The Brit won her third medal in Paris when she set a new Paralympic record, ahead of Switzerland’s Catherine Debrunner.
Sammy Kinghorn won her first Paralympic gold medal last night (September 4) when she won the women’s 100m T53 in Paris.
The 23-year-old broke the Paralympic record of 15.64 at the Stade de France, edging out Switzerland’s Catherine Debrunner.
This is not the first medal of the Games that Kinghorn has won after he secured two silver medals in the 800m and 1500m, narrowly beating Debruns both times.
His nickname “Silver Sam” is no more. The win marks a milestone in his career, bringing his total medal tally at the Paralympics to five, including the bronze and silver he earned at the Tokyo Games three years ago.
Debrunner, who also previously won gold in the 5,000m in Paris, finished second in the 100m with a clocking of 15.77. Tokyo champion Gao Fang of China won bronze with a time of 16.61.
Kathryn Debrunner, Sammy Kinghorn and Gao Fang (Getty)
“My start was good, which I knew it had to be.” Kinghorn said: “I knew my first push was really good, it was strange because usually in the Paralympic finals they put the three fastest athletes next to each other, but there was a gap between me and Kathryn (DeBrunner) and me and Gao (Fang). . I have not really seen them. I could see them on my peripheral. I told myself to dig in, come on.
“When I crossed the line, it was so close that I didn’t know if I won or not. Catherine turned to me and said. “You got it.” I wanted to wait until I saw my name on that screen before I celebrated. I didn’t know for sure until my name came up on the screen.
“Personally, I feel that the 100m is my event. I’ve run Catherine four times in the 100m this year and I’ve only beaten her once before. Going into this I think we were tenth in the world standings between us so I knew it was going to be close. I thought if I was going to beat anyone, it would be this one.
“I’ve got 29 people here supporting me, posters and all. Family, friends, my partner’s family. I’ve heard all about 2012 but haven’t been able to experience it, but I think this is the closest I’m going to get to a home Paralympics. “Honestly, the roar at the starting line is incredible.”
Sammy Kinghorn (Getty)
When he was 14, Kinghorn was paralyzed from the waist down after an accident on the family farm in the Scottish Borders.
She has now made history as the first non-Chinese athlete to win the Paralympic T53 100m since Britain’s Baroness Tani Gray-Thomson triumphed in Athens back in 2004.
Looking ahead, Kinghorn will meet his Swiss rival once again in the 400m this afternoon (September 5).
Elsewhere, Great Britain’s Kareem Chan made his Paralympic debut in the men’s T38 long jump, where he finished just one centimeter off the podium after leaping 6.39m.
Adding to her medal tally this morning, Anna Nicholson won her first ever Paralympic medal in the women’s F35 shooting event, claiming bronze with a throw of 9.44m.
Great Britain now sit eighth in the medals table with a total of eight medals and plenty more up for grabs.
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