The Scotsman's Jane Bradley talks Olympics with our sports editor Mark Atkinson
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00:00Good morning, I'm Jane Bradley from the Scotsman News Desk and I'm here today with our sports
00:15editor Mark Atkinson ahead of the official beginning of the Olympics tonight. But first
00:21we're going to take a look at today's front page of the Scotsman. So as you can see here,
00:25we have some lovely pictures of the newly born Barbary macaque monkey Harper, who's
00:31been born at the Blair Drummond Wildlife Park. But our front page is about the latest on
00:37the bin strikes where we've got business and tourism leaders who've written to the government
00:41trying to find a solution to this dispute, which could again see rubbish piling up on
00:46the streets of Edinburgh ahead of the festival. But before the festival kicks off, we've got
00:52the Olympics to think about. So hi, Mark.
00:55Hello, good morning. How are you?
00:58Good, thank you. How are you? Excited about tonight?
01:01I am actually, I am. As you say, the Olympics, the official start. We have had a couple of
01:05events going on in the background over the past 48 hours, but this is when it really
01:10feels like the event is upon us. And opening ceremonies, you either love them or hate them.
01:16I think I love them because I always think there's a sort of, it talks about a country's
01:21history and identity. I remember the London one very fondly indeed. And I suspect the
01:27French will have something up their sleeve tonight for the opening ceremony. Lavish three
01:32to four hour affair, the lighting of the flame. We'll see loads of incredible athletes waving
01:39their flags. And yeah, it kind of gives you the feeling that the Olympics is finally upon
01:44us. It's been a very busy summer of sport. I think the Olympics is in some respects being
01:49put in the shadows by the European Championships for the football of Scotland involved. But
01:54now it's very much here. I'm really looking forward to two weeks of excellent sport.
01:59Absolutely. And do we have any idea what's happening tonight or have they sort of kept
02:03everything under wraps?
02:06They've kept it largely under wraps. I think the Sen is going to be involved, the Stade
02:09de France will be involved. And I'm pretty sure there'll be some nods to French culture
02:15throughout the years. I think it's quite nice having an element of surprise regarding this
02:22because it's a bit like watching, going to the theatre or watching a show. I think it's
02:26got that element to it. So plenty of people will tune in. I think plenty of people will
02:30get the Olympics fever after that. We were having a discussion in our morning conference
02:34about how engaged people are at the Olympics. I think in Scotland, sometimes it takes a
02:40little bit of time to warm up to the Olympics, but potentially an early medal might help
02:45that along for us.
02:47And are we expecting that? And where are we expecting that to come from?
02:51Well, we could get a medal as early as Saturday. Sinead McIntosh, an experienced shooter, could
02:59land gold in Chateauroux, one of the biggest rifle ranges in Europe. She's won Olympic
03:05medals before, so she'll be hoping that she can do so again. And that takes place on Saturday
03:12morning. So we could have a medal by then. We've also got Kiana McInnes in the swimming
03:18going as well on Saturday. I'm not sure she can medal there then, but she's a Scottish
03:24athlete in there. But you're looking probably, if we're being honest, at medals coming later
03:29in the Games. Our biggest athletes in terms of that are Laura Muir, Josh Kerr, who is
03:36a complete superstar right now in the athletics, and Duncan Scott, the swimmer. So that's where
03:43I'm looking at them going potential golds there. But there's always a surprise story
03:47that comes at Olympics. Somebody comes out of the pack that you weren't expecting to
03:52win a medal, and they're actually often the most exciting stories because they've got
03:56a great tale behind them. So fingers crossed we have one of those. And we also have a couple
04:02of amazing athletes saying goodbye, not least Andy Murray, the Scottish tennis star who
04:08will retire after this Games. An incredible career. One of my favourite athletes, potentially
04:14I think the greatest Scottish sportsperson of all time. He plays in the doubles with
04:19Dan Evans. They play a Japanese pairing in their first match. And if Murray loses, that's
04:26him. We'll never see him playing competitive tennis again. So yeah, that's quite an emotional
04:31moment.
04:32What do you predict is going to happen?
04:34Well, he's up against Kai Nishikori, who people might know his name. He won the US Open. He's
04:41actually one of the veteran tennis players. So it's Kai Nishikori, and I believe it's
04:45Taro Daniel, his partner. They're good players. So Murray and Dan Evans, they're probably
04:51famous to win that match, but it won't be that easy. It's also taking place at Roland-Garros,
04:55which is the venue for the French Open. So it's on clay, and you could argue that's Murray's
05:01worst surface, if there is such a thing as a worst surface for one of the best tennis
05:04players in the world. So it won't be easy for Murray, and it'll be emotional. But him
05:09and Dan Evans have played together before, and they've had some very good results. So
05:12I'm hopeful they could go on a run. Can you imagine if Andy Murray in his last ever tournament
05:17went all the way to the final, what excitement that would bring? Let's hope that's the case.
05:22But we're focusing on Murray there. There's loads of athletes to look forward to watching.
05:27I think it's kind of the exact number of Scottish athletes, but there's plenty of them, and
05:32obviously UK interest as well. So it should be a great couple of weeks.
05:36Yeah, absolutely. Well, let's keep our fingers crossed for an early gold at the weekend.
05:39That would be a great start to the Games for us, but we'll have to wait and see what happens.
05:44Indeed.
05:45So thank you very much. So you can read all the latest on the Olympics and today's other
05:52top stories on scotsman.com. You can also follow us on Facebook, X, and Instagram, and
05:58please buy a copy of tomorrow's paper. Thank you, Mark. It's been really nice to speak to you.
06:02Pleasure as always, Jane. Bye for now.
06:09Bye.