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· collected 2026-08-24 · by TOI World Desk
Scottish athlete Summer Shaw won her country's first-ever bronze medal in judo at the Commonwealth Games on July 31 in Glasgow. The 22-year-old competed against seven nations and took home the medal behind Canada and India, but had to return to her part-time job as a crew trainer at McDonald's in Surrey just days later. As of August 21, Shaw's TikTok post about her story had been viewed 1.5 million times, with many viewers expressing admiration for her candidness about balancing work and athletic pursuits. Shaw noted that having another source of income is "very common" for athletes in sports like judo, where financial support may not be sufficient to cover all expenses.
Written by the local model on 2026-08-24,
using this article's own text rather than the other coverage of the
same event (that is the story summary below).
Story summary
22-year-old Scottish athlete Summer Shaw won a bronze medal for Scotland at the Commonwealth Games 2026 in Glasgow, Scotland on July 31, competing against seven nations in the women's 48 kg judo competition. However, just days later, she returned to her part-time job as a crew trainer at McDonald's in Surrey. In a TikTok post shared on August 7, Shaw captioned "someone sponsor me so I don't have to work," highlighting the challenges of balancing her athletic career with financial responsibilities. The post had been viewed over 1.5 million** times by August 21, and was seen as a relatable take on the ups and downs of life as an athlete.
Written for “Scottish Athlete Returns to Work” on 2026-08-31,
grounded in this article and the 0 other(s) covering the same event.
Why this leaning score
This article does not take a side on a contested political
question, so it has no leaning score. That is an
answer rather than a gap: a match report or a rescue can be warmly
or critically written without being left or right, and scoring it
anyway is how approval of a subject gets recorded as a political
position.
No political leaning scored for article 1916 · logged 2026-08-28
For a 22-year-old Scottish athlete who won the country a bronze medal at the Commonwealth Games 2026, life returned to normal with her shifts at McDonald's continuing.
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shifts → win → McDonald
Judo competitor Summer Shaw shared a TikTok about her story, where she earned Scotland's first judo medal at the international sporting event, and then returned to her part-time job at the eatery as a crew trainer.
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she → share → trainer
“And that’s on doing a sport no one cares about … someone sponsor me so I don’t have to work,” the 22-year-old captioned her TikTok shared on Aug. 7, adding hashtags like #athletelife #sponsorme #help and #diva.
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old → ’ → #
As of August 21, her TikTok had been viewed 1.5 million times, as per PEOPLE.
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TikTok → view → PEOPLE
At the games, Shaw competed against seven nations in the women's 48 kg judo competition in Glasgow, Scotland on July 31, taking home a bronze behind Canada’s Heidi Quach (silver) and India’s Asmita Dey (gold).
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Shaw → compete → Quach
But days later, she returned to her part-time job in Surrey, which she works to pay to travel to judo competitions, according to Kennedy News and Media.
uncertain
she → return → News
“I’m already paid to do judo.
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I → pay → judo
The amount I get from that basically covers rent, petrol and food and nothing else,” Shaw explained.
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Shaw → get → rent
“It was strange [to be back at McDonald’s after the win], but it almost gives you that sense of normality,” she continued.
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she → give → normality
“It’s important to have a social life that’s separate from your sport.
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that → ’ → sport
People at work just see me as a bit more of a normal human being.”
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People → see → being
However, when she returned to work after her historic victory, one colleague did wonder about the trajectory.
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colleague → return → trajectory
“I did have a co-worker say to me, ‘It’s crazy how you can be near the top of your game in a sport and then be working here,’ ” the athlete recalled.
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athlete → have → sport
“In my opinion, I’m not quite there yet.
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I → ’m → opinion
Shaw is given what is called an 'Athlete Performance Award' (APA), a financial grant from UK Sport and the National Lottery that contributes towards her living and training costs.
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that → give → costs
There are different grades of support, external that athletes receive, depending on their results and prospect of medal-winning performances.
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athletes → be → performances
Shaw told BBC Sport that it was "very common" for athletes in sports like judo to have another source of income.
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athletes → tell → income
"The money I get [APA] covers my living expenses, which is a blessing and not to be taken for granted.
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which → get → expenses
But, for example, the next competition I've paid for myself because it wasn't funded by British Judo.
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it → pay → Judo
Going to Peru [for the Grand Prix] has cost me quite a bit of money and then I'm not really getting that back from anywhere else.
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I → go → that
Like, I want to save for a house," she said.
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she → want → house
Shaw also put her experience in comparison to other athletes.
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Shaw → put → athletes
“So many sports that are smaller, like judo, it must be so common [to have another job],” she said.
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she → have → job
“For me, it’s about having a job that is that flexible.
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that → ’ → job
It’s a bit of a balance of how much the athlete needs the money as opposed to when they should be resting.
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they → ’ → money
“But if I know I need to pay for myself to go to a competition, I know I need to start working more so that I can afford it,” Shaw concluded.
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Shaw → know → it
She has recently been based largely in Birmingham while studying for a biology degree.
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She → base → degree
That means she has been close to the British Judo Olympic and Paralympic National Training Centre in Walsall.
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she → mean → Walsall
Shaw also decided to set up a GoFundMe page at the start of the year, which she sees as a way of helping to fund her dream of going to the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics.
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she → decide → Olympics
