Richard Corsie, one of the most prolific lawn bowls players of all time, excelled both indoors and out and won a string of world pairs and singles titles.

The Edinburgh teenager took the Scottish outdoor junior singles title in 1983 at the age of 16. It was first his major success — but certainly not his last. He went on to win the British Isles junior crown in the same year, and received his first cap for Scotland’s outdoor team in 1984.

Richard was equally strong on the indoor greens, winning the Scottish Junior Championship in 1985 and again in 1989, along with the British Isles junior title. 

He represented Scotland from 1984-2003, during which time he won three Commonwealth medals – bronze in Edinburgh (1986) and Auckland (1990) and gold in Victoria (1994). His triumph in the latter saw him beat his long-time nemesis and friend Tony Allcock in the final.

Richard also took gold in the pairs at the 1992 World Outdoor Championships in Worthing and, four years later, was back on the podium in Adelaide, with silver in the pairs. He won five golds and four silvers in the World Indoor Bowls Championships between 1989 and 2003.

The first of his three world indoor singles titles came in 1989 when he beat his mentor, Willie Wood, in the final in Preston. He repeated his success in 1991 and 1993 and finished second in 1994 and 1995. Two further golds followed in the pairs in 1995 and 1998 before he was again runner-up in the singles in 2002 and 2003.

Richard retired from bowls after his final silver medal, aged 37, and was awarded an MBE the same year.

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