Three Scots picked by GB for Virtus Global Games; Sean wins gold in Manchester

Friday 26th May 2023

Steven Bryce celebrates his 1500m win at the Loughborough International in a memorable photo by Bobby Gavin

Para athletics in Scotland will have a strong representation at the forthcoming Virtus Global Games in France next month.

SportExcelUK has announced a team of five athletes to compete in Vichy in an event that is the largest in the world for athletes with an intellectual impairment.

Three of those athletes are Scots and the team leader is our own Steve Doig, the well-known coach whose group is based in Fife.

Selected for France are:

Sam Fernando (Fife AC); Steven Bryce (VP-Glasgow); Matthew Power (Livingston AC); Joel Mattacks (Bath); Faye Olszowka (Bexley)

Congratulations to all the athletes and there coaches and clubs on these selections. Sam and Steven are coached by Steve Doig and Matthew is coached by Celia Peerless.

‘It’s an honour to be asked to work alongside such a talented group of athletes,’ said Steve, who will be supported in the team management by Kevin Manning and Liz Power.

‘Each and every one of them makes a great commitment to the sport and their selection for this event is reward for the hours of work they have put in. I’m excited to see what they can achieve in Vichy.’

Athletes from Europe, America, Asia, Africa, and Oceania will perform across ten main sports, with over 1200 athletes expected. Many athletes who have made their major international debut at the Global Games have gone on to win Paralympic titles – including our own Owen Miller.

SportExcelUK promotes, supports, and facilitates talented sports people in the UK to train, compete and excel in national and international sport.

It is the only official Great Britain member of Virtus is responsible for and manages eligibility and classification across the UK and manages GB Teams to Virtus events.

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Wheelchair racer Sean Frame has had a busy period of road racing in recent weeks.

The Commonwealth Games silver medallist competed in two marathons in less than a week in Boston and London at the end of April

And last weekend he took victory in the Great Manchester Run Wheelchair 10k.

Sean clocked 21.53 in fine conditions to top the podium. England’s Johnboy Smith – who won Commonwealth gold last summer – was beaten into second this time by the Scot.

In the Women’s race in Manchester, there was a third place finish for Aberdeen AAC athlete, Joanna Robertson.

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Tags: Matthew Power, Sam Fernando, Sean Frame, Steve Doig, Steven Bryce, Virtus Global Games