Record-breaker! Sammi wins T53 100m Paralympic gold with new Games mark

Wednesday 4th September 2024

Photo via imagecomms and Paralympics GB

Samantha Kinghorn claimed Paralympic gold in the Women’s T53 100m final – with a new Games Record.

The Scot clocked a Paralympic Record of 15.64 seconds in the Stade de France to see off the challenge of Swiss star Catherine Debrunner.

It means it is three medals from three for Sammi after winning silvers earlier this week in both the 800m and the 1500m.

But the 100m seemed like the best chance and she pulled ahead of Debrunner mid-race to storm home to glory.

‘When I crossed the line, it was so close I didn’t know if I had won or not,; said Sammi.

‘Catherine turned to me and said, ‘you got it’. I wanted to just wait until I saw my name on that screen before I celebrate. I definitely didn’t know until my name came up on the screen.

‘Oh wow, I’m never going to sleep! I’ve got a 400m tomorrow, and I am never going to sleep tonight.

‘Personally, I feel like the 100m is my event. I have raced Catherine four times over the 100m so far this year, and I’d only beaten her once before.

‘Going into this I think there was a tenth (of a second) between us in the world rankings, so I knew it was going to be close. I thought if I was going to win any, it would be this one. ‘

Many congratulations to Sammi, her family, coach Rodger Harkins and all with the Paralympics GB team.

Photo via imagecomms and Paralympics GB

Superb silver for Sammi in 800m final – as Melanie clocks PB

Sammi had made it two silver medals from two finals at the Paralympics in Paris on Tuesday.

The Scot followed up her second place in the 800m final on Sunday night with a repeat podium place in the T54 1500m.

Swiss athlete Catherine Debrunner was the Paralympic champion once again – and Sammi came home in 3:16.01 for a superb silver given her strengths have usually been in shorter sprint races.

‘Who would have thought a sprinter was going to win a medal in a 1500m? I certainly did not, I thought I was looking for fourth, maybe squeeze a third place,’ she grinned.

‘It was all pretty exciting. That noise was absolutely electric, and I am buzzing to come away with a medal in the 1500m.

‘I knew she (Debrunner) was going to go fast, and I just thought ‘I am going to get as close to you as possible’.

‘The Chinese athlete came in at one point, and she kind of faltered and moved into lane two, so I snuck up the inside. It is sometimes a scary move as we are sometimes moving at 20mph, and you are rubbing elbows with people. You have to go with it and see what happens. ‘

Sammi pictured in the 1500m final on Tuesday (photo via Paralympics GB)

Sammi, coached by Rodger Harkins, came through the heats on Monday morning only hours after being on the 800m podium.

‘This Games is going very well,’ she said.

‘It’s hard to win a medal and put it in the drawer and push it away. I am going to have to do the same with this one as I’ve still got three races to go, so it is getting harder and harder to go to sleep each night and not think about them.

‘I’ll try and get an early night tonight to be ready for my 100m tomorrow.’

Melanie Woods was eighth in that 1500m final with 3:23.37.

‘It wasn’t my best race,’ said Mel.

‘The race on Monday was quicker, and I felt more comfortable in the heat, so for me I felt like I was chasing and not finding rhythm today which is frustrating.

‘I was out of lanes in lane two and three and I think the long way around just cost me places. I thought I would be higher up, but I am happy with chasing hard and seeing what I could do.

‘I thought this race would go out quite fast, so I knew I had to go hard from the beginning and hang on for as long as I could. It went how I thought it would.’

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Tags: Melanie Woods, Paris 2024, Paris 2024 Paralympic Games, Samantha Kingorn