Hope Gordon, one of Scotland’s most versatile athletes and 2024 Paralympic silver medallist in paracanoe, has been selected to Team Scotland to compete in para powerlifting at this summer’s Commonwealth Games in Glasgow.

Hope watched the Beijing Paralympics in 2008 from her bed in Yorkhill Children’s Hospital in Glasgow, little did the then 13-year-old know that, one day, she would not only be competing herself but would bring home a medal.

Hope was diagnosed with Complex Regional Pain Syndrome (CRPS) following years of pain in her left leg and elected to have the leg amputated in 2016 to improve her quality of life. She had always been active, something that doctors think may have stopped her condition spreading to other limbs. Having begun in swimming, she moved to paracanoeing in 2018, making her international debut in her new sport in 2019.

Since then, she has won eight World Championship medals, two of which were gold, three European Championships medals, including one gold, and five World Cup medals, two of which gold, including gold in the VL3 events at all three competitions in the same season in 2025. She took silver at Paris 2024 behind ParalympicsGB team mate Charlotte Henshaw.

In 2022, she demonstrated the wide range of her talent by competing at the Beijing 2022 Paralympic Winter Games, becoming ParalympicsGB’s first ever female para Nordic skier, competing in the Cross Country Sprint and Middle Distance events.

With Glasgow hosting the Games this summer, Hope was determined to be there. She took up para powerlifting in June 2025 with the aim of competing on home soil under a Scottish flag for the first time.

She has made astonishing progress, demonstrating her incredible athletic pedigree by making her debut at the World Championships in 2025, just four months after taking up the sport. She will compete in the Women’s Heavyweight (over 61kg) event and is looking forward to the challenge.

Hope said: “I’m delighted to officially be part of Team Scotland, for me that’s been a lifelong dream. When I heard the Games were heading back to Glasgow, I knew I had to at least try to be part of it. I never in a million years thought it would take the route that it has, but it’s really exciting regardless.

“Glasgow’s a city that holds a lot of memories for me, it’s where I spent a lot of time in hospital as a child, so it’s been a big part of my life, just not necessarily for the most positive of reasons. For my family as well, having to travel down from the Highlands to Glasgow on a regular basis to visit me in hospital, it was a pretty tough time for them too.

“The thought of being able to compete for Scotland in Scotland, and in Glasgow, and try to spin those memories to make it more of a positive vibe for my family and friends is exciting.”

She continues to juggle a busy schedule across two sports, with hopes of being selected for the Paracanoe World Championships just four weeks after the Commonwealth Games, but can see the benefit of each of her sports to the other.

“I think within seven weeks I could potentially have a World Cup in Canada for canoeing, the Commonwealth Games in Glasgow and then the World Champs in Poland if I’m selected, so it’s definitely going to be a busy summer!

“In canoeing it’s a sprint distance, it’s 200m, so because of that you have to be strong. We do quite a lot in the gym and huge proportion of that is bench press, it’s something I’ve always been quite strong at in a canoeing context.

“Obviously being strong at bench press within canoeing and then transferring that across to powerlifting is quite different, I’ve definitely had to unlearn a lot of what I knew about bench press and relearn that. But I also thought if I could get stronger in the gym that could translate across onto the water. So that’s the plan; to get as strong as possible in the gym and then shift that focus and take that strength onto the water.”

Elinor Middlemiss, Team Scotland Chef de Mission, said: “We are thrilled to welcome Hope to Team Scotland for Glasgow 2026. Her achievements across paracanoe and para Nordic skiing are remarkable, and this latest chapter underlines her exceptional determination and athletic ability.

“To take on a new sport and reach this level so quickly is hugely impressive, and we look forward to seeing her compete on home soil this summer.”

Athletes from across all 10 sports and six para sports featured at Glasgow 2026 will be selected in the coming months as Team Scotland shapes up for an exciting home Games.

Para Powerlifting takes place at the SEC Armadillo on 24 July with ticket prices ranging from £26 to £45. Visit glasgow2026.com for more info.