Article by Jed Forson

The image of Team Scotland’s judokas celebrating their success became an iconic image of the games: they were the most successful team after all. But for one member it’s symbolic of a summer that didn’t go to plan, where the cruelty and fragility of life and sport co-existed on a stage he would never reach again.

For Patrick Dawson, Glasgow 2014 cannot be simply defined or expressed by one emotion.

Does he feel immense pride for representing his nation at a home Games? Regret at the missed opportunity at his peak? Perhaps resentment at his teammates’ success? Possibly a mix of all three?

Most athletes competing at the elite level have picked their path from an early age. Whether it is a pushy parent or an aspiring child, they know their goal, perhaps since they could walk.

In this case, Patrick is the exception rather than the rule, not starting Judo until his fifth year of secondary school when he joined a friend, but it was not any regular club he joined, it was one of the fiercest clubs in the UK – Edinburgh Judo Club. Despite his exceptionally late start, Patrick ruled.

He earned his Black Belt within a year, achieved a top five finish at his first world championship, and was the training partner of fellow Scotsman and British judo legend Euan Burton for London 2012. His late start aided him, “It certainly gave me motivation because there were people ahead of where I was and had what I wanted.”

The experience in 2012 was especially beneficial considering the Commonwealth Games in Glasgow were around the corner and he knew the chance to compete at home was rare.

“You don’t get to fight for Scotland very often, it was a huge event for Scotland.”

Entering Glasgow 2014, Patrick was self-admittedly in his prime. Many of his teammates also trained at the Edinburgh club and he had experience of the environment. Despite the pressure that comes with representing the host nation, Patrick was confident that he would win any medal, but especially the gold.

After an early win Patrick faced one of his main competitors, Jan Gosiewski representing England. Victory here would clear the path to the final and in one of his finest victories, Patrick defeated Jan. It all seemed to be going exactly as he planned, “I think then I sort of assumed I was going to win the Commonwealth Games,” says Patrick.

Unfortunately, he suffered a shock defeat to the South African, Jacques van Zyl, and would ultimately finish medal-less after defeat in the bronze medal match.

Ten years on, Patrick attributes complacency and laziness to his underperformance, “I think probably halfway through the day I switched off,” he says.

To make matters worse, sadly his coach suffered a devastating personal loss on the day. On top of this, he did not get to fully experience the cultural event that was Glasgow 2014. The exit and embarrassment of being front and centre without a medal in team photos coupled with the push to qualify for the Olympic Games meant Patrick was back to the tatami.

During his Olympic push, he ruptured his ACL, completely setting him back. More injuries followed and his career was over by 2017. For a late starter in the sport, it felt like it was over in the blink of an eye. He did not watch Rio 2016, it felt too raw. He was pleased for his teammates but felt like he belonged with them. By this point the fire he once had for Judo was gone.

After many years struggling with a lack of identity, he built a career working with those suffering with mental health issues and this solidified not only the need to grow from the past but also how trivial his issues were relative to others. “The importance of it paled into insignificance for me when… people are struggling with more serious issues.”

He recently began coaching again in Oxford with a desire to not just develop the next generation of judokas, but to provide a more balanced environment than the one he had, “I think doing things very differently to the way that judo was for me the first time around.”

Glasgow 2014 may be fondly remembered by many as the best sporting summer Scotland has ever had, inspiring thousands. It may have taken a while – and I am sure he wishes it ended differently. But ten years on it is not the sore spot for Patrick it once was.