Borders wheelchair athlete Samantha Kinghorn picked for British squad to compete at world championships in July

Wheelchair athlete Samantha Kinghorn after being made an MBE at the Palace of Holyroodhouse in Edinburgh in January (Pic: Lesley Martin/pool/Getty Images)

Borders wheelchair racer Samantha Kinghorn has been selected for the Great Britain and Northern Ireland squad set to compete at 2023’s World Para Athletics Championships in France next month.

The Gordon 27-year-old is one of eight Scots in the 35-strong squad representing UK Athletics in Paris, the others being Owen Miller, Steven Bryce, Ben Sandilands, Gavin Drysdale, Kayleigh Haggo, Melanie Woods and Maria Lyle.

The world championships are the first to be held since 2019 and they’ll take place just over a year ahead of the 2024 Paralympic Games, also being held in Paris, offering those selected an ideal opportunity to stake claims for a return to the French capital next year.

Team leader Tom Paulson said: “I am really pleased that we have selected such a strong team for the World Para Athletics 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.”

Kinghorn added: “I’m so pleased to have been selected for my fourth world championships. I can’t wait to compete next month in Paris.”

The championships start on Saturday, July 8, and will continue until Monday, July 17.

Kinghorn, coached by Rodger Harkins at Glasgow’s Red Star Athletics Club, will compete in T53 races over 100m, 400m and 800m, as well as in a 100m universal relay as part of a team of four.

The Borderer, made a Member of the British Empire for services to disability sport in June 2022 and presented with her medal at a ceremony in Edinburgh in January, picked up a bronze at the last world championships in the United Arab Emirates and followed that up with a bronze and silver at the 2020 Paralympics, held in Japan in 2021, and another bronze at last year’s Commonwealth Games in England’s West Midlands.

Her two previous championships saw her bring home two golds and a bronze from London in 2017 and a bronze from Qatar in 2015.