Samantha Kinghorn

Samantha Kinghorn (born 6 January 1996) is a Scottish World Champion wheelchair racer.[2]

Samantha Kinghorn
Kinghorn at the 2012 London Mini Marathon
Personal information
Born (1996-01-06) 6 January 1996
EducationEarlston High School[1]
Sport
SportWheelchair racing
DisabilityParalysed below the waist
Disability classT53
ClubRed Star
Coached byIan Mirfin
Medal record
IPC Athletics World Championships
2017 London100m - T53
2017 London200m - T53
2015 Doha200m T53
IPC European Championships
2014 Swansea 100m - T53
2014 Swansea 400m - T53
2014 Swansea 800m - T53

Personal history

In December 2010 Kinghorn was crushed by snow and ice breaking her back. She had emergency surgery and spent five months in hospital.[3][4] The injury to her spine left her paralysed from the waist down.[5] Since then she has had to use a wheelchair for mobility. While in the Spinal Injuries Unit at Southern General Hospital her physiotherapist took her to Stoke Mandeville Stadium to take part in the WheelPower Inter Spinal Games where she was able to try out a variety of wheelchair sports, leading to her taking up wheelchair racing.[1] She said:

I thought I’d be in a bed forever. So, to then get into a wheelchair was amazing. I know it sounds strange, but I was so happy. “Then to find I could actually compete in sport in my wheelchair has just been incredible. Sport has helped me hugely, helped me to accept it really.[4]

Athletics career

Kinghorn is part of the Glasgow disability sports club Red Star,[5] where she is coached by Ian Mirfin MBE (new years honours list 2015/16). She is classified as a T53 para-athlete.[2] Sammi is the fastest ever female British wheelchair racer regardless of classification over 100m, 200m, 400m and 800m.

Samantha Kinghorn at the 2016 Summer Paralympic Games, T53 100 metres sprint, where she finished fifth.

Kinghorn's first race was the 2012 London Mini Marathon, where she came second.[4] Since then she has won many medals in domestic competitions[2] and set Scottish records in the 100m and 200m.[4] In 2013 Kinghorn was one of the first competitors to be named in the Scotland squad for the 2014 Commonwealth Games in Glasgow. She was chosen to be an athlete ambassador for Harper Macleod and a short promotional film [6] was made of her preparations for the Games.[7] In the buildup to the Games, Kinghorn was named Glasgow's Disabled Athlete of the Year. At the Commonwealth Games she took part in the T54 1500m, and after qualifying third in her heat, she placed fifth in the final.[8]

Kinghorn represented Team GB at the 2014 IPC European Championships in Swansea where she won Britain's first gold medal in the T53 Women's 400m[9] and went on to win further golds over 100m and 800m.[10]

Kinghorn competed for Team GB at 2016 Paralympic Games in Rio de Janeiro. She placed 5th and 6th in the 100m and 400m T53 events but was disqualified in the 400m[11]

Kinghorn achieved a sprint double at the 2017 World Para Athletics Championships in the winning the 100m and 200m.[12]

In 2017 she will debut over the marathon distance in an attempt to qualify for the 2018 Commonwealth Games [13]

References
  1. "Snow crush girl Samantha Kinghorn holds Paralympic goal". bbc.co.uk. BBC. 10 May 2012. Retrieved 1 August 2014.
  2. "Athlete Profile". thepowerof10.info. Retrieved 1 August 2014.
  3. "Girl 'stable' after being hit by ice on Borders farm". bbc.co.uk. BBC. 4 December 2010. Retrieved 1 August 2014.
  4. Ferguson, David (30 August 2012). "Teenager Samantha Kinghorn and Mollie, her much-loved wheelchair, are aiming for Glasgow and Rio". scotsman.com. The Scotsman. Retrieved 1 August 2014.
  5. Winton, Richard (19 April 2013). "Kinghorn and 'Mollie'ready to roll in London". heraldscotland.com. Herald Scotland. Retrieved 1 August 2014.
  6. "Samantha Kinghorn: Greatness Begins Behind the Scenes". Retrieved 1 April 2017.
  7. Goddard, Emily (13 December 2014). "Short film released revealing wheelchair racer Kinghorn's life behind the scenes". insidethegames.biz. Retrieved 1 August 2014.
  8. "Athletics: Women's Para-Sport 1500m - T54". bbc.co.uk. BBC. Retrieved 31 July 2014.
  9. Johnson, Phil (19 August 2014). "Samantha Kinghorn wins two golds on GB debut". thesouthernreporter.co.uk. Retrieved 29 December 2014.
  10. "IPC European Championships: Gold again for Samantha Kinghorn and Maria Lyle". www.berwickshirenews.co.uk. 22 August 2014. Retrieved 29 December 2014.
  11. "Councillors applaud brave Sammi as she wins a GB place in Rio". www.thesouthernreporter.co.uk. 24 December 2014. Retrieved 29 December 2014.
  12. "World Para-athletics Championships: Britain's Sammi Kinghorn wins gold". BBC Sport. 23 July 2017. Retrieved 24 July 2017.
  13. "Marathon goals on horizon for Samantha Kinghorn". Retrieved 19 July 2017.
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