host nation should be represented at all sports.
“I’m sure there must be a way round it in terms of FIFA, the International Olympic Committee and the British Olympic Association coming to some kind of agreement that won’t compromise the status of Scotland or Wales or Northern Ireland.”
Hoy believes that the closure next month of the velodrome in Edinburgh he learnt to ride at illustrates his argument about Scotland concentrating on improving facilities before it starts setting goals like competing independently in the Olympics.
He said: “I have never been more proud than when I represented Scotland at the Commonwealth Games.
“I’m fiercely patriotic.
“But the point is that before any call by Alex Salmond or whoever for a Scottish Olympic team, you need to provide the facilities for Scottish athletes to be able to perform at the highest level.
“So for me as a cyclist, if I were to compete for Scotland alone and not GB, where would I train?
“When the Edinburgh velodrome closes at the end of September, where would I train until April?
“The facilities aren’t there.
“There aren’t enough world-class facilities and you need world-class facilities to compete at the Olympic Games.
“It’s not an overnight thing, so you need to get the facilities, the coaches, the infrastructure.
“It takes a lot of time, hard work, money and investment and then you start to see results.
“So I say put your money where your mouth is - invest in the sport.
“Show us your commitment to it, that it’s not just jumping on a political bandwagon, and of course I would represent Scotland at an Olympic Games.
“It would be amazing
“[But] The thing that baffles me is why people perceive Great Britain as England.
“It’s not.
“That’s why you can be proud to be British as well as Scottish because Scotland is part of Britain, same as Wales and Northern Ireland.
“There was fantastic spirit in Beijing.
“The whole team came together and supported each other, no matter what sport you were from.
“With each medal came momentum and the feeling that you were achieving something really special here.
“It’s naive to think sport and politics can be separated but it’s a shame because the whole point about the Olympic ideal is drawing people from all over the world together, uniting under the same spirit, the same ethos.”
To read the full article visit http://scotlandonsunday.scotsman.com/spectrum/Golden-Hoy–Chris-Hoy.4437653.jp.