Marsaili MacAulay’s gold medal triumph at National Championships

A young swimmer from Benbecula has taken three medals at the Scottish Disability Sport National Championships in Grangemouth.

Marsaili MacAulay had never taken part in a major competition before, but the twelve year old swimmer didn’t let debut nerves hold her back, telling Am Pàipear: “I was a bit nervous at first, but the adrenaline helped push me on and I think I put in one of my best performances. It was really good to be part of the event and to meet the other competitors in the Highlands & Islands team.”

Marasaili won the Junior Female Class 25m Freestyle Gold Medal, the Junior Female 25m Backstroke Gold Medal and the Junior Female 25m Breastroke Bronze Medal.

Scottish Disability Sport (SDS) is the Scottish governing and co-coordinating body of all sports for people with a physical, sensory or learning disability. SDS supports a wide range of athletes and its members have been hugely successful at past Paralympic Games, taking home 17 medals across 12 sports at the Rio Games.

Marsaili now says she has a taste for competition and is hoping to attend the next Championships in April. With support from SDS, she may well be setting her sights higher still.

Marsaili’s parents Mairi and Donald John are hugely proud of her success, but brothers Alasdair and Ailean are keeping her feet on the ground, as is her Labrador Taffy.