Paris-bound! Eight Scottish athletes picked by GB and NI for World Para Champs

Friday 2nd June 2023

Melanie Woods and Samantha Kinghorn in Commonwealth Games action for Scotland (photo by Bobby Gavin)

Eight top Scottish Para athletes are heading to the 2023 World Para Champs in France next month.

It’s a great moment for Para athletics across Scotland with such a strong representation in the GB and NI team announced by British Athletics.

A team of 45 athletes in all will compete at the World Para Champs in Paris on July 8-17 with many of those selected harbouring strong medal hopes.

Eight are Scottish and there is a presence on the coaching staff and team camp staff, too, to demonstrate further recent good work on inclusive athletics.

Here are the Scots selected:

Women:

Kayleigh Haggo (John Owens, Ayr Seaforth) – T72 100m

Samantha Kinghorn (Rodger Harkins, Red Star) – T53 100m, 400m, 800m & 4x100m Universal Relay

Maria Lyle (Jamie Bowie, Team East Lothian) – T35 100m & 200m

Melanie Woods (Rodger Harkins, Red Star AC) – T54 400m, 800m & 1500m

Men:

Steven Bryce (Steven Doig, Victoria Park City of Glasgow) – T20 1500m

Owen Miller (Steven Doig, Fife AC) – T20 1500m

Ben Sandilands (Steven Doig, Fife AC) – T20 1500m

Gavin Drysdale (David Phee, Red Star AC) – T72 100m

Owen Miller (photo by imagcomms for Parlaympics GB), Ben Sandilands and Steve Bryce (photos by Bobby Gavin)

Everyone at scottishathletics sends our warm congratulations to these seven athletes and their families as well as their coaches and clubs.

It’s good to see five Scottish coaches involved and well done to Steve Doig, John Owens, Jamie Bowie, Rodger Harkins and David Phee – all making very significant contributions to Para athletics in Scotland and the UK.

GB and Scotland international Jamie is with the team staff for Paris with a role in the sprints. The team is led by Tom Paulson.

And our own Pamela Robson, the scottishathletics Disability Pathways Officer, will be involved in the with the GB and NI team, too.

The World Championships – the first to be held since 2019 – take place just over a year ahead of the 2024 edition of the Paralympic Games which will also be held in Paris.

Kayleigh Haggo (photo by Bobby Gavin) and Maria Lyle (imagecomms for Paralympics GB)

‘I am really pleased that we have selected such a strong team for the World Para Athletics Championships,’ said Tom Paulson, Head of Paralympic Performance at UKA and Team Leader for the Championships.

‘It is an important stage in the cycle leading into the Paralympic Games, so with just over a year to go until the Games, this will be a good indicator for athletes and their support teams as they continue their journey to Paris 2024.

‘Heading to Paris this year and getting used to that Championship environment is hugely beneficial for the athletes and will be a chance to go through the processes a year out.

‘I am looking forward to seeing how they all perform in this Championship environment.

‘It is pleasing to see nine athletes receive their first call-ups to senior GB and NI teams, which shows the pathway is in a strong position. Earning a place in the team for the Worlds and competing against the best on the global stage will be an invaluable experience for them.’

Full team here