Shirley Webb has lived a rich, varied and colourful life, already having carved out several careers, she has life experiences that could genuinely merit a book!

A quick run-down of a few of Shirley’s achievements: she is professionally trained in dance – ballet, tap and modern; she was a British Masters Champion in springboard and highboard diving; she turned down a place to study at Oxford University, opting instead for Edinburgh, where she earned a B.Sc. Mathematics; she holds Bronze, Silver and Gold Duke of Edinburgh's Awards; she spent a year in Germany training with Bayer Leverkusen Athletics Club; and she played rugby for the Scotland National Development Squad. In her younger years she won regional honours in swimming, hockey and several track and field events.

Now for the memorable ones: she has represented Great Britain throwing the hammer at the Olympic Games (Athens 2004), World Championships, European Championships; and Scotland at two Commonwealth Games (2002 and 2006).  She has won the European Cup for Great Britain, won the British Championships, she currently holds the Scottish Record and is the third furthest British thrower of all time. In 2008 she was headhunted by Sky One to play ‘Battleaxe’ in their revamped version of the sports entertainment show 'Gladiators', catapulting her name into the wider public arena.

Voluntary work

Shirley is a Patron of Meningitis UK – a charity very close to her heart, having herself suffered from viral meningitis. She is a Patron of Dance Kaleidoscope, Youth Dance Theatre and a keen supporter of the Duke of Edinburgh's Award Scheme, she has enjoyed presenting Gold Awards on behalf of HRH Prince Philip at Holyrood Palace. As Athlete Ambassador for the successful Glasgow 2014 Commonwealth Games Bid, Shirley gave presentations in the Caribbean and Sri Lanka. She is one of four people on a panel to choose the logo for the 2014 Commonwealth Games.  Shirley does a vast amount of work promoting sport and healthy lifestyles to children; she is a qualified coach in athletics, diving, gymnastics and trampolining.