Heather Gordon is looking to add to the gold medal she won at the World Rowing Beach Sprint Championship two years ago.

The Inverness athlete will be representing Great Britain when she once again competes at the World Championships in China this weekend.

She also competed in the 2025 World Championship which was held in Turkey

This year, she will compete alongside England's James Cox in the mixed doubles and comes into the event in good form having won Mixed Doubles gold and a bronze in the singles at the Scottish Championships.

Gordon (25) insists she is in a good place to make another podium on one of the sport's biggest stage.

She said: “Going into the World Championships, it would be brilliant to come away with a medal.

“That is always the goal, we want to go there and compete against the best in the world and come out on top.”

“It would mean everything to finish on the podium, it would show that all the hard work and dedication that I have put into it, and obviously it is a real reward when you get a medal.”

“It was really special, I am feeling really good about my performances as of late, obviously winning the Scottish Championships was great, and the performances from that are a good indicator of where we are at.”

“Overall, I am really happy and excited with how I am feeling physically at the moment, and with where we are in the Mixed Doubles at this point in the season.

“I think it would also be hugely inspiring for everyone back home in Inverness, just to show that you can be from further up north and it is still possible to compete at this level, which I think is a really important story to share.”

At the World Championships, Gordon will start the Mixed Doubles on the sand, sprinting to the boat, followed by Heather and Cox rowing 250 metres.

Whilst navigating a route round several water buoys, before completing 180 degrees turn and repeating those steps with Cox finishing with a sprint on the sand.

The Inverness Rowing Club athlete has been training in the Highlands and St Andrews where GB Rowing has based its Beach Sprint Performance Development Academy ahead of the sport's Olympic debut at Los Angeles in 2028.

Gordon is coached by Iain Docwra, Scottish Rowing’s Beach Sprint Pathway Coach, a sportscotland funded position.

Beach sprint rowing combes running, rowing, racing and navigating challenging conditions, the sport is psychologically testing as well as being extremely physically demanding.

To help Heather prepare for the demands of the sport, she has been supported by the sportscotland institute of sport, where practitioners and regional contractors have been aiding her development.

Basing herself out of the Highlands and St Andrews, a team of sportscotland staff across areas such as physical preparation, physiotherapy, psychology and nutrition have been working collaboratively with Heather and Scottish Rowing and GB Rowing to support her progress both at home and on the road.

Performance practitioners work with Heather in the gym, on the running track and on the water. Focusing on power, running mechanics and speed training, with data being collected through specific force plate and speed testing, ensuring every area of Heather's progress is tracked and training plans continually adapted when necessary.

Gordon grew up a talented rower, competing for Scotland as a junior.

However, she only came to the sport of beach sprint rowing 16 months before her maiden World Championship title, acknowledging the impact that sportscotland’s support has had on her quick rise in a new sport.

She said: “It’s been really important, the sportscotland institute of sport has played a massive role in helping me get to where I am today. The help that I have had with strength and conditioning in the gym has been amazing and having access to it several times a week has been so important.”

“I think it has been really important to have practitioners based out of the Highlands.

“It meant that for a long time I didn’t have to leave Inverness. I could train where I wanted to. I could be at home surrounded by family and I could have access to all of the practitioners, and not be forced to do a lot of travelling back and forward from the central belt.”

In July, Gordon was part of a GB Beach Sprint Rowing Squad that went out to Los Angeles, to the site of the 2028 Olympic venue where beach sprint rowing will make its Olympic debut.

The experience has made her even more determined to make the 2028 iteration of the Olympic Games.

She said: “That was really special, getting to go to Los Angeles, and rowing on what will be the Olympic course in 2028 was really special and just an incredible experience.”

“Getting to go to Los Angeles and getting to see where the Olympic course will be definitely inspires you to keep pushing and training hard to make sure you are there in 2028.”