OIympic heroes dismiss Connery`s wish for a Scottish team
26-Aug-2008 • Actor News
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Scotland's greatest-ever Olympian said he was proud to be a Scot - and proud to be a Brit, too.
Triple Beijing gold medallist Chris spoke out after calls from Alex Salmond and actor Sean Connery for Scotland to go it alone at the Olympics.
He said: "I was proud to represent Scotland in the Commonwealth Games.
That's something I will always cherish.
"Scotland is part of Britain - they are not mutually exclusive. I'm a proud Scot and I'm a very proud Brit as well."
Chris added that if Scotland ever were to become an Olympic nation, much more investment would be needed to provide proper facilities.
And the cycling legend took the opportunity to underline his backing for the campaign to save Edinburgh's Meadowbank velodrome, where he trained as a youngster and which is set to be demolished.
Before he left Beijing, Chris had been even more critical of the Olympic proposals by the Scottish government.
He said: "For him (Scottish sports minister Stewart Maxwell) to call for a Scottish Olympic team at this stage is ridiculous.
"I wouldn't have three gold medals hanging round my neck if Iwasn't part of the British team.
Former James Bond star Connery, back in Scotland to launch his memoirs at the Edinburgh Book Festival, backed the go-it-alone proposal, though.
The longtime SNP backer, who was 78 yesterday, said: "Scotland should always be a stand-alone nation at whatever, I believe."
First Minister Alex Salmond offered to meet Chris to discuss his government's proposals.
A Scottish government spokesman said: "As we invest in world class sports infrastructure to host Glasgow 2014 - including a new national velodrome - we can also build up the level of Scotland's sporting ambitions for the future.
"We look forward to discussing all of these issues with Chris Hoy, and Scotland's entire sporting community, so that we can build on the fantastic success our athletes achieved.
He added: "We hear Chris's remarks about the sports facilities we have in Scotland at this stage.
"But as we prepare for Glasgow 2014 we are moving towards significantly better infrastructure which can form the basis of even higher Scottish ambitions for the future in relation to the Olympics and a Scottish team."
Labour's sports spokesman Frank McAveety accused the First Minister and the SNP of using the Olympics as a "political football".
He said: "If Alex Salmond stopped to listen to sportsmen and women from Scotland he would realise there is no support for a separate Scottish Olympic team.
"It is typical of the SNP that in the wake of Team GB's fantastic performance in Beijing that rather than attempting to build on that success, the SNP's obsession with independence means they are trying to use sport as a political football to divide us from the rest of the UK.
"The SNP have not offered any extra funding, and the facilities he talks about will not be ready until two years after the London Olympics have been held."
Labour leadership contender Cathy Jamieson also joined the attack.
She said: "Most Scots are rightly proud of what was achieved and the contribution made by Scots athletes.
"It's pathetic and predictable that the immediate response from the SNP is to call for the break-up of that successful team.
Alex Salmond knows that a separate Olympics team would require independence and he just trying to further an unpopular policy on the back of the success of Team GB.
"The vast majority of Scots support Team GB. Even triple gold medal winner Chris Hoy says he is opposed to the idea of a separate Scottish Olympics team."
Rival contender Andy Kerr also hit out saying: "Let's be clear - the SNP are putting self-interest before the sporting interest.
"They are playing petty politics with Scottish sportsmen and women. We must protect our athletes by ending this nonsense of a separate Scottish team for the Olympics. Let us celebrate the GB Olympic team and the Scottish Commonwealth team."
Tory spokesman Gavin Brown accused the SNP of turning the Olympic success into Nationalist sour grapes.
He said: "Now is the time for us to congratulate them all but instead, Alex Salmond is abusing the successful performances of Scotland's athletes to push his own separatist agenda.
"He should listen carefully to what the athletes are saying."
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