Dundee FC Supporters’ Society and Dundee mad were saddened to hear of the loss of three Dark Blue stalwarts earlier this week, Ronnie McIntosh, Alice McGregor and George ‘Podge’ Falconer.
Ronnie McIntosh , the 2012 Disabled Athlete of the Year in Scotland was a well known face both as a Dundee fan, and a Hawkhill Harrier. Following transplant surgery, Ronnie lost both legs below the knees after an infection. A keen marathon runner, Ronnie soon turned to race walking, and competed at the British transplant Games, where he broke the British record for the 5k for an amputee. He also carried the Olympic Torch in the Dundee leg last year, and presented the League Cup to Kilmarnock last season at Hampden
Ronnie was also a big Dundee FC fan, and was proud to do his bit for the club, as he completed a race walk with a lap of the pitch while the club were in Administration. Ronnie also took part in the tug-o-war with fellow transplant patients when Revival Tayside visited Dens under the Community Initiative. Andrew Wilson, a fellow transplant patient, and race walk partner of Ronnie’s summed up his relationship with Ronnie, ‘Ronnie was a good friend to me and I r
egarded him as a both a good friend and a mentor. We raced together in the UK Transplant games where he broke the British record for an amputee for the 5K race walk. He pushed himself and encouraged everyone else to be as good as they can be. He was an inspiration to so many and thought the best of everyone.’
‘His attitude to racing and to life, as far as I could see, could be summed in the words of the great track runner Steve Prefontaine.’
"If you can't win you're race, make sure the guy ahead of you breaks the record."
RIP Ronnie it was a pleasure to have known you