Glasgow 2026: Bowls cult hero Alex Marshall would love to repeat his famous celebration as niece joins team

Incredibly, this will be the durable Tattie’s eighth Games but what’s different this time is that he’ll have his niece alongside him in the team. “It's her first Games, so I'm really, really excited to see how Beth performs,” says Marshall. “I've got every confidence that she'll do well.”

At 23, Beth Riva is 36 years his junior and could be described as a chip off the old block. The sport was part of her upbringing in Gifford, the East Lothian village where Gorgie boy Marshall settled. She had a bowling ball in her hand almost as soon as she could walk and Gifford Bowling Club soon became a home from home.

“All my immediate family play,” says Riva. “I've always been surrounded by it, growing up at the bowling club. And watching my uncle's success around the world.

Took up bowls aged six or seven

“I was born and raised in Gifford and the bowling club's a huge part of our community. I decided to take up the sport as soon as I was able to hold a bowl, really. Six or seven years old. I’ve loved it ever since.”

Riva will compete in the ladies pairs with Caroline Brown while her uncle will be in the men’s pairs with long-time sidekick Paul Foster. Marshall and Foster have already struck gold together four times in the Commonwealth Games, in the pairs in 2006 and 2014 and in the fours in 2014 and 2018.

It was against England in the pairs semi-final 12 years ago that Marshall delivered his famous clenched fist salute and secured his status as Glasgow 2014’s cult hero. It was a spontaneous gesture, as emotion, relief and joy came rushing to the surface. He had just delivered what he reckoned to be the best two bowls of his life to defeat England’s Andrew Knapper and Sam Tolchard. The pair are pals of Marshall’s but there was no room for sentiment at Kelvingrove, the magnificent venue for the 2014 bowls.

England had been leading 15-14 going into the final end but Marshall’s double dose of brilliance turned it around to give Scotland a 16-15 victory and a place in the final against Malaysia which the Scots subsequently won.

His playing partner Foster summed it up at the time: “I said: ‘If there’s one man that can draw that in, then Alex can’. They were the best two bowls I have seen in my life.”

Feels like yesterday

“It just feels like yesterday, to be honest,” reflects Marshall. “When you think back to all the celebrations, and the crowd, and just the people from Glasgow, they gave us so much support from start to finish.

“And to play two bowls like what I did, especially when I was against the auld enemy, England - a rivalry, but two good friends. We were kind of up against it for the majority of the game and we had to hang in and hang in. And we just held on long enough at the end to play these two bowls which I’ll probably never ever play again, but I produced the goods at the right time. And that's what you've got to do at these games. You've got to go out and forget what's behind you. It's just a case of going out and just giving it your best shot.”

Marshall, who also linked up with Foster, David Peacock and Neil Speirs to win gold in the fours at Glasgow 2014, was part of Scotland’s most successful Commonwealth Games team. They won 53 medals in total, including 19 golds, and there was an open-top parade to celebrate with kids cheering for Marshall and mimicking his celebration.

The bowls will be going indoors this year. The Scottish Event Campus (SEC) is the host venue and while Kelvingrove will be a tough act to follow, at least there will be no concerns about the weather.

Marshall, now 59 and with seven Commonwealth Games under his belt, remains a fierce competitor. In terms of gold medals won, his tally of five puts him out in front as Scotland’s most successful athlete, one ahead of the great Allan Wells.

“I still want to win, and I'm still probably playing pretty well,” Marshall says. “It's what I've always done, so age is no barrier for me. As long as you're fit and you're well and you can still produce the goods, then I'm happy.”

“I've always said that silver and bronze would be nice, but my target is always a gold medal, and that's the one everybody wants. We'll be one of the favourites to actually win it. So, it's all in the day, really.

“I've won the gold two or three times with Paul before, so we know each other's games inside out. We're the best of friends, so there's good camaraderie between the two of us. I think that definitely helps in a partnership.”

As for the celebration, Marshall has no regrets and would love the opportunity for a reprise.

“It was maybe not the normal everyday celebration,” he says. “But if you look at the football players, if they score a goal in the last minute, in injury time, they're not just going to pick the ball out the net and walk back to the centre circle. Maybe I overdid it a little bit. But who knows, in a few weeks' time, if I'm in the final, you never know, I might just do it again!”