Adventurer Jamie returns to Keills in Olympian bid
Endurance athlete Jamie Ramsay was going to run, cycle and sail from London’s Olympic stadium to the Tokyo 2020 Olympics – then Covid happened, writes Fiona Ross.
When the games were postponed and travel restrictions imposed, Jamie remained undeterred. The Scottish Adventurer of the Year 2016 decided to swap his continent-crossing expedition for a 10,000-kilometre cycle around the UK in support of Team GB.
On May 5 Jamie was under starter’s orders at London’s Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park when double Olympian Helen Glover fired the starting gun and sent him on his way.
With his tiny tent and minimum kit on his bike Jamie set off through Wales, England and Northern Ireland and this week enjoyed a nostalgic visit to Argyll.
Speaking at the shore of Loch na Cille, Tayvallich, Jamie explained the importance of this stretch of his journey.
‘My family owned Keills Farm when I was a child,’ he said, ‘and we spent every summer here swimming, windsurfing and waterskiing. This is where my love of the outdoors began. Keills was the inspiration for my life as an adventurer.’
Jamie has run 17,000 kilometres from Vancouver to Buenos Aires, cycled 4,027 kilometres across Australia, climbed Aconcagua, the highest peak in the southern hemisphere, and run 430 kilometres around the Scottish islands.
In 2016 he received the Scottish Adventurer of the Year and Physical Endeavour titles at the National Adventure Awards.
With the help of his sponsor and Team GB official supplier Whole Earth Jamie hopes to drum up support for British Olympians heading to Tokyo.
He explained: ‘I was so disappointed not to be able to do the journey to Tokyo, but I’ve absolutely loved the opportunity to see more of my own country and to be back in Argyll continuing the adventure.
‘Hopefully this trip will help get the whole country behind the team as they head for Tokyo.’