There were highs and lows for Scotland’s athletes at the Beijing Olympics, of varying levels.  Some athletes, like Katherine Grainger, were disappointed with silver.  Others were happy just to be there.

In The Winning Zone has compiled some of the best bits from the mouths of our athletes at the Games...

Track cyclist Chris Hoy was unsurprisingly ecstatic after winning his third gold medal in the men’s sprint:

“I cannot tell you how it feels - it is amazing.  When you cross the line, all the pressure that has built up, the expectation and the self doubt evaporates just like that.

“When you want something that much it is an amazing feeling when you achieve it.  And that's why the emotions come out at the end. You bottle it for so long that it just erupts at the end.

“I think the nation has got behind the team and it's fantastic.  If we can build on this and get behind the London 2012 Games, it will be great.”
--

Judo player Euan Burton, an anticipated medal contender who fell short in his podium bid, was gutted at going out in the quarter-finals:

“I'm not happy with how I performed in any of my fights but when you are fighting as badly as I was and you are still in the tournament you think something is going to go right for you at some stage.

“Everyone who knows me will know that I am absolutely gutted not to come away from these Games with a medal.  There is no one else to look at, no one else to blame, no one else to take the fall. In this game there is only you on the mat and only you who can perform and put things right. I did not do that and I apologise to those who got up at the break of dawn to live that journey with me.

“One of the things that I have always said is that if I have prepared as hard as I possibly could and can walk on to that mat knowing that I could not have done more to put myself in a position to strive for that medal, then I cannot ask more of myself.”
--
Fellow Scottish based judoka Sarah Clark was equally disappointed:

“I gave it everything - I didn't make any mistakes but I was caught out. I've lost to her before, but I had a plan going in because of how aggressive she is. I can't put into words how I am feeling right now - I came here for one thing and that didn't happen.”
--

David Florence won silver in canoe slalom on his Olympic debut.  Was he pleased?  Of course!

“This really is a dream come true. It's been a long, long time coming and means everything to me.

“I would have loved the gold but I ended up with silver. A medal is what I have been after for the last four years.  This was always the main focus, it is just a fantastic result and fantastic reward for all my hard work.”

--

His team-mate Campbell Walsh, who won silver in Athens four years ago, went out in the semi-finals.  A pre-Olympics favourite, Walsh was brutally honest about his result.

“I blew it.  It’s quite disappointing and I'm very jealous of all the medal winners. But actually, I'm not kicking myself too much. I prepared well, I had a good attacking attitude and was confident at the start line. The run began well. I'm not really sure why I made the error at gate 5 - I have yet to watch it on video. But I know it was not due to caution, distraction or trying too hard.

“I honestly believe that I could not have done anything different to prepare better. I was proud of how I started the run and how I attacked the rest of the run in an attempt to win back some time. I feel I can leave Beijing with my head held high. Thanks to all the people who sent me best wishes before the race and got in touch after it - I really appreciate it.”
--

Another Scottish silver medallist on the water, the rower Katherine Grainger, was heartbroken not to win gold after two consecutive silvers in Sydney and Athens:

“Obviously we did whatever we could, it just wasn't enough. I'm really proud of the last three years we've done together and the fairytale ending would have been to get the gold. Gold was absolutely what we came for, we've made no bones about that. We set the highest standards, and they're the hardest ones to meet. I think we're all just devastated right now.”

--
Chris Hoy and Ross Edgar were equally delighted with their gold and silver one-two for Scotland in the keirin on the bike track:

“I don't know how to sum it up," Hoy said.

"It's just beyond expectations, and it's a day we'll remember for a long time.  After the kilo (where he won gold in 2004) was dropped after Athens, there were parts of me thinking that it could be the end of my individual career.  But to come back to win a different event altogether is just fantastic, it really is.

“And it was just fantastic for Ross to get silver too.”

Edgar missed out on selection for Britain's gold medal-winning team sprint line-up, and he admitted his silver medal had partly made up for that disappointment.

"The team sprint was hard to watch, the guys put in a phenomenal ride," said Edgar.
"It was a shame I couldn't be part of team but I'm delighted today, I can't put it into words. It’s unbelievable."

--

Lee McConnell was Scotland’s major hope on the athletics track, having won a bronze medal in the women’s 4x400m at the World Championships in 2007.  But she came away from Beijing injured and remorseful:

“I never felt like I was flowing at any point,” she said after going out of the individual 400m at the semi-final stage.  “I was working too hard the whole way and paid for that towards the end of the race. I am just really disappointed. It didn't go the way we had hoped and there's nothing I can do about it now, nothing I can say about it really, that's it, it's done.”

She sustained her injury just a day before the relay, where had she been fit the GB team were in with a chance of gold.

“I'm really upset and there are no words I can actually say to explain how completely devastated I feel at this moment. The injury happened two days before my first round run, and it'll keep me out for a few weeks."

--
Andy Murray made his Olympic debut in Beijing, but it was short lived.  The world number six was ill-prepared for the Games, which he freely admitted after going out in the first round:

"I don't want to make any excuses for the defeat," he said. "He played better. I could have done better but I struggled. I still had chances but didn't take them and he played some great tennis.

"I found out the day after my singles match I'd lost four and a half kilos since I arrived here.  I didn't prepare as well as I should have done. It was unprofessional and something I need to learn from."
--
There was a mixed bag of results for the Scotland’s swimmers.  Gregor Tait made his second consecutive Olympic final in the 200m backstroke.  He finished eighth, but that was good enough for him:

"I didn't expect to win or get a medal. I just wanted to go out there and have some fun. I am not disappointed, because I made the final in the first place."

Robbie Renwick, meanwhile, was just happy to be in the same patch of pool as multiple gold medal winner Michael Phelps:

"It's pretty cool to say I was in that race. Money can't buy the experience of racing against guys like him and all the experience I can get will help me. It's not every day you get to say you were in an Olympic final but really this was all about getting as much experience as possible.

"It is a good result for me. I'm pleased with the time. It was a very strong morning swim for me. I'm only 20 years old and still gaining experience and hopefully by the time we get to 2012, I will just be reaching my peak."
--

RO
©Copyright In The Winning Zone, MMVIII, All Rights Reserved