Commonwealth Games: Team Scotland takes record number of para athletes to Birmingham 2022

More para athletes will represent Scotland than ever before at the Commonwealth Games, which gets under way in Birmingham on Thursday.

Team Scotland will take part in seven para sports: athletics, basketball, cycling, powerlifting, swimming, triathlon and lawn bowls.

They will take 31 athletes to the sporting extravaganza and have high hopes of returning with a medal haul, having brought home three in 2018.

Lawn bowler Robert Barr is aiming to be on the medal table after a fourth-place finish in the mixed pairs on the Gold Coast.

He said: “My guide Sarah Jane helps me find my way around the green, also in the athletes’ village, on and off transport.

“She’s UK champion for indoor and outdoor bowls, so she has a lot of expertise to support me. We’ve worked together for about five years now, but she’s been involved in visually impaired bowls for a lot longer.

“I was devastated to miss out on bronze at the Gold Coast, not just for me, but for future funding for competitions, as success meets targets.

“To pull on a Scotland shirt for any occasion is superb, it’s even more of an honour to play mixed pairs at Commonwealth Games, and the atmosphere in the village and at events is incredible to experience.”

Birmingham 2022 will feature the biggest ever para programme in Commonwealth Games history, boasting a total of 59 medal events.

The opening ceremony on Thursday night will see Team Scotland decked out in Locharron Mill Tartan, designed by Siobhan McKenzie.