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 Saturday’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.

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

“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.”

Gordon finished 17th in Wednesday’s cross-country sprint qualifying and marginally improved on that showing in Saturday’s longer event.

In the men’s race, Cumbernauld’s Scott Meenagh – who capped a career-best sixth-place finish in Friday’s biathlon - led the way for the Brits 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 and throw his appearance into further doubt.

Arnold eventually got the all clear and delivered a valiant performance to cross the line in 29th on Saturday, just over one minute ahead of Thomas.

Gordon, one of over 1,000 athletes able to train full-time, access to the world’s best coaches and benefit from pioneering technology, science and medical support thanks to vital National Lottery funding, said: “There’s a nice big buzz the fact there’s five of us lining up on the start line.

“I think seeing how much the team’s grown since four years ago is amazing.

“I think the only way is up from here and hopefully we’ll see some more female as well.”

No one does more to support our Olympic and Paralympic athletes than National Lottery players, who raise more than £30 million each week for good causes including grassroots and elite sport. Discover the positive impact playing the National Lottery has at www.lotterygoodcauses.org.uk and get involved by using the hashtag: #TNLAthletes