Andy Thomson (bowls)
| Personal information | |
|---|---|
| Nationality | Scottish / English |
| Born | 26 November 1955 Fife, Scotland |
| Sport | |
| Club | Bromley (indoor) Blackheath & Greenwich (outdoor) |
Medal record | |
Andrew Edward Thomson MBE[1] is a former international lawn and indoor bowler. Known as Andy Thomson he was born in Fife, Scotland, on 26 November 1955, and represented Scotland before deciding to represent England.
Bowls career
[edit]Thomson won the Buckhaven Club Championship at the age of 16 and one year later was the Fife under-30 champion. In 1978 he won the Scottish junior indoor title. After moving to Kent he claimed the 1981 EBA national singles.[2]
In 1981, he defeated Alan Windsor in the English national national singles.[3]
He represented England at the 1986 Commonwealth Games in the singles, at the 1986 Commonwealth Games in Edinburgh, Scotland.[4][5] Eight years later he partnered Gary Smith in the pairs and they won a bronze medal at the 1994 Commonwealth Games.
In 1993 he partnered Gary Smith as the pair won the World Indoor Bowls Championships pairs title. He had won the 1992 national pairs with Smith the year before.[6] Then in successive seasons he won the 1994 and 1995 World Indoor Bowls Championships men's singles title. In 1996 he was part of the men's fours who won the World Championships in Adelaide, Australia.
In 2008 & 2010 he won the pairs title with Ian Bond[7] and also became World Matchplay champion in 2008. At the WBT 2010 Awards Dinner he was awarded the 'Lifetime Achievement' Award as well as picking up his third World Indoor Pairs title.
In 2012 Andy Thomson won his third World Indoor Singles title, 17 years after his previous success.[8] Three years later he reached the final once more, but was defeated by Alex Marshall.
Thomson spoke out against the new timing clock introduced for the 2013 World Indoor Championships. [9]
He was appointed Member of the Order of the British Empire (MBE) in the 2013 New Year Honours for services to bowls.[10]
In September 2018 Thomson retired from the England indoor team after reaching 114 caps.[11] He later announced his full retirement following his wildcard participation in the 2021 World Indoor Bowls Championship.[12]
Coaching
[edit]Thomson is a tactical coach for Bowls Australia and is part of the coaching team for the 2022 Commonwealth Games.[12]
References
[edit]- ^ Andy Thomson
- ^ Sullivan, Patrick (1986). Guinness Bowls the Records. Guinness Superlatives. ISBN 0-85112-414-3.
- ^ "Andy's title with the last wood". Daily Mirror. 22 August 1981. Retrieved 19 August 2024 – via British Newspaper Archive.
- ^ "1986 Athletes". Team England.
- ^ "Athletes and results". Commonwealth Games Federation.
- ^ "Shoobridge bid for fourth titel foiled". Maidstone Telegraph. 7 August 1992. Retrieved 22 August 2024 – via British Newspaper Archive.
- ^ "Andy Thomson's 'greatest bowl' clinches World Pairs title with Ian Bond". The Telegraph. 10 January 2010. Retrieved 28 August 2024.
- ^ "Andy Thomson wins third World Bowls Championship". BBC Sport. 29 January 2012. Retrieved 27 January 2014.
- ^ "World indoor bowls champion Andy Thomson no fan of clock watch bowls". Eastern Daily Press. 11 January 2013. Retrieved 14 January 2021.
- ^ The United Kingdom:"No. 60367". The London Gazette (1st supplement). 28 December 2012. p. 23.
- ^ "ANDY THOMSON MBE TO RETIRE FROM INTERNATIONAL BOWLS". English Indoor Bowls Association. Retrieved 14 January 2021.
- ^ a b "ANDY THOMSON ANNOUNCES WORLD BOWLS TOUR RETIREMENT". Bowls Australia. 15 January 2021. Retrieved 24 January 2021.
- Scottish male bowls players
- English male bowls players
- Living people
- Sportspeople from Fife
- 1955 births
- Commonwealth Games medallists in lawn bowls
- Commonwealth Games bronze medallists for England
- Bowls World Champions
- Indoor Bowls World Champions
- Bowls players at the 1986 Commonwealth Games
- Bowls players at the 1994 Commonwealth Games
- Members of the Order of the British Empire
- Medallists at the 1994 Commonwealth Games