The Scotsman Bulletin Friday July 26 2024 #Olympics

The Scotsman

The Scotsman's Jane Bradley talks Olympics with our sports editor Mark Atkinson

Transcript

00:00Good morning, I'm Jane Bradley from the Scotsman News Desk and I'm here today with our sports

00:15editor Mark Atkinson ahead of the official beginning of the Olympics tonight. But first

00:21we're going to take a look at today's front page of the Scotsman. So as you can see here,

00:25we have some lovely pictures of the newly born Barbary macaque monkey Harper, who's

00:31been born at the Blair Drummond Wildlife Park. But our front page is about the latest on

00:37the bin strikes where we've got business and tourism leaders who've written to the government

00:41trying to find a solution to this dispute, which could again see rubbish piling up on

00:46the streets of Edinburgh ahead of the festival. But before the festival kicks off, we've got

00:52the Olympics to think about. So hi, Mark.

00:55Hello, good morning. How are you?

00:58Good, thank you. How are you? Excited about tonight?

01:01I am actually, I am. As you say, the Olympics, the official start. We have had a couple of

01:05events going on in the background over the past 48 hours, but this is when it really

01:10feels like the event is upon us. And opening ceremonies, you either love them or hate them.

01:16I think I love them because I always think there's a sort of, it talks about a country's

01:21history and identity. I remember the London one very fondly indeed. And I suspect the

01:27French will have something up their sleeve tonight for the opening ceremony. Lavish three

01:32to four hour affair, the lighting of the flame. We'll see loads of incredible athletes waving

01:39their flags. And yeah, it kind of gives you the feeling that the Olympics is finally upon

01:44us. It's been a very busy summer of sport. I think the Olympics is in some respects being

01:49put in the shadows by the European Championships for the football of Scotland involved. But

01:54now it's very much here. I'm really looking forward to two weeks of excellent sport.

01:59Absolutely. And do we have any idea what's happening tonight or have they sort of kept

02:03everything under wraps?

02:06They've kept it largely under wraps. I think the Sen is going to be involved, the Stade

02:09de France will be involved. And I'm pretty sure there'll be some nods to French culture

02:15throughout the years. I think it's quite nice having an element of surprise regarding this

02:22because it's a bit like watching, going to the theatre or watching a show. I think it's

02:26got that element to it. So plenty of people will tune in. I think plenty of people will

02:30get the Olympics fever after that. We were having a discussion in our morning conference

02:34about how engaged people are at the Olympics. I think in Scotland, sometimes it takes a

02:40little bit of time to warm up to the Olympics, but potentially an early medal might help

02:45that along for us.

02:47And are we expecting that? And where are we expecting that to come from?

02:51Well, we could get a medal as early as Saturday. Sinead McIntosh, an experienced shooter, could

02:59land gold in Chateauroux, one of the biggest rifle ranges in Europe. She's won Olympic

03:05medals before, so she'll be hoping that she can do so again. And that takes place on Saturday

03:12morning. So we could have a medal by then. We've also got Kiana McInnes in the swimming

03:18going as well on Saturday. I'm not sure she can medal there then, but she's a Scottish

03:24athlete in there. But you're looking probably, if we're being honest, at medals coming later

03:29in the Games. Our biggest athletes in terms of that are Laura Muir, Josh Kerr, who is

03:36a complete superstar right now in the athletics, and Duncan Scott, the swimmer. So that's where

03:43I'm looking at them going potential golds there. But there's always a surprise story

03:47that comes at Olympics. Somebody comes out of the pack that you weren't expecting to

03:52win a medal, and they're actually often the most exciting stories because they've got

03:56a great tale behind them. So fingers crossed we have one of those. And we also have a couple

04:02of amazing athletes saying goodbye, not least Andy Murray, the Scottish tennis star who

04:08will retire after this Games. An incredible career. One of my favourite athletes, potentially

04:14I think the greatest Scottish sportsperson of all time. He plays in the doubles with

04:19Dan Evans. They play a Japanese pairing in their first match. And if Murray loses, that's

04:26him. We'll never see him playing competitive tennis again. So yeah, that's quite an emotional

04:31moment.

04:32What do you predict is going to happen?

04:34Well, he's up against Kai Nishikori, who people might know his name. He won the US Open. He's

04:41actually one of the veteran tennis players. So it's Kai Nishikori, and I believe it's

04:45Taro Daniel, his partner. They're good players. So Murray and Dan Evans, they're probably

04:51famous to win that match, but it won't be that easy. It's also taking place at Roland-Garros,

04:55which is the venue for the French Open. So it's on clay, and you could argue that's Murray's

05:01worst surface, if there is such a thing as a worst surface for one of the best tennis

05:04players in the world. So it won't be easy for Murray, and it'll be emotional. But him

05:09and Dan Evans have played together before, and they've had some very good results. So

05:12I'm hopeful they could go on a run. Can you imagine if Andy Murray in his last ever tournament

05:17went all the way to the final, what excitement that would bring? Let's hope that's the case.

05:22But we're focusing on Murray there. There's loads of athletes to look forward to watching.

05:27I think it's kind of the exact number of Scottish athletes, but there's plenty of them, and

05:32obviously UK interest as well. So it should be a great couple of weeks.

05:36Yeah, absolutely. Well, let's keep our fingers crossed for an early gold at the weekend.

05:39That would be a great start to the Games for us, but we'll have to wait and see what happens.

05:44Indeed.

05:45So thank you very much. So you can read all the latest on the Olympics and today's other

05:52top stories on scotsman.com. You can also follow us on Facebook, X, and Instagram, and

05:58please buy a copy of tomorrow's paper. Thank you, Mark. It's been really nice to speak to you.

06:02Pleasure as always, Jane. Bye for now.

06:09Bye.

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