On top of the world! Borders athletes among the medals at Paralympics in Paris
Last updated 1st Sep 2024
It's been a fan-tastic start for our local athletes at the Paralympic Games in Paris.
On Saturday, Newcastleton swimmer Stephen Clegg grabbed gold in the men’s 100m backstroke S12 - setting a new world record of 59.02 seconds in the process.
And, then on Sunday, Gordon wheelchair racer Sammi Kinghorn won silver in the women's T53 800m.
Both are back in action later in the week as the competition continues.
Reflecting on his victory, Clegg said: “Not long ago this was one of my weaker events and now I’m a world record holder.
“Coming into this, I wanted to have a good go on this race to get the monkey off the back. That gold had been a long time coming.
"Now the pressure is off a little bit in terms of that sort of barrier I’ve had. What a way to start for me, I’m over the moon with it."
Clegg is the third member of his family to have represented GB at a Paralympics, with elder sister Libby winning two golds and three silvers as an athlete across four Games and brother James claiming bronze in the pool in 2012.
Immediately after the final he was interviewed by Libby, who is working in Paris for Channel 4.
Stephen added: “This morning I said I was wracked with nerves but with a bit of maturity, that’s good for me now. In Tokyo and Rio, nerves crippled me and that was me done. Now they fuel me. I know I’m ready to go when I’ve got tingles in my fingers and I had them in my heat and final today. I knew there was something good coming.”
Clegg has two more events to come in Paris – the S12 100m freestyle and 100m butterfly, with the latter event his main focus.
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Meanwhile, Sammi's smile after receiving her medal told its own story.
“I came fourth in Tokyo so to get a silver medal today was absolutely amazing," she said. “I’ve worked incredibly hard. I won my first Paralympic medals in Tokyo and it was amazing, but if I had come fourth today, just the fact that my mum and dad and friends and family were in that stadium was enough for me.
"As soon as I crossed the line, I saw my mum and I went over and I was just crying my eyes out.”
On winning ParalympicsGB’s first para athletics medal of Paris 2024, the former Earlston High School pupil added: “That’s pretty crazy. I was having a little bit of panic out there before the start line and Hannah (Cockroft) gave me a hug and just said to me ‘believe in yourself, you got it’."
Sammi is back in action in the 1500 metre heats on Monday, with the 100m, 400m and 4 x 100m events to follow on Wednesday, Thursday and Friday.
sportscotland Director of Sport, Craig Burn, said: "Massive congratulations to Sammi Kinghorn on bringing home a silver medal. Sammi has delivered on the biggest stage when it mattered most and is an inspiration to the next generation of athletes.
"Ensuring Scotland’s athletes are ready to compete with the best is a real team effort and we are proud to play our part in that."
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