Among them are one of the team’s youngest members – 17-year-old gymnast Eilidh Gorrell – as well as one of the oldest in 39-year-old East Kilbride-born weightlifter Jodey Hughes.

The impressive South Lanarkshire contingent in the 261-strong Team Scotland also features Bothwell’s own badminton champion, Kirsty Gilmour. Already a double Games silver medallist, Kirsty will be one of the flag bearers at the prestigious opening ceremony as she sets her sights on gold at Birmingham 2022. 

No fewer than three of South Lanarkshire’s finest have been selected for Team Scotland’s netball squad in Bethan Goodwin, Niamh McCall, and Emma Barrie. In fact, it would have been a quartet had Gold Coast 2018 vice-captain Lynsey Gallagher not had to withdraw due to injury. 

Completing the line-up from South Lanarkshire are triathlete Grant Sheldon, 400m relay runner Carys McAulay, and para-athlete Alexander Thompson. The 22nd Commonwealth Games in Birmingham start today (Thursday 28) and will run until 7 August. 

In that time 6,500 athletes from across the Commonwealth will compete for medals in 19 different disciplines. With eight para sports and 135 women’s medal events, Birmingham 2022 is also set to have the largest ever female and para-sport programme in history.

South Lanarkshire Provost, Councillor Margaret Cooper, said: “On behalf of the people of South Lanarkshire I wish each of our talented athletes the very best for these Games. 

“I can only imagine the dedication, hard work and sacrifice that goes into training for such elite events, and I look forward with great pride to following their progress over the coming fortnight. I know that, like me, communities across South Lanarkshire will be cheering them on every step of the way.” 

Here’s a quick guide to our very own South Lanarkshire nine:

Badminton
Kirsty Gilmour, 28, Bothwell (main image)
A double Olympian, and this year competing in her fourth Commonwealth Games, Kirsty was the youngest ever to compete for Scotland in badminton singles when she was selected for the Delhi squad in 2010 aged just 16. At Glasgow 2014 she also became the first Scottish woman to reach a Commonwealth Games Badminton singles final, winning silver.

Netball
Emma Barrie, 20, Stonehouse
Netball starlet Emma is making her Commonwealth Games debut in Birmingham and hopes to play her part in improving the team’s 9th place finish on the Gold Coast in 2018.

Bethan Goodwin, 23, Cambuslang (below)
Bethan makes her second Commonwealth Games appearance at Birmingham 2022, having competed on the Gold Coast in 2018. She has captained the Scotland Under-17s to Netball Europe silver and Bethan was part of the hugely successful Scotland U21 side who competed in the Netball World Youth Cup 2017 in Gabarone, Botswana.

Niamh McCall, 22, Strathaven
Niamh was the youngest member of the netball team in the Gold Coast 2018 and holds the honour of being the first player born in the 2000s to receive a senior cap in netball, playing against Northern Ireland in the 2016 Celtic Clash. She was also part of the World Youth Cup team that took 8th place in Botswana in 2017.

Triathlon
Grant Sheldon, 27, Hamilton
Former swimmer Grant turned his hand to triathlon a decade ago and will now compete at his third Commonwealth Games in Birmingham. Just some of his honours to date include bronze at the World Junior Championships in 2013 and double gold at the 2016 World University Championships in Nyon, Switzerland. 

Athletics
Carys McAulay, 24, Rutherglen
Carys has been selected for Team Scotland seven years after her silver medal-winning performance in the Commonwealth Youth Games in Samoa in 2015. For Birmingham 2022 she will compete in the women’s 4x400m relay team.

Alexander Thomson, 21, Hamilton (below)
Sprinter Alex is one of a five-strong paralympic athletics squad heading to Birmingham as part of Team Scotland and will be competing in the Men's T38 100m event.

Weightlifting
Jodey Hughes, 39, East Kilbride
Canada-based Jodey returns to Team Scotland for a second Commonwealth Games, having made her debut at Gold Coast 2018, placing 9th in the 58kg category. She took silver in the 55kg event at the British Championships earlier this year and is aiming for medal success in the same category at this summer’s Games. 

Gymnastics
Eilidh Gorrell, 17, Hamilton (below)
St John Ogilvie High school S6 pupil Eilidh has juggled exams with training for her Commonwealth Games debut. However, she is no stranger to international competition, having won silver in the Sandra Clarke Cup in 2018, and competed as part of the national team in the junior competition at Combs-La-Ville in France in 2019.