Hope Gordon is determined to focus on her own performance when she returns to the water at the ICF Canoe Sprint and Paracanoe World Championships in Poznan, from 26-30 August.
Multiple sports at elite level
Gordon made her Commonwealth Games debut in para-powerlifting at Glasgow 2026, appearing in her third different sport at the elite level after also representing Team GB at the Beijing 2022 Winter Paralympics. She was the first ever female para Nordic skier for Team GB, and has taken to para sport since the amputation of her left leg above the knee in 2016.
Gordon said: “It’s been all go-go-go this season, Worlds will be my fifth international in four months since May, it’s been quite a busy year that I’ll hopefully end on a high.”
Focus on own race
Gordon, born in Golspie, is feeling positive ahead of her KL3 kayak campaign in Eastern Europe, returning to where she first raced for the United Kingdom in 2019. “This year my kayak has stepped up in competition and that’s mainly down to focussing on my own performances and not worrying about the girls around me,” she said.
She is part of a team which includes reigning Paris 2024 champions Charlotte Henshaw and Emma Wiggs, as well as 2024 Paralympic silver medallists Dave Phillipson and Jack Eyers.
World Championships as main goal
Gordon was clear that the Canoe Sprint and Paracanoe World Championships was always her primary focus. “As soon as I knew that the Commies were heading back to Scotland, it was a case of seeing how I could get there,” she said.
She added: “I never spent more than five days out of the boat throughout the Commonwealth Games. I had every day of July planned in March.”
