Samantha lands captain role for Paris . . . but injured Jake misses Budapest

Wednesday 5th July 2023

Photos by Bobby Gavin and Getty Images for British Athletics

British Athletics website Paris captains announcement

Top Scot Samantha Kinghorn is thrilled to be named as one of GB and NI’s co-captains for the World Para Athletics Championships.

Dan Greaves is the other skipper for the event in Paris, which runs from 8-17 July. Wheelchair racer Kinghorn, 27, won gold in the 100m and 200m T53 events in London in 2017.

‘I just hope I can do everyone proud,’ said Kinghorn, who will compete in the 100m, 500m, 800m and the 4×100 universal relay T53 events.

‘I hope people will feel comfortable coming to me for advice at the championships. I get super nervous before races, so the more distraction, the better for me.

‘One piece of advice I will be passing on to the team is that having fun is one of the most important things to remember. We spend 90% of our time training and such a small percentage of our time as a team competing for our country.

‘There are so many people who would love to do it, so enjoy that and be proud of yourself in this moment.’

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BBC Sport Scotland website 

Jake Wightman has announced he’s pulled out of the World Champs this summer.

A series of injuries over recent weeks and months has ensured the Scot will not be able to defend the 1500m title he won so memorably in Oregon last July.

‘I’ve had to make the decision to pull out of the defence of my 1500m world title this summer and concentrate on the 2024 Olympics,’ said Jake.

‘After suffering shin and hamstring injuries, one after the other, I am just going to be too far off where I want to be on the startline at the championships in Budapest in August, so I am not going to be taking up my wild card as reigning champion.

‘It all began with a foot injury earlier in the year which saw me miss the European Indoor Championships – and things went from there.

‘It turned out to be more than just a bump in the road. After some discomfort in my Achilles from where I had been wearing the boot, I arrived in Flagstaff, Arizona, for training camp pain-free.

‘However, a couple of weeks in, I got a sore shin and returned to the UK, where I picked up a bad hamstring and that was the final nail in the coffin for my world championship hopes.’

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Tags: Budapest, Jake Wightman, Paris, Samantha Kinghorn, World Para Champs