Crowd favourite Nathan Macqueen wins archery gold at Paris 2024

By Milly McEvoy at Les Invalides

Nathan Macqueen brought half of Scotland to Paris to watch him win team compound gold.

The para-archer teamed up with Jodie Grinham to clinch victory at Les Invalides, the pair beating Iran 155-151 in the final in front of a roaring crowd of family and friends, including Macqueen's 90-year-old Gran.

And with his son Casey also in the crowd cheering his dad on, Macqueen revealed that every sacrifice finally fell into place when he was atop of the Paralympic podium.

“It’s pure relief," he said. "This is my third Games, and I hadn’t medalled before.

"We are both parents now and there is a lot of sacrifice being a high-performance athlete, being away from your children.

"Those are the hardest bits, but this has made it all worth it, I can finally give my wee boy a medal.”

Macqueen finished sixth in the same event at Tokyo, but it was his individual performance that left him coming away from the Land of the Rising Sun feeling like he had a point to prove.

Turns out, all Macqueen needed was his family in the crowd to drive up the decibel levels at Les Invalides and spark an ambition within to win gold for the other half of Scotland that evidently stayed at home.

"I was in Tokyo and there was nothing," he said. "It was eerie. It wasn’t very nice at all. To come here and have 8000 people is a stark difference because I love it. I’ve got half of Scotland here with me.

“It probably made me a bit more emotional because my Gran is out, my 90-year-old Gran. My son, my wife, they’re all out and to be able to do it in front of them is just amazing."

Grinham became the first-ever Paralympian to win a medal whilst pregnant with individual bronze earlier in the week before adding gold to sweeten the deal alongside Macqueen.

Elsewhere, Gordon Reid looked in total control as he beat Japan’s Takuya Miki 6-1 6-1 to set-up a wheelchair tennis singles quarter-final with fourth seed, Argentina’s Gustavo Fernandez.

“It was going to be a step up from my first match and I’m just really happy with that performance,” said Reid, who didn’t drop a game in his previous encounter.

“I’m feeling really good and really comfortable, I’ve got great support from my friends and family, and they are driving me forward.”

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