Rogart’s Hope Gordon never expected to prepare for the World Championships in her first full season in paracanoeing but admits she can’t wait to test herself against the best.
The 24-year-old made the transition to the sport from swimming last year and has rapidly progressed through the ranks in the women’s KL3 classification, narrowly missing out on a medal at May’s European Championships, finishing fourth.
So the chance to take on the world in Szeged from August 21-25 comes at the perfect time for Gordon, who successfully crowdfunded £10,000 to have her leg amputated having suffered with Complex Regional Pain Syndrome.
She said: “I’m really looking forward to my first sprint World Championships.
“My mum and dad are coming out as well and it’ll be the first time they’ll have seen me race so it’s going to be special.
“I wasn’t expecting to qualify for international events in my first season, but I think I left swimming at the right time and I’m loving the challenge.
“The Worlds are massive, and they’re expecting a bigger crowd in Hungary than they would for an Olympic Games – never mind a Paralympics – which is very exciting.”
Gordon has been selected to represent the British team in the KL3 class alongside Laura Sugar, who is similarly new to paracanoeing this year after previously competing in para-athletics.
As well as challenging for medals at the World Championships, both athletes will be vying to finish in the top six to qualify a quota spot for the Paralympic Games next summer.
And the Scot insists that remains the priority – regardless of whether she ends up on the podium or not.
“Since I’ve been involved, the sport’s always been about Project9 – the goal to qualify boats in all nine paracanoe events,” she said.
“Hopefully between me and Laura we can play our part and get that spot secured.
“We’ve both been paddling for roughly the same amount of time and although we’re at very different levels of ability on land and on the water, it’s a good rivalry to have.
“The whole setup at British Canoeing is very special and working with all the other athletes has definitely sped up my progression – hopefully that’ll continue.”
With only one British spot up for grabs at Tokyo 2020, Gordon acknowledges it will be tough to make the squad and remains focused on putting herself in the best possible position for selection.
She said: “It’s going to be really hard to make the Paralympics – everyone’s going to be fighting for that one place – but I’m going to do my best and see what happens.
“I haven’t stopped progressing so far – I’ll continue to chip away day after day and hopefully the boat will continue to go faster.”
– British Canoeing is the national governing body for paddlesports in the UK. Our purpose is to: Inspire people to pursue a passion for paddling; for health, enjoyment, friendship, challenge and achievement. Find out more on britishcanoeing.org.uk