BIG BOTTLE OF GINGER
HER coach calls her a GWA – a Ginger With Attitude – and she could be the first Scot on the podium at the Gold Coast.
But Charlotte McShane will do so with an Aussie flag around her shoulders rather than a saltire.
The triathlete, 27 – born in Wick, raised in Helensburgh and educated at Glasgow’s School of Sport – has become one of Australia’s superstars in the sport since she moved Down Under with her folks at 15.
The former Under-23 world champ, who spends half her racing year with coach Jamie Turner in Spain’s Basque country, told Record Sport: “I try to go back to Scotland pretty much every year. I still have a lot of family there.
“My immediate family are all coming to watch this week, they live in Australia. But I have a couple of close friends from Scotland who are making the trip over just to watch me.
“I moved in 2005 but had actually started triathlon in Scotland. I did my first race when I was seven.
“Obviously in Scotland its a bit different to here because of the weather. It was great for me to have it when we came though because it helped me adjust to life instantly.
“One of the first things that happened when I walked into my school was everyone asking what sport I played.
“So it was great to fit into the community so quickly doing triathlon.”
Kiwi coach Turner has nurtured his protege from a long-course triathlete into the ITU machine she has become.
He said: “I had seen her do the long course as a youngster and she qualified for the Australian elite team at that level but she was woeful!
“She had some real aggression and spirits though. She was GWA, a Ginger With Attitude, and we targeted her because we thought she had the capacity to do the ITU series and her talent was being wasted.”