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Dundee track sprinter, Kevin Stewart won the Sprint gold medal in the Scottish Championships at Meadowbank at the weekend, beating Bruce Croall 2-0 in the final.
The title was the 19 year old’s second piece of good news this month. A fortnight ago his place was confirmed in the Delhi Commonwealth Games bound Team Scotland.
Stewart achieved the Delhi qualifying time a year ago after finishing seventh in the Sprint at the World Junior Track Championships in Moscow where he broke the British junior record. His time of 10.34 seconds still stands as the fastest time for a British under 18 year old.
“It was great to be selected, good to know that all my work and dedication has paid off,” said Stewart, who will ride the Team Sprint in Delhi. “Now I've got to work even harder before the Games to do the best I can.”
Stewart has already worked hard this summer as a full time cyclist based at the World Cycling Centre in Switzerland. Coached there by American Andy Sparks, and with all distractions put to one side, he has accumulated three months of training without any distractions.
“My aim this year was to be able to train as hard as I could and it’s amazing to be totally focused on cycling,” he said.
“Obviously if you have that mentality and that lifestyle you are going to see improvements, so it's been perfect.”
Stewart has only been a cyclist for four years. From a background of swimming and triathlon, the latter he describes as ‘not being my forte’, he tried cycling at the Discovery Junior Club. He was instantly hooked and has since risen steadily through the ranks.
Helping Stewart make 
a smooth transition through the sport since 2006 is the Tayside & Fife Institute of Sport (TFIS), part of sportscotland’s area institute network which focuses on preparing Scotland’s best athletes to perform on the world stage by providing high performance expertise.
Alan Sinclair (pictured with Kevin above) has been his Strength & Conditioning Co-ordinator since the start. Maggie Hendry is his physiotherapist.
The ultimate aim of his S&C programme is to maximise strength and explosive power in his legs through basic squatting exercises, and to build general upper body and core strength and stability to allow him to transfer this strength and power effectively whilst on the bike.
“The TFIS have helped me a great deal with Strength & Conditioning, physiotherapy and on the medical side,” said Stewart.
“Strength and conditioning is an essential part of my training and racing, and the TFIS have been a huge help. I couldn't have done it without them.”
