Iain Donald Smith McLean (born 8 October 1983) is a Scottish international

lawn bowler Bowls, also known as lawn bowls or lawn bowling, is a sport in which players try to roll their ball (called a bowl) closest to a smaller ball (known as a "jack" or sometimes a "kitty"). The bowls are shaped (biased), so that they follow a curve ...

. He reached a career high ranking of world number 3 in December 2024.

Bowls career

McLean won a bronze medal in the fours at the

2016 World Outdoor Bowls Championship The 2016 World Outdoor Bowls Championship was held at the Burnside Bowling Club in Avonhead, Christchurch Christchurch (; ) is the largest city in the South Island and the List of cities in New Zealand, second-largest city by urban a ...

in Christchurch, with Alex Marshall, Paul Foster and

Ronnie Duncan Ronald Duncan (born 22 September 1983) is a Scottish international lawn bowler. Bowls career He won the indoor National Pairs Championship in 2014, partnering Colin Walker. During the 2016 World Indoor Bowls Championship pairs they were b ...

. In 2013, he won the

Hong Kong International Bowls Classic The Hong Kong International Bowls Classic is a highly prestigious event in the lawn bowls calendar. It began as a men's pairs competition in 1981, with a men's singles event added in 1983. In 2008, the program was expanded to include singles an ...

pairs title with Robert Grant and he also won the gold medal at the 2015

World Cup Singles World Cup Singles The World Cup Singles was an event inaugurated in 2005 by the organisation known as World Bowls and was held until 2019. It was contested annually between bowlers from national bowls organisations. The competition was seen as th ...

in Warilla,

New South Wales New South Wales (commonly abbreviated as NSW) is a States and territories of Australia, state on the Eastern states of Australia, east coast of :Australia. It borders Queensland to the north, Victoria (state), Victoria to the south, and South ...

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country comprising mainland Australia, the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania and list of islands of Australia, numerous smaller isl ...

and in 2014 he became the World Singles Champion of Champions defeating Fairus Jabal of Malaysia in the final. He won the singles at the

Scottish National Bowls Championships The Scottish National Bowls Championships is one of the oldest bowls competitions in the world. In 1892, James Brown of Sanquhar Bowling Club and Dr Clark of the Partick Bowling Club formed the Scottish Bowls Association and organised the first ...

in both 2013 and 2015, when bowling for Blackwood Victoria BC. In 2022, he competed in the men's singles and the men's triples at the

2022 Commonwealth Games The 2022 Commonwealth Games, officially known as the XXII Commonwealth Games and commonly known as Birmingham 2022, were an international multi-sport event for members of the Commonwealth of Nations that took place in Birmingham, England betw ...

. After winning his singles section he went on to win the bronze medal play off defeating

Fairul Izwan Abd Muin Fairul Izwan Abdul Muin (born 3 November 1982) is a Malaysian lawn bowler. Bowls career World Championships Muin won a pairs bronze medal at the 2008 World Outdoor Bowls Championship in Christchurch, New Zealand. In 2020 he was selected for th ...

. In 2023, he was selected as part of the team to represent Scotland at the

2023 World Outdoor Bowls Championship The 2023 World Outdoor Bowls Championship is the 14th edition of the World Bowls Championship, held on the Gold Coast in Queensland, Australia from 29 August to 10 September. The event was long-awaited by the sport because the 2020 World Out ...

. He participated in the men's singles and the men's pairs events. In the pairs with Jason Banks, they won their group undefeated but were then knocked out in the quarter finals by Australia and one week later in the singles, he won a bronze medal after reaching the semi final stage, where he lost to

Ryan Bester Ryan George Peter Bester (born 7 December 1984 in Hanover, Canada) is a Canadian lawn bowler. Bowls career World Outdoor Championships Bester won the gold medal in the pairs with Keith Roney at the 2004 World Outdoor Bowls Championship in A ...

. In 2024, McLean won his third national singles title, which equalled the all-time record of four other bowlers, Robert Sprot, David Dall,

Joseph Black Joseph Black (16 April 1728 – 6 December 1799) was a British physicist and chemist, known for his discoveries of magnesium, latent heat, specific heat, and carbon dioxide. He was Professor of Anatomy and Chemistry at the University of Glasgow ...

and

Darren Burnett Darren William Burnett (born 27 May 1976 in Arbroath) is a Scottish lawn bowler and indoor bowler. Bowls career Commonwealth Games At the 2014 Commonwealth Games, he won a gold medal in men's singles after defeating Canada's Ryan Bester. In ...

. Later that year in November, McLean won the

singles and pairs events (the latter with

Darren Gualtieri Darren Gualtieri (born 26 March 1990) is a Scottish international lawn and indoor bowler. He reached a career high ranking of world number 10 in March 2025. Bowls Career Gualtieri reached the semifinal of the SIBA national singles in 2013, ...

County, national and world honours

Outdoor representing Blackwood Victoria BC *Lanarkshire Singles Championship 2012, 2014, 2015, 2016 & 2023 *Lanarkshire Champion of Champions 2004, 2011, 2012, 2014, 2015, 2018 & 2023 *Scottish Junior Singles Champion 2002 & 2007 *Scottish Singles Champion 2013, 2015 & 2024 *World Singles Champion of Champions 2014 Indoor representing Blantyre MW *SIBA Junior Singles Champion 2007 *SIBA Mixed Pairs Champion 2024 *SIBA 2 Bowl Pairs Champion 2009 & 2023 *SIBA Singles Champion 2007, 2012 & 2014 *SIBA Triples Champion 2011, 2014, 2020 & 2022 *SIBA Fours Champion 2006, 2017, 2022 & 2023 *BIBC Singles Champion 2007 *BIBC Triples Champion 2012 & 2022

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:McLean, Iain 1983 births Living people Scottish male bowls players Bowls European Champions Commonwealth Games bronze medallists for Scotland Bowls players at the 2022 Commonwealth Games Medallists at the 2022 Commonwealth Games 21st-century Scottish sportsmen Commonwealth Games bronze medallists in lawn bowls