Paralympic champion Sammi Kinghorn's bid to leave lasting legacy after awards win

Kinghorn, 28, got the accolade at Glasgow Science Centre, having won the T53 100m wheelchair race at this summer’s Paralympics in France.

“It’s always such a strange thing to win an award,” Kinghorn said. “Because as athletes I train twice a day six days a week and you train for yourself, your coaches and everyone around you.

"But you almost forget that people are watching and they kind of want to reward you with an award and it’s such an incredible thing.

"It’s amazing. It’s weird when someone says you’re an inspiration. It seems so strange because me, myself, I have so many inspirational people that I look up to. So to see myself at that level seems crazy.

"But I would love to leave a legacy one day of inspiring some child, disability or non disability, to believe that sport is important, play is important.

"That doesn’t mean at my level, that doesn’t mean international, Paralympic or Olympic level, but playing sport is really important for your mental and physical health.”

The Scottish Sports Awards, hosted by sportscotland and Team Scotland, rewarded the success of athletes, coaches, schools, clubs and teams acrossScottish sport.

The full list of winners was: School Sport Award – Newbattle High School; Club Sport Award – North Ayrshire Table Tennis Club; Sustainability in Scottish Sport Award – Melissa Wilson; Scottish Governing Body Award – Judo Scotland; Community Hero Award – Lauren Deacon; Coach of the Year – Claire Morrison (boccia); Young Athlete of the Year – Aidan Lennan (kickboxing); Moment of the Year (sponsored by the University of Edinburgh) – Glasgow Warriors Winning BKT United Rugby Championship; Male Athlete of the Year – Duncan Scott MBE (swimming); Female Athlete of the Year – Beth Potter (triathlon); Female Para Athlete of the Year – Samantha Kinghorn MBE (athletics); Male Para Athlete of the Year – Stephen McGuire (boccia); Team of the Year – Scotland women’s cricket team; Sportsperson of the Year – Duncan Scott MBE (swimming); Scottish Sports Hall of Fame Inductees – Jim Anderson OBE, Colin Montgomerie OBE and Dame Katherine Grainger DBE.