Gold medallist Scott hopes to encourage girls to stay in sport after MBE honour
The 25-year-old rower from Coleraine in Northern Ireland was part of the Team GB women’s quadruples sculls crew that won at the Paris 2024 Olympics.
Northern Ireland’s Olympic hero Hannah Scott spoke of her desire to encourage young girls to stick with sport as she reflected with pride at being made an MBE.
The gold medal winning rower from Coleraine was part of the Team GB women’s quadruples sculls crew that triumphed in Paris during the summer, passing the Netherlands boat with the last stroke of a dramatic final at the Vaires-sur-Marne Nautical Stadium.
Her crewmates Lauren Henry, Lola Anderson and Georgie Brayshaw have also become Members of the Order of the British Empire in the New Year Honours.
Scott’s gold medal was the first won by a Northern Ireland female athlete for more than 50 years, as she emulated Mary Peters’ success for GB in the pentathlon at Munich in 1972.
Her victory came during a Games of unprecedented success for Northern Ireland, with the region claiming four gold medals in total.
Swimmer Jack McMillan also topped the podium for Team GB while fellow swimmer Daniel Wiffen and gymnast Rhys McClenaghan won golds for Team Ireland.
Scott, who learned to row at Bann Rowing Club in Coleraine, but is now based in Maidenhead in England, said she hoped being made an MBE provided further proof to young girls about what can be achieved through sport.
“I’m proud, it’s a very nice surprise,” she told the PA news agency.
“I didn’t realise starting from a young age that rowing would be something that would lead me to such honours.
“But I guess it just shows that you’ve just got to follow what you love. And, for me, that was sport.
“And hopefully more young girls can realise that there’s actually some legitimacy in doing sport, especially growing up and staying within whatever they’re passionate about, whether that be volleyball, hockey, rowing or running.
“It can lead you down some really cool journeys and paths and that’s what I’ve been experiencing. And hopefully it just shines as a symbol of ‘just love what you do’ and hopefully it can repay you in rewards and everything like that.”
Scott is passionate about inspiring teenage girls to persevere with sport, amid evidence that many choose to walk away in those years of their lives.
“I really want to just make sure that young girls, especially teenagers, are in a position to feel supported in sport,” she said.
“I’m trying to break a few paths and trying to create new ones for young girls from Northern Ireland to stay in sport, because that’s something that I think was lacking for me growing up.
“I’ve had to break a lot of barriers to get where I am today. And hopefully now people, especially young women, can look and think, ‘well, maybe I could do the same’.
“And they should think that – that’s the whole point.
“There’s a lot of stats showing how many young girls, especially teenagers, drop out of sport, and I feel very passionate about keeping them in it, because sport is where I’ve learned all my life lessons and it has taught me the best of my skills, from working with people and being able to chat to anyone and being able to push myself and work hard and realise that the graft is what gets you there.
“I think all those things are so important, especially now in the digital age where everything’s online and on phones.
“I just drives me more to get people into sport, because I just think, especially with social media, there’s such a big mental health crisis going on, and sport is the way out of it in many ways.”
Scott also spoke of her love for Northern Ireland, particularly Coleraine – a town that saw large crowds gather to watch her final during the summer and attend a subsequent homecoming celebration for the Olympic star.
She described rowing as a sport that has successfully transcended Northern Ireland’s traditional community divides.
“I’m proud of Northern Ireland, I’m proud of where I’ve come from,” she said.
“It’s not a political thing, it’s about literally the area I’ve grown up in.
“And, for me, that’s what Bann Rowing Club was for me – it was a cross-community club, and that’s why I’m so proud to put rowing on the map because this sport has brought so much to my life, especially coming from Northern Ireland.
“It’s bridging divides and it’s bridging communities together that I didn’t realise was very unconsciously being done when I was growing up.
“And now I’m so proud of that to see how it’s come to fruition at this point in my life, with all my friends from all the schools, and not just one school. That’s why I’m so proud to be from Coleraine.”
Scott, who also rowed for Princeton University in the United States, said the sight of Lady Mary Peters at her homecoming event in Coleraine was a “pinch me moment” as she described the “privilege” of now being compared to Northern Ireland’s original golden girl.
“She set the bar that it could be done,” Scott said of Lady Mary’s win in 1972.
“It was very much like in the clouds and in the sky for me, like I never thought, ‘Oh, I’m going to do that’. But it was my dream.
“And there was someone who had done that before, so it was definitely slightly possible – that’s the only way I would describe it.”
She added: “I’m very, very honoured to have myself put up beside her now, because that’s the woman that everyone knows in Northern Ireland for her sporting achievements and her legendary status. So, it’s a pleasure and a privilege.”
Scott, who intends to announce in the new year whether she will make another bid for Olympic glory in 2028, singled out her parents, Sharon and Mal, and her former coach at Bann, Geoff Bones, as the key people behind her sporting success. She also paid tribute to her coaches at Princeton and Team GB.
“It’s a nice way to finish out the year definitely,” she said of the honour.
“But I think it doesn’t change who I am. It’s three letters at the end of my name but, for me, it’s more about the recognition for everyone around me as well.”
She added: “It’s quite cool to see that there’s recognition on the end of my name, but really it’s for everyone else to be honest, because it doesn’t change who I am. It doesn’t change who I’m around, and I’m very, very clear about that.
“It’s very nice to be recognised but, at the end of the day, I’m still Hannah.
“I think it’s just a very nice way to finish out the year, for sure. But I wasn’t expecting it.”
