This summer at the Glasgow 2026 Commonwealth Games, Melanie Woods will take to the athletics track, in search of a summer to remember.
Having grown up in Glasgow, the Para Athletics star not only has an opportunity to compete in her hometown, in front of those closest to her, but to also be on a podium before all of them.
Coming into Glasgow 2026, Melanie has consistently developed throughout her career, making her Commonwealth Games debut at Birmingham 2022, and Paralympics debut at Paris 2024.
Now looking to take the next step in her career, Melanie is aiming for big things at Glasgow, she said:
“The dream scenario for me would be to win gold in both of my events, yeah that would be a dream come true, I’m definitely going for medals in both of them, I’m not going to be shy and be coy about what my goals are. I definitely feel like I have a chance of being on the podium in both events.”
Melanie will be arriving at the Glasgow based event having had recent success on the athletics track. Competing in Nottwil, Switzerland, Melanie gained valuable experience of racing at the highest level, against many of the athletes that will be at the Commonwealth Games.
At the Para Athletics Grand Prix, Melanie went on to record personal bests in all five of her races, providing her with some welcome confidence going into Glasgow.
Melanie said, “That’s a pretty good place to be, to know that actually if I stay in the shape that I was in last month, going into the Commonwealth’s, then that puts me in a pretty good place".
This summer Melanie will be racing in the T54 1500m, and T54 400m. Having competed at both the 2022 Commonwealth Games and the 2024 Paralympics, Melanie has been competing at an elite level. However, she remembers the 2025 World Para Athletics Championships in New Deli, India, as a landmark moment in her career, taking her performances to the next level.
She reflects: “I think like last year, winning medals at the World Championships, I went into those races, very much like, I want to be part of that race, and also come away with something. Whereas I think potentially previously, even going into Paris, I was looking at these competitors thinking they are incredible, I put them on a pedestal, I just wanted to chase them, and get as close to finishing as near to them as possible. Whereas I think I turned up at the World Championships last year like, no I fully want to compete with these girls, and I want to come away with something from that.”
Having grown up in Glasgow and having started her Para Athletics career at a Glaswegian club, Red Star Athletics Club, Melanie is looking forward to the home support she will be receiving this summer.
“I am excited to see friends and family in the crowd, I think that is going to be pretty special. I remember all of my friends and family being there in Birmingham, it was like one of the first opportunities they had to see me race. I came in fourth place, and they were all sobbing and cheering in the corner of the crowd, so I am hoping to see the exact same this time around.”
Throughout her Para Athletics Career, Melanie has been supported by sportscotland’s institute of sport, where Melanie, who trains out of Glasgow International Arena, has had a bespoke programme to aid her development.
Having worked closely with Physio Therapist, Alyssa Timoney, Melanie has focused on different exercises such as chair and floor pilates, to help Melanie maintain her stature whilst in her racing wheelchair.
Alyssa said: “When in her race position, Melanie is quite flat and she lifts her head up into extension just so she can maintain that position of being quite flat, that her and her coach quite like her to be in, and having the muscle capacity and endurance to keep her there is very important.”
Due to the nature of wheelchair racing, an athlete’s upper body gets put under large amounts of pressure, through the repetitive motion of pushing the wheels of the racing chair. This is something that Alyssa and other sportscotland experts, have supported Melanie to navigate “We do a lot of soft tissue massages around the upper body, neck and her forearms, to help relieve some of the pressure that is getting put on them, just as they can get quite tight.”
