Ross Baillie

Ross Baillie (26 September 1977 – 18 June 1999) was a Scottish track and field athlete, older brother of Commonwealth Silver medal winner Chris Baillie. Both his parents were also track and field athletes, father Hugh representing Great Britain at 400m, and mother Sheila being a former Scottish champion at 80m hurdles (superseded by the 100m hurdles since 1968).[1] Deemed by Colin Jackson to be his natural successor in the 110m hurdles event for Great Britain,[2] he died at the age of 21. Fittingly, since his death, the records set by Ross have been broken by his brother.[3]

Ross Baillie
Personal information
NationalityBritish
Born26 September 1977
Glasgow, Scotland
Died18 June 1999(1999-06-18) (aged 21)
Bath, England
Sport
SportRunning / Hurdling
College teamTeam Bath
ClubVictoria Park Athletic Club
Sale Harriers Manchester Athletics Club
Medal record
Representing  Great Britain
Summer Universiade
Bronze medal – third place 1997 Sicily 4x100 metres
World Gymnasiade
Silver medal – second place 1994 Nicosia 200 metres
Bronze medal – third place 1994 Nicosia 4x100 metres

Early years

Attended Clydebank High School,[4] winning the Eric Liddell Memorial Trophy in 1994 and 1995 whilst representing the school at the Scottish Schools Athletics Association (SSAA) Scottish Schools Championships.[5]

He was a member of Victoria Park Athletic Club where he was coached by Bob Sommerville, and later joined Sale Harriers Manchester Athletics Club with whom he competed in English competitions.

Team Bath

Ross moved to Bath to join Team Bath and take advantage of the superior sports facilities at the University of Bath. Here he was coached by Malcolm Arnold, becoming the training partner and flatmate of Colin Jackson.[6]

Achievements
YearCompetitionVenuePositionEventNotes
Representing  United Kingdom and  Scotland
1994 ISF World Gymnasiade Nicosia, Cyprus 2nd 200 m 22.08
3rd 4 × 100 m relay 41.89
1995 European Athletics Junior Championships Nyíregyháza, Hungary 13th (h) 110 m hurdles 14.73
1996 World Junior Championships Sydney, Australia 4th 110 m hurdles 14.01 (wind: +1.8 m/s)
1997 European U23 Championships Turku, Finland 5th 110m hurdles 13.94 w (wind: +2.2 m/s)
4th (h)[7] 4 × 100 m relay 39.99
World Student Games Sicily, Italy Semi-final 110 m hurdles
3rd 4 × 100 m relay 39.23
1998 Commonwealth Games Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia 8th 110 m hurdles 13.85
1999 World Indoor Championships Maebashi, Japan 13th 60 m hurdles 7.69

Death

Following a training session on 16 June 1999 Ross suffered a serious allergic reaction to peanut oil present in a coronation chicken sandwich whilst having lunch with his friend and fellow athlete Mark Foster. Despite being given an adrenalin injection by doctors at the nearby University of Bath he collapsed and failed to regain consciousness before dying due to complications arising from anaphylaxis at Royal United Hospital, Bath at 11am on 18 June 1999.[8] Organs of his, including his heart, were transplanted afterwards.[9]

Tributes

Ross had been in contention for the Great Britain men's team at the 1999 European Cup in Paris, France, but lost out to Tony Jarrett. The event took place the day following his death, with the British team observing a 2-minute silence in his memory and wore black ribbons at the event as a mark of respect. Dwain Chambers dedicated his victory in the 100m event to Ross and continued to wear black ribbons for the remainder of the season.[10] Then at the 2002 European Championships in Munich, Germany, Chambers dedicated another victory to the memory of Ross.[11]

The 110m hurdles event was withdrawn from the programme at the 1999 Scottish Championships the following week. Ross had been due to defend his title against his younger brother.

Legacy

The Ross Baillie Cup is awarded for the winner of the 60m hurdles at the Scottish Indoor Athletics Championships. The trophy was donated by his family, and was won by his brother in 2002 at the Kelvin Hall International Sports Arena in Glasgow.[12]

His friend Mark Foster became patron of The Anaphylaxis Campaign in 2009, stating "I’m thrilled to be a patron for The Anaphylaxis Campaign. A friend of mine died of this terrible condition and I hope to be able to help raise the profile of this wonderful charity who help so many people with life-threatening allergies."[13] He won £10,000 for the Campaign by participating in Who Wants to Be a Millionaire?, broadcast on ITV on 8 September 2009.

References
  1. "Obituary: Ross Baillie". The Independent. 19 June 1999. Retrieved 29 December 2011.
  2. "UK Minister leads tributes to athlete". BBC News. 18 June 1999. Retrieved 29 December 2011.
  3. "Family Silver; Medallist Chris breaks record of dead brother". Daily Mirror. 22 March 2006. Retrieved 29 December 2011.
  4. "Eric Lidell – Frances Barker". Scottish Schools Athletics Association. Retrieved 29 December 2011.
  5. "Athletics: The Family Silver; Memories of tragic Ross as hurdler wins Commonwealth Games medal". Daily Record. 22 March 2006. Retrieved 29 December 2011.
  6. "Jackson takes Baillie under his wing as heir apparent". The Herald. 23 January 1999. Retrieved 29 December 2011.
  7. Competed only in the heat.
  8. "Peanut allergy athlete dies". BBC News. 18 June 1999. Retrieved 29 December 2011.
  9. "Emotional title for Baillie". The Herald. Glasgow. 9 August 1999. Retrieved 21 October 2020.
  10. "Athletics: Britain say it with black ribbons". The Independent. 20 June 1999. Retrieved 29 December 2011.
  11. "Chambers dedicates gold to tragic Scot Ross Baillie". The Scotsman. 8 August 2002. Retrieved 29 December 2011.
  12. "Baillie keeps it in the family". BBC News. 20 January 2002. Retrieved 29 December 2011.
  13. "Mark Foster has become Patron of The Anaphylaxis Campaign". The Anaphylaxis Campaign. Archived from the original on 20 February 2012. Retrieved 29 December 2011.
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