Out of the many congratulations Ellie Stone received at the Commonwealth Games, perhaps the most unusual was from a field west of Inverness.
Her family were unable to make it to Birmingham to watch her race, and they were instead at Belladrum, the music festival held every summer at Kiltarlity near the Highland capital, watching on from a tent.
Stone, a Highland native herself, was on a high after picking up her first Games medal, winning silver with Aileen McGlynn in the tandem kilo on the first day of competition.
Further success was to come, with Stone and McGlynn reuniting to win bronze in the time-trial race two days later.
Calls from back home made the experience even more heart-warming for Stone, whose experience of tandem-riding was minimal heading into the Games.
“So many people reached out,” said Stone. “It was hard to keep up with all of it, because I wanted to reply to everyone.
“A couple of my family members couldn’t make it because they were at Belladrum, so they sent me a picture of them in the tent watching on the iPad. They said they were supporting me even though they weren’t there.
“I said to them ‘you guys are definitely hungover!’. It was nice though; they weren’t here with me but they were here spiritually.”
Stone had initially hoped to go to the Games as a solo rider, but when it became clear that opportunity might not materialise, the chance to race in the tandem alongside McGlynn became an option.
The Aviemore rider was among a successful north contingent in the cycling team, with Finn Crockett (Strathpeffer), Neil Fachie (Aberdeen) and Neah Evans (Cuminestown) all emerging with medals.
“I really loved the experience and I’m so glad I took that chance on tandem,” she said. “It was more when I was telling my flatmates all the stuff that happened, it was like: ‘wow, that actually happened’.
“You don’t really process it all at the time. You’re there to do a job and live day by day. I went in wanting to win – whether that’s realistic or not, that was a second thought.
“Once I realised we were mixing it with the top tandems there, I thought we could medal.
“I coach a bit of athletics and, when I came back, the group said they’d watched me on TV and that’s a side I didn’t think about. If I have a bad training session, it’s good to have the coaching because that picks me up.
“There’s so many people who saw it that I didn’t expect to. It’s really sweet having that and giving it back to them.”
McGlynn, who won her first major medal at the 2004 Olympics in Athens, proved to be a huge influence on her younger counterpart, as the new partnership delivered the goods on the track.
“Because I had Aileen on the back, who’s got so much experience and so many medals, I felt she was giving me the best chance to get a medal,” she added. “When we got it, it didn’t feel like a huge surprise because Aileen is so good.
“Racing the Australians and getting our silver, because it was my first taste of a major Games, and looking up and seeing myself and Aileen on the big screen, was a wow moment.
“We got boxes to put the medals in and they’re currently on my bookshelf. I feel like I should do something with them.
“My mum has some arty ideas she wants to do with them – I’ll probably take them round to hers, she’ll do something amazing with it and I’ll want them back on my wall!”
This year has been a breakthrough year and then some for Stone, who, still in her early-20s, should have a bright future ahead of her on two wheels.
“I’m just trying to carry the momentum through from this year,” said Stone. “Nothing really happened in 2021, performances weren’t there and I was training but not getting any results.
“I just had to keep telling myself it would come and trust the process. Seeing some of the results this year has definitely helped to boost morale.”
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