Welcome
Hello and welcome to my new blog, The Next Chapter. Brief introductions - I’m Jen McIntosh, a former athlete and two-time Olympian. For more than a decade I trained and competed in one of the most obscure, and frankly controversial, sport you’ll ever come across - target shooting. During that time I represented Team Scotland, at three Commonwealth Games, and Team GB at two Olympic Games, winning five medals at the former and zero at the latter.
I retired from international competition in autumn of 2018, tired of the grind and ready to turn the page on that chapter of my life. But even as I started writing the next chapter, I drew on lessons learned during those times to guide me. And as I’ve grown more accustomed to speaking without fear of censure or consequence, I’ve been more comfortable sharing some of those lessons.
It started with the occasional post on Twitter, sharing my views or experiences related to a topic or headline. Some of those spiralled into somewhat in-depth Twitter threads. Though even with a dozen tweets I still never felt I could express my thoughts in their entirety (that character limit is a real killer). My increasingly frequent rants caught the eye of a BBC journalist which led to this article.
It was probably the most honest interview I’d ever given in my life.
The result was an incredibly authentic piece that I am hugely proud of.
And all of it met with positive response - in particular, a post sharing some of my tougher experiences on World Mental Health Day. I was contacted by a 16yr old athlete off the back of that post, thanking me for sharing my experiences because it had made them feel a little less alone. That message meant the world to me. Because if sharing my story could help even one other person, then it was worth all the fear of putting myself out there.
But even after all of it, I find myself with more to share. More to say. And maybe nobody wants to hear it. But if there’s even one person who needs it, then I want to do my bit. Seeing other athletes sharing their stories helped me when things got tough. I feel it’s only right I pass that on.
Here’s the thing. Sport is hardly a perfect environment, but through it I have learned so much - about myself, other people, humanity. Like so many things in this world, it is flawed and so much has been uncovered in recent years. Corruption. Scandal. Abuse. But it has potential to be so much more.
Because the real power of sport lies in its stories. They are the beating heart of its enduring appeal. The underdog defeating the odds. Shared experiences turning rivalry to friendship. Resilience triumphs in the face of adversity. Stories like those capture our imagination, bring us together, show us that anything is possible, inspire us in our darkest moments. They have the power to change lives, to make the world a better place. So as I continue working on this next chapter, I’ll be reliant on those stories to guide me.
I dedicated the best part of a decade to my sport, to writing my own story. During that time I lost more often than I won, learned more about myself than I care to admit, and forged friendships that I will cherish forever. My story isn’t likely to change the world, but if it can influence even one person’s life for the better, then that’s a job well done. So I’ll share what I learned and how that is shaping this next chapter.
