Thanks for the memories, Beth, and best wishes for future
Beth Dobbin and team-mates Nicole Yeargin, Jill Cherry and Zoey Clark celebrate medal success in Birmingham 2022 (photo by Bobby Gavin)
BBC Scotland website news story
Olympian, Commonwealth Games medallist and Scottish Record holder Beth Dobbin has announced her retirement from the sport.
The Doncaster-raised sprinter, now 31, cited a ‘serious and life-changing health issue’ as the reason behind her decision to step away from the track.
Beth was always hugely proud to represent Scotland and was part of the quartet who memorably won bronze at the 2022 Commonwealth Games in the Women’s 4x400m.
A brilliant run of 22.50 stands as our Women’s 200m Record and that came during a purple patch couple of years when missing the 2018 Games in Gold Coast by a fraction of a second became a distant memory.
Beth represented Team GB in the 200m at the Tokyo Olympics and ran for GB and NI at two World and European Athletics Championships.
Everyone at scottishathletics would like to thank Beth for her significant contribution to Scottish women’s sprinting and wish her all the very best for the future.
Beth at the 2022 Commonwealth Games in Birmingham (photo by Bobby Gavin)
In many of her dealings with those in the sport and in the media, Beth proved a class act on and off the track.
Here’s two short anecdotes which maybe paint more of a picture of Beth . . .
*When she broke the Scottish Women’s 200m Record for the first time, after 34 years, Beth’s performance drew huge admiration on our social media channels.
One of the very first to post her congratulations in the comments section was none other than Sandra Whittaker – the erstwhile Record holder. Pretty sure there was then a warm connection between two fine sprinters from different eras (Sandra having raced at the Edinburgh 86 Commonwealth Games) thereafter #SALtogether.
*Deep inside the Alexander Stadium as the 2022 Birmingham Commonwealth Games drew to a close, Beth was a member of the Team Scotland quartet who finished fourth in the Women’s 4x400m Relay race. And conducted polite interviews thereafter.
Half an hour or so later, with the England team DQ announced, those interviews had to be repeated with a very different, bronze medal theme. What sticks very much in the mind is Beth’s heartfelt concern for the England athletes who had lost out. Classy.
Photo by Mark Shearman
On a social media post, Beth said: ‘I feel very proud of my journey in particular. From never getting close to making teams as a junior, to breaking through as a 24-year old – not often seen in sprints.
‘I’ve always been proud of my background – being born in Doncaster and having Scottish heritage. I hope I’ve managed to do both proud during my career.
‘There isn’t space to list the highs I’ve experienced. But breaking a 34-year-old Scottish Record, and doing so multiple times, holds a special place.
‘As does my British title and going on to represent my country at three Euros, two Worlds, a Commonwealth Games and an Olympics.
‘I may not be leaving the sport with an Olympic medal, but I’m leaving with many dreams fulfilled, more than I ever thought I was capable of.’
That social post announcing her decision was entitled ‘A Love Letter to Athletics‘. That passion burned brightly often over a number of years.
Beth racing at the 2022 World Champs in Oregon (photo via British Athletics/Getty Images)
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Tags: Beth Dobbin, Birmingham 2022
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