'I didn't feel I had any big targets left' - Inverness Commonwealth Games athlete Jamie Bowie on his early retirement
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WHEN the desire to compete went, Jamie Bowie knew it was time to call it a day.
Announcing his retirement from athletics last week at the age of just 28, he reached a crossroads where something had to give.
His burgeoning side projects, coupled with his new role as Scottish Gymnastics’ performance manager, left him feeling like he was spreading himself too thin.
Throw into the mix a lack of “tangible targets”, it was a difficult and emotional decision to make – but ultimately the right one.
“Athletics has been my love for so many years but I just wasn’t sure I wanted to carry on doing it,” he said. “It needs to be your first love if you’re going to compete on the world stage.
“I was disappointed in the decision not to send a team to the European indoor championships. That would have given me some direction.
“You put so many hours into training, to be faster, stronger and more powerful. But all of that is for a purpose: to compete at a championship.
“I didn’t feel there were any big targets left on my radar. I still feel I have a 45-second lap in me but not the drive I had before to make it happen.
“I took a fair amount of time to think about it but I’m comfortable that it’s the right one.”
In some ways, it was a call a long time in coming. Inverness-born Bowie mulled it over last year but elected to return to the sport, after a short break, and took Scottish indoor silver in January this year.
While some sportspeople can struggle to cope without the buzz of competing, Bowie does not sound like someone who will be dragged down the path of boredom.
He has his personal athletics coaching, through the Team East Lothian club in Edinburgh, his work with Scottish Rugby’s Performance and BT Academy programmes, and he will head to Gold Coast 2018 with the country’s gymnastics squad.
A former Inverness Harrier, Bowie has significant experience of international competition to pass on. He won European under-23 team gold in the 4x400m with Great Britain in 2011 and was the first Harrier to take a world medal, being part of the team that won silver at the World Indoor Championships in Poland in 2014.
That preceded another crowning moment: representing his country at a home Commonwealth Games in 2014. Bowie was part of the Scotland team that came fifth in the 4 x 400m relay final and set a national record.
“It was a pretty special time and to be honest, I was spoiled in those 12 months in terms of what I achieved,” he said. “Hopefully I can pass that on to the gymnastics squad from my experience on the world stage.”
Bowie’s role with Scottish Gymnastics will be more managerial than coaching, ensuring the right support network is in place off the mat to facilitate a successful Games Down Under.
The men’s team picked up a medal in Glasgow three years ago and a repeat is the minimum target ahead of 2018.
“I’ll essentially be working invisibly behind the scenes to make sure nothing goes wrong and those who make the team, and the coaches, get as much support as they need.”
Bowie made his international debut as a 16-year-old over 400m in the 2005 British Schools International while coached at Inverness Harriers by Charlie Forbes.
His first Scottish senior international came indoors in the 2008 Celtic Cup in Cardiff and a big improvement into 2009 saw him win Scottish championship silver. He became Scottish indoor champion the following year when his other honours included silver in the French indoor championships as a student in Paris.
In November 2014 he resigned his life membership of Inverness Harriers and joined Team East Lothian, when the local club was unable to meet his request for part payment of his coach Piotr Haczek’s fees.
Financially the sport was always a struggle and the former Inverness Royal Academy pupil did not feel like he was getting a return for his investment, not just of money but time too.
While that affection for performing at the highest level has waned, the love of coaching has more than filled the gap.
Bowie speaks with a sense of genuine excitement at watching one of his protegés, Cameron Steven, picking up medals at the Scottish and English under-20 Championships this season.
“I still have a passion for sport and performance,” said Bowie. “I know how hard it can be and how dark moments can get.
“I’ve found I’m definitely more nervous as a coach than I was when I was competing. I’m not in control; I was able to control any nerves I had on the start-line.
“It’s quite frustrating sitting on the sidelines or in the stands, not being able to do anything.
“But I want to be that person, as a supporter or on the coaching side of things, that can help them achieve their goals.”
That is a sentiment coaches the world over will undoubtedly share.
