Commonwealth Games Scotland's head of Games operations Middlemiss held the role at Birmingham 2022, where the nation achieved its second-best medals performance at the Games with 13 golds, 11 silvers and 27 bronzes.

She was previously deputy Chef de Mission at Glasgow 2014 and Gold Coast 2018.

As an athlete, Middlemiss won a Commonwealth Games women's doubles bronze medal at Kuala Lumpur 1998 and team bronze at Manchester 2002 among her five appearances at the event. 

She remains Scotland's highest-capped female badminton player.

Middlemiss is thrilled to have the opportunity to serve Scotland again in three years' time.

"I’m honoured to have been asked to take on the role of Chef de Mission for a second time at Victoria 2026," the 56-year-old said. 

"I’m very much looking forward to the journey over the next three years and making it a memorable and successful experience for every member of the team.

"I had an excellent team around me in Birmingham and building that strong group of team management will be key again for Victoria 2026."

Commonwealth Games Scotland chair Paul Bush believes Middlemiss is best suited to take the role again.

"I am delighted to welcome Elinor back to the Chef de Mission role for Victoria 2026," he said.

"The planning for an overseas Games will, of course, be very different to a Games close to home in Birmingham, something of which Elinor has valuable experience.

"What does not change is the commitment to ensuring our athletes are given the best possible preparation and the right environment in which to excel."

Victoria 2026 is set to mark the first edition of the Games held using a regional model, rather than a single host city.

Multiple cities including Melbourne, Geelong, Bendigo, Ballarat and Gippsland are set to host events, but spectators have been warned against trying to attend too many competitions in a single day because of the distance between venues.

Yesterday marked three years until the Games are due to start on March 17 and run until March 29.