Gordon thrown in the deep end to plough through ‘mash tatties’

HOPE GORDON ploughed through conditions like “mashed tatties” to bring the curtain down on a “miracle” Paralympic debut.

Golspie ace Gordon, 27, finished 16th in yesterday’s 7.5km sitting cross-country skiing event in Beijing after a rapid rise on the Nordic circuit.

Gordon is also a key member of Britain’s para canoeing team and away from the snow, warmed up for the Games by grabbing two silver medals at September’s Sprint World Championship in Copenhagen.

She only first gave Nordic skiing a proper go the following month and admits the punishing Zhangjiakou conditions pushed her to the limit.

“That was hard. I think mash tatties is the word to describe the conditions today,” said Gordon, who defied NHS guidance in 2016 to raise £10,000 through crowd-funding and get her left leg amputated after being diagnosed with a rare condition.

“It just felt like ploughing through mash tatties from start to finish. That’s the first time I’ve ever done a 7.5km – there’s nothing like being thrown in at the deep end against the best girls in the world at the highest level, so I think I can take a bit of pride in just getting round that course.

“I’m not superhuman, I’m just Hope, and I think it’s a bit of a miracle I’m actually here and managed to do that. It’s a privilege to compete against those girls as they’re phenomenal athletes.”

In the men’s race, Cumbernauld’s Scott Meenagh – who capped a career-best sixthplace finish in Friday’s biathlon – led the way for the Britons in 16th, while fellow Scot Callum Deboys was 21st.

Six-time Paralympian and veteran Steve Thomas, 45, was 32nd but the story of the day revolved around Steve Arnold, who finally made his long-awaited Paralympic debut after being embroiled in a week of Covid chaos.

Arnold, 42, tested positive before flying to China last weekend before a miraculous recovery saw him finally arrive on Wednesday. But another positive test upon landing in Beijing forced him to miss Friday’s biathlon. Arnold eventually got the all clear and delivered a valiant performance to cross the line in 29th.

Meanwhile, Menna Fitzpatrick narrowly missed out on a third medal, finishing fourth in the slalom vision impaired race, with Millie Knight coming eighth.

Shona Brownlee showed great spirit to finish ninth in the women’s slalom sitting. A fall on her first run opened up the prospect of her failing to finish but she recovered and backed it up with a solid second run.

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