Commonwealth Games 2022: Alex 'Tattie' Marshall ready for seventh Games
- Published
Alex Marshall's iconic celebration came amid huge tension at the Glasgow 2014 Games
Birmingham 2022 Commonwealth Games |
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Hosts: Birmingham Dates: 28 July to 8 August |
Coverage: Watch live on BBC TV with extra streams on BBC iPlayer, Red Button, BBC Sport website and BBC Sport mobile app |
When asked to pick his favourite memories over his previous six Commonwealth Games, Alex 'Tattie' Marshall goes exactly for the one you might expect.
It's not the moment he surpassed Allan Wells as Scotland's most-decorated Games athlete, nor is it claiming any other of his five gold medals for that matter.
Instead it's the now iconic celebration at the end of the tense lawn bowls pairs semi-final win against England in Glasgow eight years ago.
The 'get it up ye' gesture earned him a slap on the wrist from the powers that be, who misinterpreted it as being aimed at someone in particular, but the pure emotional release resonated with people and became the defining image of Scotland's Games.
"It was maybe a bit too much - but I wouldnae change it for anything," Marshall says in the clubhouse at Gifford, East Lothian, where the legendary Willie Wood, now in his eighties, still tends the greens.
"I've replayed it back so many times, because especially with the Games coming up, it gets you going again."
After being under the cosh for most of the last four encounter with the Auld Enemy, Marshall played two shots which he describes as his best ever to dig them out of a hole.
It encapsulated everything fans want to see in a sporting contest. Skill, grit, determination, and passion at the end, all from men who don't look like stereotypical athletes.
Marshall's status as a man of the people is something he prides himself on, or rather, he's just himself. Nor does he see himself as a figurehead for the Scottish team, with his seventh Games on the horizon.
"I'm just one person competing for a medal like everyone else," he says. "But I am recognisable now and I have a good stature in the sport.
"Twenty-one world titles, five gold medals and a silver at the Commonwealth Games - you do get recognised. People stop and speak to you in the street and I'm always happy to give them the time of day."
Marshall, 55, has become a reassuring presence for Team Scotland over the course of the last 28 years since making his debut in 1994 in Victoria, Canada. Tattie's in the team. Tattie wins medals.
So could this one be his last? Is a successful era drawing to a close?
Rubbish. After spending 10 weeks in Australia honing his game at the start of the year, and losing a couple of stone recently, Marshall feels as good as he has in years at the age of 55.
He says he'll go on as long as he's still competing with the best. In Scottish terms he is the best. Nobody has more Commonwealth medals, although the likes of Neil Fachie and Duncan Scott could overtake him in Birmingham.
"I'd like to wish these guys all the best and hope they do bring back medals," he says. "It'll not be in my mind. If they happen to pass me, then congratulations.
"It's because of our sport we can play from five to 75, 85, so I'm going to keep going as long as I can.
"When you get the nod, or told via email or face-to-face, you just feel the goosebumps on your arms. I was going to say hair standing up on the back of your neck, but I don't get that any longer. But it's a great feeling and it gets more special with age."
Marshall will once again compete alongside his friend, and four-time gold medallist Paul Foster in the pairs and fours.
The greens at Leamington Spa, where the competition runs throughout the fortnight, are very familiar to the whole team, and Marshall's wife Diane will be there for the duration. It all adds up to an enticing prospect.
The competition, as ever, though, will be fierce with teams from the other home nations and Australia and New Zealand all vying for medals.
"It's always good to get any colour of medal because the competition is quite stiff. It's going to be very tough," he says.
"I probably feel as good as I've felt in a while. I'm really buzzing about Leamington, it's going to be like a home games. I'm ready to put on a good performance hopefully and bring back a couple of gold medals."