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.
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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
The Aporia
