Delight for mother as Coleraine's Hannah Scott joins Paris Olympics gold rush
It was another wonderful day for Northern Ireland athletes at the Paris Olympics on Wednesday, with Coleraine rower Hannah Scott striking gold for Team GB.
Scott’s success in the quadruple sculls final was the third gold medal won by NI athletes in less than 24 hours – following Magheralin swimmer Daniel Wiffen’s thrilling 800m freestyle final victory for Team Ireland, and Belfast swimmer Jack McMillan’s gold as Team GB retained the men’s 4x200m freestyle title, although he did not swim in the final.
On Wednesday morning, Scott was cheered on out in Paris by a 54-strong group of supporters, including family, members of her old rowing club in Coleraine, former coaches, school friends and friends from her university days at Princeton in the US.
There were joyous scenes as Scott and her Team GB crew snatched a dramatic win after reeling in the Dutch with the final stroke of the race.
Her mother Sharon said they were all in awe of what she had achieved.
“It was just fabulous to see her coming across the line,” she told the PA news agency from Paris.
“Feeling really proud, we’re all really happy”.
Her mother added: “So there’s going to be a bit of a party tonight.
“There’s been a lot of whiskey drank at the minute. A lot of Bushmills whiskey.”
On the atmosphere when Scott won, she said: “It was absolutely fabulous. It just erupted.
“So I think it was hearts in our mouth, everybody was really quiet when she was racing up and then really it just went crazy from there on. To see her get presented with her medal by Princess Anne was so so amazing for us as parents and family and friends.”
Scott was able to speak to her family after the race.
“She came to us, she was delivered by the local police. They brought her, sirens wailing, to meet up with us,” said her mum.
Lady Mary Peters, who won gold in the pentathlon at the 1972 Games in Munich, told the BBC: “It’s just great at the start of the Games to have this inspiration because we have so many more people coming: gymnast Rhys McClenaghan, runner Ciara Mageean, boxer Michaela Walsh, the world is open for them all.
“I welcome them (the new Northern Ireland gold medallists) all in because it made my life exceptional and it will for them too.”