Lottie Smith has overcome a series of mental blocks to make the Team Scotland Commonwealth Games squad ready for Glasgow 2026Megan Armitage16:55, 28 May 2026Scottish gymnast Lottie Smith is ready for her home Commonwealth Games debut after overcoming a series of mental blocks. The 25-year-old from Stamford has been named by Team Scotland for the upcoming Glasgow 2026 Commonwealth Games, with her grandparents hailing from the Shetland Islands.‌In the lead up to the competition, she revealed that she continues to struggle with a backwards acrobatics' series on her favoured apparatus of balance beam, despite clinching bronze in the event at the 2025 British Championships.‌It is an ongoing challenge that she must deal with and hopes that speaking out ahead of Glasgow 2026 can showcase just how normal it is for elite athletes to also encounter barriers to their sport.‌"I have mental blocks on beam, so I've struggled a lot in the years and trying to overcome that," she said."It meant that British Champs was a really emotional moment as it felt like everything had been worth it. I have seen a lot of psychologists about it, but it is about trusting the process and being not so hard on myself."There is an evident lack of conversation around the challenges that artistic gymnasts face during competition, with Simone Biles' case of the 'twisties' during the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games the most notable public case in recent years.‌Away from her own competition, Smith works as a gymnastics teacher and coach and noted that by telling her students about her issues, she can help raise a new generation of athletes who are more comfortable with opening up about their struggles."It is not really normalised and I feel like we don't really hear or see of other people," she said. "When Simone's Tokyo Olympics happened that was quite eye-opening for everyone and helped show what we deal with, so it was really inspiring to watch."I coach the younger ones, and it sounds ridiculous, but it does help me. Some of them struggle going backwards on beam as well, and it is quite reassuring that it's not just me. And I guess for them, they see that I go through it, so they trust in me, and I guess they're a little bit inspired as well."‌Having started gymnastics at the age of two, Smith will head to Glasgow 2026 as the eldest member of a fresh-faced Scotland team.The squad will look to follow in the footsteps of Shannon Archer, who won vault bronze at Birmingham 2022 to become the first Scottish female gymnast to secure an individual medal in women's artistic gymnastics.And as the self-titled big sister and mum of the group, Smith hopes that her team can revel in the experience on home soil in what is sure to be a summer to remember.Article continues below"To be honest, I don't really notice the age, but I probably am the mother of the group," she said. "I really want to make the most of the opportunity. You are not just one performance, and we all know the hard work that we put into getting here so whatever happens on the day, I want us to just be there for each other and make memories that last a lifetime."Follow Team Scotland's journey at Glasgow 2026 at @team_scotland on Instagram