Samantha May Kinghorn (born 6 January 1996) is a British World Champion wheelchair racer and TV presenter. At the 2024 paralympics she won a gold medal.
Personal history Kinghorn broke her back in December 2010 at the age of 14. Originally, it was reported that she had been crushed by snow and ice which fell from the roof of her home, but she later stated that she had jumped onto the forklift that her father Neill, a farm worker, was driving and was crushed underneath it; she admitted that it had been entirely her fault and her father had not been able to spot her due to the weather conditions."'I never wanted anyone to feel sorry for me'", Radio Times, 24–30 August 2024, pp. 14–15 She had emergency surgery and spent five months in hospital in Glasgow, but the injury to her spine left her paralysed from the waist down. Since then she has used 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. She said:
Athletics career Kinghorn is part of the Glasgow disability sports club Red Star, where she is coached by Ian Mirfin MBE (new years honours list 2015/16). She is classified as a T53 para-athlete. Sammi is the fastest ever female British wheelchair racer regardless of classification over 100m, 200m, 400m and 800m.
Kinghorn's first race was the 2012 London Mini Marathon, where she came second. Since then she has won many medals in domestic competitions and set Scottish records in the 100m and 200m. 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. 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.
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 and went on to win further golds over 100m and 800m.
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
Kinghorn achieved a sprint double at the 2017 World Para Athletics Championships in the winning the 100m and 200m.
In 2017 she debuted over the marathon distance in an attempt to qualify for the 2018 Commonwealth Games
At the end of June 2021 she was in Manchester for the British Athletic Championships where she was second in a mixed classification 400m wheelchair race behind Hannah Cockroft and with Mel Woods third.
Kinghorn was among nine Scottish athletes who were chosen to compete at the postponed 2020 Summer Paralympics. Most were announced in July 2021. The others were Mel Woods, Libby Clegg, Jo Butterfield, Maria Lyle, Owen Miller, Derek Rae, Stef Reid and Ben Rowlings.
Kinghorn was appointed Member of the Order of the British Empire (MBE) in the 2022 Birthday Honours for services to disability sport.
Kinghorn represented Team GB at the 2024 Paralympic Games in Paris, where she won a gold medal in the T53 Women's 100m, and silver in the 400m, 800m, and 1,500m.
Kinghorn was appointed Officer of the Order of the British Empire (OBE) in the 2025 New Year Honours for services to athletics.
Career in Television In 2023, Kinghorn began her career in television by appearing as a presenter on BBC's Countryfile. She had previously featured in an episode of BBC's The One Show."Sammi Kinghorn appears on BBC's One Show". Border Telegraph. 21 July 2020. Retrieved 24 November 2023
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