YESTERDAY, we had a rundown of the top Scottish sports men to look out for in 2016; today we look at some of the women who are set to make their mark on the world stage over the next 12 months.
KATIE ARCHIBALD
After the retirement of Sir Chris Hoy, Scottish cycling was looking for someone to replace him as the face of the sport in this country.
Step forward the exceptional Katie Archibald. The 21-year-old experienced a meteoric rise in a sport she only took up competitively in 2011 before, remarkably, becoming European champion two years later.
The Scot is an integral member of Britain’s team pursuit squad alongside the likes of Olympic gold medallists Laura Trott and Joanna Rowsell, and was in the team that became world champions in 2014.
The Brits lost their world title earlier this year but Archibald finished off 2015 in impressive style, winning triple gold at the European Championships.
She is almost guaranteed a place in Team GB for what will be her first Olympics in Rio, such is her form.
It is a notoriously tough ask to win a medal at your first Olympic Games but Archibald is an extraordinary athlete who appears able to defy the odds time and time again so a spot on the podium is, without question, a realistic aim.
LAURA MUIR
It has been a breakthrough year for Laura Muir in 2015.
After a disappointing 2014, the middle-distance runner bounced back in emphatic fashion and had a spectacular season
The-22 year-old veterinary student identified herself as a real world-class performer in June by winning the 1500 metres at the Diamond League meeting in Oslo with a superb run.
She then became the first Scottish woman to break the four-minute barrier for 1500m when she ran three minutes 58.66 seconds in the Monaco Diamond League event.
Muir continued her excellent form at the World Championships in Beijing in August, finishing fifth in the 1500m final and pitting herself superbly against a stellar field.
Muir is currently ranked fifth in the world and has the potential to make a real impact in Rio. She may even snatch a medal.
KATHERINE GRAINGER
Scotland’s most decorated female Olympian had, it seemed, hung up her oars for good in the aftermath of fulfilling her lifelong dream by winning gold at London 2012.
The Glasgow-born rower took a two-year sabbatical following her triumph but announced in 2014 that she was to return.
Grainger had won three Olympic silver medals before finally claiming gold in 2012.
But her hunger was not satiated and she announced that she would go for a fifth Olympic medal in 2016.
Grainger will be 40 in Rio but there is no way that such a fierce competitor would have returned to rowing without possessing the belief that a spot on the podium is achievable.
The first step has already been completed with Grainger and her new double sculls partner Vicky Thornley already having secured their spot in Team GB.
If Grainger can win a fifth Olympic medal in 2016, it would be a remarkable achievement that would surely cement her name in the record books forever.
KIM LITTLE
Scotland does not have many world-class footballers but Kim Little is unarguably one of the few.
The 25-year-old from Aberdeenshire is signed with Seattle Reign but is currently on loan at Melbourne City.Little has had an impressive club career, including being named the 2013 PFA Players’ Player of the Year in England and the Most Valuable Player in the league in her first season in America in 2014, but she is also invaluable to the national team.
Despite Little’s relative youth, she has already amassed 108 caps and has scored 44 international goals.
Scotland are aiming to qualify for the 2017 European Championship and are in pole position at the moment.
They sit top of their group, having won all four of their matches with Little scoring five goals, including a hat-trick against Slovenia.
If Scotland are to make it to the finals, Little’s performances over the next 12 months will be integral to their success.
SALLY CONWAY
The strength of judo in Scotland was highlighted by the glut of medals our competitors won at Glasgow 2014 and sitting top of the pile going into 2016 is Sally Conway.
The 28-year-old is currently ranked seventh in the world in the under-70kg category and has had produced a number of impressive performances over the last year, including, most recently, a victory at the Jeju Grand Prix in South Korea in November which positions her nicely going into Olympic year.Conway was a member of Team GB at London 2012 and went into the Olympics believing that a medal was achievable.
After failing to make the podium, Conway admitted nerves got the better of her but it is this experience that will make her all the stronger at Rio 2016.
If there is one Scottish judo player likely to win an Olympic medal next summer, it is Conway.
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