MAGGIE MacNeil made her country proud when she became Canada’s first gold medallist of the Tokyo Olympic Games yesterday.
The 21-year old was victorious in the 100m butterfly final, charging back into the lead in the second half after staying in seventh place until the turn.
Seeing the swimming champion bring home the gold was a fantastic moment for many in Canada – but across the Atlantic there were others watching closely.
Maggie’s family are well-informed about their Barra ancestry and have traced back relatives for generations, to the legendary Rory “Piper” MacNeil, born in 1700 and several generations beyond. The long line of MacNeils was recently documented for an episode of Coast exploring Scotland’s historic connections to North America.
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As Maggie, who was born in China, received her gold medal yesterday, her uncle Vince – who co-runs a Facebook page helping people to trace their ancestry to the Isle of Barra – excitedly posted online: “My niece, Maggie MacNeil, number one in the world." Vince has been keenly updating fellow Barra history researchers about his niece's success in the sporting world.
Vince explained that six generations ago, James MacNeil (Maggie’s great-great-great-great grandad) was a resident on now-uninhabited Hellisay prior to emigration to Nova Scotia.
Maggie's grandmother is descended from two of the first four MacNeils to found Iona, a village in Nova Scotia named after the Scottish island, in 1802.
Distant Scottish relatives sent in their congratulations to MAggie following her 100m butterfly win, completed in 55.59 seconds.
“Congratulations from Scotland and your distant relatives here!” wrote Peter McDonald, who also described Maggie as a “true Hebridean Viking”.
“Listened on the radio, it was so exciting and so, so pleasing to hear of Maggie's great achievement,” wrote Anna McCrae. “Thank you Maggie for honouring our Barra MacNeils.”
“Watched it live last night, her reaction to winning was superb! She couldn’t believe it. I had no idea she had island connections, what a brilliant achievement for her,” added Roddy MacKay.
"Not just Canada delighted with Maggie MacNeil's win," tweeted SNP MP Angus MacNeil, who represents Na h-Eileanan an Iar. "A corner of Scotland delighted too."
MacNeils from America to Australia also chipped in to send their congratulations to the 21-year-old.
Maggie’s reaction to winning the gold was shared widely by sporting fans online. As she wears glasses but doesn’t put in contacts for the pool, it took a minute for her to read the results from the board.
“I was just trying to squint and see where I came,” she told journalists. “I heard my name called so I knew I must have done something good.”
Upon realising her victory, Maggie mouthed “oh my god” and hugged competitor Sarah Sjöström of Team Sweden.
Maggie’s silver and gold will now join the three medals she secured at the 2019 world championships.
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