Kinghorn is ‘buzzing’ at unlikely silver
WHEELCHAIR racer Sammi Kinghorn secured her second silver medal of the Paralympics in Paris in the women’s T54 1,500 metres, writes Ed Elliot.
The 28-year-old Scot clocked three minutes and 16.1 seconds at Stade de France, 2.91 seconds slower than the new Paralympic record set by Swiss gold medallist Catherine Debrunner.
Kinghorn, pictured, previously claimed Britain’s first athletics medal of the Games by finishing second in Sunday’s T53 800m.
She said: “Who would have thought a sprinter would get a medal over 1,500m? I certainly did not. I thought I’d be jostling for fourth, maybe squeeze a third.
“It was all pretty exciting. I kinda got a bit disorientated and I stopped at 200 metres to go because I thought we were done – it’s so loud in here which we’re not used to. So I learned I need to count laps. But that noise is absolutely electric and I’m buzzing to come away with a medal.”
Meanwhile, six-time champion Natasha Baker likened her horse to fictional nanny Mary Poppins after returning from pregnancy to win bronze in Versailles.
The 34-year-old blew a kiss to son Joshua at the end of her performance in the grade three individual dressage event, having given birth last year and spending 12 months out of the saddle.
American Rebecca Hart took gold, with Rixt van der Horst of the Netherlands snatching the silver Baker won three years ago in Tokyo.
The British rider, who was competing on Keystone Dawn Chorus – also known as Lottie, said: “If you’d told me that I was going to even be selected for the Paris Games over Christmas, I would have laughed in your face.
“(Lottie) is awesome. I call her Mary Poppins, because she’s practically perfect in every way.”
On Monday night, quadruple amputee swimmer Ellie Challis celebrated “the most incredible day ever” after claiming gold.
The 20-year-old, who underwent surgery on each of her limbs having contracted meningitis aged 16 months, upgraded the silver she won in Tokyo by securing the S3 50m backstroke title in 53.56 seconds.
“It’s been the most incredible day ever. Wow! That was fun,” she told reporters.