Games glory can inspire the next generation of Scottish Para athletes

Wednesday 19th August 2026

Melanie Woods celebrates gold medal moment at Glasgow 2026 (all photos by Bobby Gavin)

By Eilidh Miller

Success for Scottish Para athletes at a home Commonwealth Games can mean much more than what happens on the track.

For young athletes watching from clubs across the country, seeing wheelchair racing and T20 athletes on the biggest stage can help make the sport feel more accessible.

It can offer a glimpse of what might be possible, while highlighting the clubs, coaches and people who can help turn that inspiration into an opportunity to get involved.

As Glasgow 2026 leaves its mark on our sport, the legacy of the Games may therefore be measured not only in medals, but in the opportunities created for the next generation.

Melanie Woods provided one of the headline moments for Scottish Para athletics with her (double) gold-medal success on the track.

Her performances offered another reminder of the standards now being achieved by Scottish athletes at the highest level. But alongside the results, there is a wider opportunity to show young Para athletes that there is a place for them within the sport.

For Melanie, that sense of belonging was something she experienced herself at Red Star AC.

‘Having athletes that have disabilities and are pursuing high performance, that was so inspiring to me,’ she recalled.

‘I hope that Para athletes being on a stage like this can show other people with disabilities that there’s a sport out there for them.’

For athletes and families watching the Games and wondering where to begin, that message is an important one.

There are a number of clubs where athletes can train, coaches ready to support them, and pathways that can help them to develop and progress.

Red Star AC has long provided an important home for athletes with disabilities. The visibility of elite success can help make that environment feel even more relevant to a young athlete with ambitions in athletics.

That sense of opportunity extends well beyond the host city. Joanna Robertson’s progress with Aberdeen AAC offers another example of what can happen when role models, coaching and access to a club environment come together.

For Joanna, seeing the small but growing group of wheelchair racers in Aberdeen is already a source of real optimism.

‘We are such a small community (wheelchair athletes) and to see that growing and developing in time, well, it is just such a wonderful feeling,’ she said.

‘Aberdeen is doing so much for their Para athletes. I can’t wait to see how much further they’ll go in the future.’

That connection can help turn inspiration into something tangible. Across Scotland, creating welcoming club environments will be an important part of that process.

Games success can inspire people to get involved, but it is clubs that can turn that inspiration into participation. It is the first conversation, the first session, the first piece of advice and the first experience of feeling that athletics is a sport for them.

The stories emerging from Red Star AC and Aberdeen AAC show how that legacy can be local, immediate, and personal.

For young Para athletes, seeing Scottish athletes compete, succeed and continue to progress can help close the gap between watching the sport and becoming part of it.

Sean Frame adds another important strand to that story. The Birmingham 2022 wheelchair marathon silver medallist remains a highly visible figure within Scottish Para athletics, and has already set his sights on a third Commonwealth Games experience with Team Scotland in India in 2030.

Sean memorably won silver on the roads in Birmingham before finishing fourth on the track at Scotstoun over 1500m. His ambition to continue competing underlines the long-term nature of an athlete’s journey and the different opportunities that can emerge along the way.

‘I love my sport, it is my life and I would love to race at another Games in four years. Hopefully there is marathon on the programme in India, but if it is track instead then I am up for the challenge of trying that again.’

For those starting out, that matters. Pathways are not always linear and progress can take different forms, but seeing experienced Scottish athletes continue to set targets and pursue new challenges helps keep Para athletics visible and aspirational.

Ultimately, the legacy of a Games is rarely confined to a medal table. It can be found in the young athlete who arrives at a club for the first time, the coach who welcomes them onto the track, and the role model who helps them believe that the next step is possible.

From Glasgow to Aberdeen, Scottish Para athletics has an opportunity to turn the excitement of Glasgow 2026 into something that lasts well beyond the Games.

*Want to get into Para athletics? Need help about clubs?

Please email Pamela Robson, our Paralympic Pathways Officer

pamela.robson@scottishathletics.org.uk

Pamela Robson