Samantha Kinghorn
 Kinghorn at the 2012 London Mini Marathon | |
| Personal information | |
|---|---|
| Born | 6 January 1996 |
| Sport | |
| Sport | Wheelchair racing |
| Disability | Paralysed below the waist |
| Disability class | T53 |
| Club | Red Star |
| Coached by | Ian Mirfin |
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Samantha Kinghorn (born 6 January 1996) is a Scottish wheelchair racer.[1]
In December 2010 Kinghorn was crushed by snow and ice breaking her back. She had emergency surgery and spent five months in hospital.[2][3] The injury to her spine left her paralysed from the waist down.[4] While in the Spinal Injuries Unit at Southern General Hospital her physiotherapist took her to Stoke Mandeville to try out disability sports, leading to her taking up wheelchair racing.[5] 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.[3] | ” |
She is part of the Glasgow disability sports club Red Star,[4] where she is coached by Ian Mirfin MBE (new years honours list 2015/16). She is classified as a T53 para-athlete.[1] Sammi is the fastest ever female British wheelchair racer regardless of classification over 100m, 200m, 400m and 800m (Power of 10 www.thepowerof10.info/athletes/profile.aspx?athleteid=445041)
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Kinghorn's first race was the 2012 London Mini Marathon, where she came second.[3] Since then she has won many medals in domestic competitions[1] and set Scottish records in the 100m and 200m.[3] 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 was made of her preparations for the Games.[6] 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.[7]
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[8] and went on to win further golds over 100m and 800m.[9]
Samantha Kinghorn has qualified to take part in the 2016 Paralympic Games in Rio de Janeiro.[10]
In 2017 Sammi will debut over the marathon distance in an attempt to qualify for the 2018 Commonwealth Games (http://heraldscotland.com/sport/14777093.Marathon_goals_on_horizon_for_Samantha_Kinghorn/.)
References
- 1 2 3 "Athlete Profile". thepowerof10.info. Retrieved 1 August 2014.
- ↑ "Girl 'stable' after being hit by ice on Borders farm". bbc.co.uk. BBC. 4 December 2010. Retrieved 1 August 2014.
- 1 2 3 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.
- 1 2 Winton, Richard (19 April 2013). "Kinghorn and 'Mollie'ready to roll in London". heraldscotland.com. Herald Scotland. Retrieved 1 August 2014.
- ↑ "Snow crush girl Samantha Kinghorn holds Paralympic goal". bbc.co.uk. BBC. 10 May 2012. Retrieved 1 August 2014.
- ↑ Goddard, Emily (13 December 2014). "Short film released revealing wheelchair racer Kinghorn's life behind the scenes". insidethegames.biz. Retrieved 1 August 2014.
- ↑ "Athletics: Women's Para-Sport 1500m - T54". bbc.co.uk. BBC. Retrieved 31 July 2014.
- ↑ Johnson, Phil (19 August 2014). "Samantha Kinghorn wins two golds on GB debut". thesouthernreporter.co.uk. Retrieved 29 December 2014.
- ↑ "IPC European Championships: Gold again for Samantha Kinghorn and Maria Lyle". www.berwickshirenews.co.uk. 22 August 2014. Retrieved 29 December 2014.
- ↑ "Councillors applaud brave Sammi as she wins a GB place in Rio". www.thesouthernreporter.co.uk. 24 December 2014. Retrieved 29 December 2014.