Tag: boccia

18/10/2024

More Medals and Memories in Paris for Winning Students 100 Scholars and Alumni

By Winning Students 100 Communications Consultant, Brian Welsh

Medals were won and memories were made at Paris 2024 Paralympics by the seven ParalympicsGB athletes who have been supported by Winning Students 100*.

The overall performance of ParalympicsGB earned richly deserved headlines: the team finished second overall with 124 medals to meet the target of 100-140, there was medal success in all but one sport, while eight more golds were won in Paris than Tokyo three years ago with 49 golds the second-highest total achieved since Seoul 1988.

The golds won in Paris included an incredible six by Winning Students 100 scholars and alumni, but achievements were not restricted to podium finishes, with personal bests and debut performances generating memories galore.

Following last month’s review of the Paris Olympics 2024, let’s take a look at the heights reached by the class of Paris Paralympics 2024.

In the pool

Twelve ParalympicsGB athletes won multiple golds and Stephen Clegg was among them, his first arriving on day three after he won the S12 100m backstroke event with a new world record of 59.02. With this win, Clegg, who has a visual impairment, won his first Paralympic gold after securing a silver and two bronze medals at Tokyo 2021.

Even more was to follow when Clegg edged the men’s S12 100m butterfly final on the final day of competition in the pool. Clegg, who is world record holder in the event, touched home in 57.49 seconds at the end of a fiercely contested race.

Clegg was edged into fourth place in both the S12 100m freestyle final (missing out on bronze by 0.02secs) and the 4x100m freestyle final relay.

Faye Rogers shone just as brightly with a stunning Paralympics debut, taking gold in the women’s S10 100m butterfly after overhauling team-mate Callie-Ann Warrington, the eventual silver medallist, in the final 50m.

Rogers’ heroics didn’t start and end there – she also recorded a personal best in the women’s S10 100m freestyle as well as fifth placed finishes in both the SM10 200m Individual Medley final and S10 400m freestyle final.

Toni Shaw, who trains with Rogers in Aberdeen, made her second Paralympics appearance and was under a quarter of a second off bronze in the SM9 200m Individual Medley thanks to a season’s best of 2:37.88 in a thrilling final.

Others highlights for Shaw included making it to the S9 400m freestyle final where she finished fifth in another very competitive race, as well as finishing eighth in the S9 100m freestyle final.

On the court

There was triumph on the tennis court for men’s wheelchair doubles powerhouse Gordon Reid and his partner Alfie Hewett as they secured their first Paralympics gold medal together to complete a career “grand slam”.

After the agony of losing finals in both Rio and Tokyo, Reid and Hewett defeated Japan’s Tokito Oda and Takuya Miki 6-2 6-1 in the decider at Roland Garros cementing their status as the dominant force in men’s wheelchair doubles.

Reid also surged to the quarter-finals of the men’s wheelchair singles before losing out to Gustavo Fernandez of Argentina in straight sets, the second a narrow tiebreak.

Another Paralympics debut was enjoyed by Kayleigh Haggo in boccia, who finished a very credible eighth in the Women’s Individual BC2 competition.

Haggo, who switched from frame-running to boccia to secure her place in Paris, defeated European Championship silver medallist Ana Correia of Portugal 6-2 to earn a place in the quarter-finals where she lost out to Gischa Zayana of Poland who would go on to earn a bronze medal. Another of Kayleigh’s earlier opponents, South Korea’s Jeong Soyeong, won silver.

On the water

Para canoe brought further ParalympicsGB success including two stunning gold medals for Charlotte Henshaw and silver for Hope Gordon.

Henshaw won the inaugural Women’s VL3 event ahead of team-mate Hope Gordon, who claimed a brilliant silver on what was her Paralympics summer games debut, having only taken up paracanoe five years ago.

Henshaw then secured her second gold of the Paris 2024 Paralympic Games as she successfully defended her KL2 title in an epic contest, setting a Paralympic record in the process. Henshaw’s Paralympic appearance in Paris marks the fifth Games of her career, having competed at Beijing 2008, London 2012 and Rio 2016 in Para swimming, before making the switch to paracanoe.

Congratulations!

Congratulations from everyone at Winning Students 100, sportscotland, Scottish Funding Council and all supporting universities and colleges to every scholar and alumni who competed so brilliantly at Paris Paralympics 2024.

*Two athletes, Faye Rogers and Toni Shaw, have been supported by Winning Students 100 while the other five athletes named in this article were supported by Winning Students, the previous rendition of the organisation.

Winning Students 100 scholars and alumni at Paris Paralympics 2024:

Paris Paralympics 2024
Name	Sport	Institution	Scholar / Alumni
Stephen Clegg	Para Swimming	University of Edinburgh	Alumni
Hope Gordon	Canoe	Edinburgh Napier University	Alumni
Kayleigh Haggo	Boccia	Ayrshire College	Alumni
Charlotte Henshaw	Canoe	University of Stirling	Alumni
Gordon Reid	Wheelchair Tennis	University of Stirling	Alumni
Faye Rogers	Para Swimming	University of Aberdeen	Scholar
Toni Shaw	Para Swimming	University of Aberdeen	Scholar

15/10/2024

Dundee Hosts Discovery Games and Boccia Engagement Soars

September was a busy month for boccia with competitions, Parasport festivals and courses spread throughout the month.

Discovery Games

The Discovery Games were held at Dundee International Sport Complex (DISC). It was a busy day with 63 players across three sections. There were 37 Female players and 26 Males which lead to over 110 games being played over 12 courts. A successful day made possible by the many volunteer helpers and officials making the day run smoothly.

Congratulations to the medallists in each section, the medallists were: –

Section A

1^st Paul McIntyre
2^nd Fiona Muirhead
3^rd Scott McIntyre

Section B

1st Zoe Irving
2nd Eleanor Little
3rd Kate Burton

Section C

1st Ross MacNeil
2^nd Becky Tyler
3^rd Ellie Maclaren

Well done everyone who competed and a thank you to Dundee City Disability Sport for making it happen.

Boccia at the Motability Big Event on Friday and Saturday

Over the 13^th and 14^th of September Scottish Disability sport was an exhibitor at the Motability event held at the royal highland show. Boccia was one of the activities that were on offer throughout both days. This offering allowed new people to experience boccia and play the sport. As a result of this fantastic day boccia has been experienced and introduced to even more people.

National Boccia Day

On Friday the 27^th of September was National Boccia Day. Scottish Disability Sport focused on the aspect of communities that boccia can create. It was fantastic to see how many branches, clubs and people got involved on the day sharing all their stories of what boccia means to them and their community on social media.

Boccia at Parasport festivals in Aberdeen and Fort William.

It is that time of year again when parasport festivals start. There were two Parasport festivals in September. One in Aberdeen and the other in Fort William. Both Parasport festivals had an offering of boccia for their participants. This allowed people to experience boccia, some for the very first time, and introduce them to the sport. Many different games and challenges and lots of fun was had by participants. With some looking to find boccia opportunities now in their area.

Boccia Officials Course

This year SDS had to put on a second Boccia officials course due to a high demand. This course was held in Dundee and had 8 people on the course. After the course, the delegates will need to officiate at one event to be fully qualified. This is fantastic news as more officials will allow more events to happen. Without officials there would be no competitions. Thank you to everyone who signed up and completed the course. The future of boccia in Scotland is looking strong with more officials getting qualified to allow more competitions to happen throughout Scotland.

27/09/2024

A Magical Moment for the McGuire Brothers at the Paris Paralympics

By William Moncrieff

Stephen McGuire made headlines at the Paris 2024 Paralympic Games when he won gold in the men’s boccia individual BC4 – a historic moment for the Scot which was 20 years in the making.

What made the winning moment extra special was that his brother, Peter, was not only in Paris watching the gold final but he was commentating live for Channel 4.

In the final Stephen found himself up against Colombia’s Edilson Chica Chica. Stephen beat the Columbian 8-5 on the way to being crowned champion.

“When they started asking me questions, after I knew Stephen’s outcome, I wasn’t prepared. I just fell to bits. All that work, he did it,” said Peter.

Peter had to wait a while before he could officially congratulate his brother in person.

“I first got to see him back here in Hamilton. The medal, he pulled it out of his sock and he presented it to me. That was a nice moment, sharing the achievement that he has been striving towards for 20 years,” he said.

Watching and commentating on his brother’s golden performance was an obvious highlight for Peter in Paris but the experience of being a part of Channel 4’s broadcasting crew was filled with great moments. Being a former Paralympian and now an active boccia coach, Peter was able to provide solid insight into the sport.

Commenting on his experience, he said: “The atmosphere was great. There was no pressure for me, so I really enjoyed the moment.”

“Some of the boccia played out there was outstanding, it really showcased the sport on the world stage,” he said.

The Paris Paralympics were the second Games that Peter had attended in an official capacity. Both Peter and Stephen were selected to represent ParalympicsGB at London 2012. Going to a Paralympics and being with his brother when he accomplished his goal, is something that Peter looks back on fondly.

“At the time my brother’s (Stephen) only goal was to compete at a Paralympics. He’s gone one better and won gold now.”

Competing with his brother is something Peter views as some of his biggest highlights in the sport. “We were world championship silver medallists. It was amazing to have that with him,” said Peter.

Over the last year Scottish Disability Sport have been working alongside SQA to make physical education more accessible. This development within the education system in Scotland means that pupils with a disability can be assessed performing in both boccia and goalball. Peter views this as being a positive step forward. “It’s great that it’s happening now.”

“If Stephen and I had that back then when we were going through high school, it might have opened up the avenue to do PE. We didn’t know what boccia was back then.”

Furthermore, it will, “help introduce the sport to a younger audience. We will reap the benefits for boccia in years to come.”

If you would be interested in taking up the sport of boccia you can do so by reaching out to your Regional Development Manager, or by contacting the Boccia Development Officer – Jonathan.kennedy@scottishdisabilitysport.com

In case you missed any of the Paris 2024 Paralympic action, you can find all the daily reviews and highlights on the SDS website, here.

To keep up to date on all things disability sport across Scotland, make sure to follow SDS on Facebook, X and Instagram and on the SDS website.

10/09/2024

SDS Works with SQA to Make PE Qualifications More Accessible to Disabled School Pupils

With the Paris 2024 Paralympics having recently completed, SQA has published new guidance outlining the steps schools and colleges can take to help make its National Physical Education qualifications more accessible to learners with physical disabilities.

Working with Scottish Disability Sport, SQA has updated the list of activities young people can be assessed in as part of their PE qualifications at National 3 through to Advanced Higher level.

For the 2024-25 school year, learners can have their performance assessed in Paralympic sports such as Boccia, Goalball, and other wheelchair, powerchair, and parasports activities, which can then contribute towards their final grade.

The guidance issued to schools and colleges confirms that Boccia can be used by candidates with profound physical disabilities, while those with severe visual impairment can be assessed playing Goalball.

Boccia is a Paralympic sport that involves throwing, kicking, or rolling a ball towards a target ball on a court. Boccia is designed to test muscle control and accuracy and is ideal for wheelchair users who play while seated.

Goalball is a team sport developed for blind or visually impaired players, in which a ball containing bells makes a sound when thrown at a goal at the opposing team’s end of the court.

SQA worked with Scottish Disability Sport to produce the updated guidance after it received feedback from teachers across the country asking for more to be done to enable disabled learners to study National Qualifications in PE. The update is part of SQA’s ongoing maintenance of its courses, and the views of teachers and learners are an important part of the review process.

Layla McCloskey, a pupil from Barrhead High School, who is undertaking Boccia as part of her National 5 Physical Education course said: ‘I’m so pleased that I’m able to take part in PE this year. I’ve been playing Boccia for a while now, and it’s great that I can do it as part of my qualification. I’m looking forward to having my performance assessed and showing what I can do.’

Mags Paterson, Head of Creative, Hospitality, and Sport at SQA, said: ‘Sport is for everyone, and our ambition is to make Physical Education courses available to as wide a range of learners as we can. By collaborating with Scottish Disability Sport, we’ve provided teachers with the information they need to make sure they are assessing learners’ performance correctly to make sure they’re reaching the appropriate standard for the course.’

‘With the Paralympics now underway in Paris, young people across the country will take inspiration from athletes with a range of disabilities competing in sport at the highest level. We want to ensure that learners like Layla can continue their PE journey as far as they can and receive qualifications that recognise their abilities and achievements.’

Alison Shaw, Education and Learning Manager at Scottish Disability Sport, added: ‘This is a real, tangible step in giving young people with physical disabilities the chance to continue their sporting journey into their senior years at school and beyond. By giving schools and teachers guidance on how they can support their learners with physical disabilities, we can foster lifelong connections with sport and physical activity, and we may even develop future Paralympians along the way.’

The updated guidance, and more information on our National Qualifications in PE, can be found here.

03/09/2024

The Medals Keep Coming as Scots Take Gold in the Pool and Silver on the Athletics Track on Day 6

Faye Rogers Wins Paralympic Gold on her Games Debut and it’s a Second Silver for Sammi in Paris.

Faye Rogers produced a stunning swim in the pool on day six of the Paris 2024 Paralympic Games.

The 21-year-old put in a terrific performance in the women’s 100m butterfly S10 to take the title of Paralympic champion on her Games debut.

Faye made her intentions clear in the morning, when she clocked 1:05.92 in the heats – just 0.5 off her own European Record.

Whilst the final was harder work, the Scot backed herself as she turned for the final 50m in second place behind teammate Callie-Ann Warrington. She edged ahead with 25m to go and touched the wall first with a time of 1:05.84.

In 2021 she was involved in a car accident which squashed her Olympic dreams. Nearly three years to the day since that accident, she can now call herself a Paralympic champion.

“It’s a big full circle moment and I couldn’t be prouder of how far I’ve come. I couldn’t have asked for more from the last three years”, said Faye.

She went on to say: “Coming into Para sport has been the best thing, I couldn’t be more grateful for this journey and I have learned so much about myself. I’ve started getting messages off people in similar situations and it makes me so proud and grateful that my experiences are helping other people. There are so many people who could benefit from Para sport, it’s just amazing.”

“There are always days it feels like it’s never going to get any better but it does. There’s always a way to adapt to stuff and overcome stuff. I’ve found over the last three years there’s nothing I can’t do, it might just look a little bit different, and that’s absolutely OK. It has been such a whirlwind and I couldn’t be happier.”

Meanwhile on the Para athletics track – Sammi Kinghorn stormed to silver in the women’s 1500m T54, to claim the first of the two medals won today (3rd).

It’s a second silver for the Scot in Paris, adding to her 800m T53 medal won on Sunday 1st.

“Who would have thought a sprinter would get a medal over 1500m, I certainly did not. I thought I’d be jostling for fourth, maybe squeeze a third”, said Sammi.

The wheelchair racer clocked a time of 3:16.01 to seal the silver.

The 28-year-old said: “I kinda got a bit disorientated and I stopped at 200m 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 absolutely buzzing to come away with a medal.”

Sammi continued to say, “You really just have to put yourself out there – there’s some strong, strong athletes in there. To beat Susanna [Scaroni, bronze medallist] has blown my mind and to be able to sit on the back wheel of Catherine is incredible.”

Teammate Melanie Woods put in a superb effort in a packed final to finish eighth with a time of 3:23.37. The 30-year-old from Glasgow, sang her teammates praises after the race:

“I train with Sammi so much throughout the year and to see her hard work turn into medals is so exciting and gives me hope that I can make the podium one day. It’s inspirational to see what she’s achieving out there.”

Gordon Reid and partner Alfie Hewett came head-to-head with the Netherlands Ruben Spaargaren and Maarten Ter Hofte in the men’s wheelchair tennis doubles.

Games were close and fiercely contested but Gordon and Alfie rallied through to secure the win, 6-2, 6-1.

“We came out firing right from the start and we produced some of our best stuff at the beginning of the match. That settled us down early and in the second set they raised their level and tested us a lot more. There were a lot of long games that we came out on top of and it was a really good test going into the next match”, said Gordon.

Day seven will be particularly busy for the 32-year-old Scot as he will compete in both the men’s singles quarterfinal and doubles seminfinal.

The current order of play sees him playing his singles semifinal against Argentina’s Gustavo Fernandez at 11am BST, before he joins Alfie to play the doubles semifinal against home favourites Stephane Houdet and Frederic Cattaneo in the late afternoon.

On facing the French, the Scot commented: “We’re just really excited to come up against them. It was one of our dreams before the tournament to come up against the local favourites. We’ve got big singles matches first in the morning to deal with but once they’re over with, we’ll be ready to go.”

Stephane Houdet was in the men’s doubles pair that won gold at both the Rio 2016 and Tokyo 2020 Paralympics, defeating Gordon and Alfie in both finals. Both Gordon and Alfie will be hoping that it’ll be third time lucky for them in Paris.

It was a tough start for the mixed team BC1/BC2, who suffered a 13-1 loss in their opening pool game against the People’s Republic of China. The mixed team, who is made up of Scotland’s Kayleigh Haggo, Claire Taggart and David Smith, had the challenge of resetting and refocusing before they took on Portugal in the evening pool match.

The trio produced the goods in a tightly fought game, winning 5-4 to advance to tomorrow’s quarterfinals where they will play Indonesia at 11:50am.

“It was really nerve-wracking, especially after the result this morning, so I’m so happy we got the win”, said Kayleigh following the win.

The Paris 2024 Paralympics runs from the 28th August – 8th September. You can follow all the action and find out how the 21 Scottish Para athletes get on by following Scottish Disability Sport on Facebook, X and Instagram, as well as on the SDS website. You can catch all the action on Channel 4. More information here.

02/09/2024

Gordon Reid Into Singles Quarter Finals After Vintage Display

The wheelchair tennis star shined in Paris’ morning sun to continue from strong opening display yesterday

By Paul Morrison

ParalympicsGB’s Gordon Reid showed no signs of fatigue after playing two matches yesterday as the Scot put on a dominant performance to defeat Japan’s Takuya Miki in the third round of the singles competition.

Gordon comfortably booked his place in the last eight at Roland Garros after seeing off the ninth seed in just over an hour of action at Court 13.

The two-time Paralympic medalist in singles will return to action tomorrow in doubles before competing in the singles quarter finals on Wednesday (4th).

Speaking after the match, Gordon was pleased with how he handled the top 10 player, saying: “I knew it was going to be a step up in level from yesterday’s match but I think I responded well.”

Before the match, Gordon and Miki already had a long history of matches together. The Scot had won all 18 previous ties, dating all the way back to 2011.

Being their second match-up at the Paralympics after competing at London 2012, Gordon would be confident and determined to keep the win streak going after overcoming the Japanese player on clay at June’s French Riviera Open.

Gordon started sharp with a hold of serve to begin the match when he went from where we left off the previous day to get a quick break in over Miki.

Hitting some winners to hold onto a close game, the Scot inflicted another blow to his opponent to produce a strong break of serve to head 4-0.

After saving a couple break points to lead 5-0, Miki got one game back on his own serve which saw Gordon concede his first game on the singles tournament, following his 6-0, 6-0 victory over Suresh Dharmasena yesterday morning.

Gordon was forced to earn the first set in the next game as he came from saving more break points to fire a few winners and an ace to take the set 6-1.

An immediate break saw Gordon start to take control in the second set as he then routinely served out for 2-0.

A straightforward service game for Miki was then met by Gordon quickly brushing through three games on the spin as his winner count increased in a brilliant showing.

Gordon sealed the victory with a fifth break of serve that featured three winners as he made it 19 out of 19 wins over Miki.

“I controlled the majority of the match and really happy with my performance,” said Gordon while reflecting on his excellent display.

The Scot also praised the support from his family and friends in the crowd, commenting: “It’s great to have their backing and they came out with some good songs today so hopefully they can keep on driving me forward.”

Gordon will now play the fourth seed, Gustavo Fernández from Argentina, on Wednesday (4th) in the singles quarter final in what will be another big step up in difficulty for the ParalympicsGB star.

Before then, Gordon will be back on tomorrow afternoon in the doubles quarter final with Alfie Hewitt as they face the seventh seeds, Dutch pair Ruben Spaargaren and Maarten ter Hofte on one of Roland Garros’ top courts, Suzanne-Lenglen.

The Paris 2024 Paralympics runs from the 28th August – 8th September. You can follow all the action and find out how the 21 Scottish Para athletes get on by following Scottish Disability Sport on Facebook, X and Instagram, as well as on the SDS website. You can catch all the action on Channel 4. More information here.  

02/09/2024

Scottish Boccia Athlete Wins Paris 2024 Paralympics Gold Medal on Day 5

Scottish boccia star Stephen McGuire wins gold for ParalympicsGB and his first ever Paralympic medal.

By Bethany Lee

Scotland’s Stephen McGuire just won a 2024 Paralympics gold medal on day five in Paris.

The star from Hamilton dominated the men’s BC4 individual final against Columbia’s Edilson Chica Chica – which marked the inaugural final for this boccia category at a Paralympic Games.

There was not a dry eye in the audience of GB supporters, or the thousands watching on the livestream, as Stephen celebrated his win.

“I’ve played this sport for 20 years and I’ve been in every possible final, apart from the Paralympics, I’ve never even been to the podium. I was starting to feel this event was getting away from me, two fourths in London, another fourth in Rio, I didn’t even make the semis in Tokyo, it just shows why you should never give up,” said Stephen.

Despite drawing three all by the second end, Stephen took a magnificent lead in the third, dominating the game after a few mistakes from Chica Chica.

His victory looked almost certain by the final end, but Stephen kept his cool, bringing it home with an 8-3 win and securing the gold medal.

Stephen said: “I felt really confident in the final. My flatmate is David Smith and he’s won three golds, he told me to have no regrets and told me not to settle for silver, just go for it.”

Stephen’s older brother and boccia player, Peter McGuire, commentated on the game for Channel 4. As Stephen took the win, Peter got emotional.

When asked what this means for him and his family, Peter tearfully said: “I can’t describe it right now, it means not only acceptance, but we’re here and we’re strong. It’s hard to put into words.”

The victory comes after an incredible Paralympics for Stephen, only losing one game the entire tournament.

“There wasn’t many nerves, there were more in the semi-final because I’ve lost the last three. It’s a Paralympic final, I may never reach another one, so I told myself to enjoy it,” Stephen said.

Stephen has been working towards this for twenty years, finishing fourth at three previous Paralympic Games and coming back from a knee injury in 2021. He has had an amazing year in the sport, winning 17 out of his previous 18 international matches. However, qualifying for Paris 2024 was never guaranteed.

“The easiest way to qualify [for the Paralympics] is through the pairs but I didn’t make it, so I had to focus everything on the individual. It was a lot of hard work, a lot of soul searching and I was the last person to be named on this team, the others knew months ago. It’s been an unbelievable season, I’ve made a final in every competition I’ve entered.”

A well-deserved win in Paris for Stephen and for ParalympicsGB.

02/09/2024

After 20 years of Chasing a Paralympic Medal, Stephen McGuire Gets Paralympic Gold

Scotland’s Stephen McGuire wins inaugural BC4 boccia gold ahead of Nathan Macqueen’s gold in Para archery, on day five of the Paris 2024 Paralympic Games.

It’s been the perfect Games for Stephen McGuire in Paris, who ends his fourth Paralympic Games with a gold medal in the men’s individual BC4.

A Paralympic medal was the only medal that the Scot had never won. He had been chasing this dream for 20 years and finally, on Monday 2nd September, he was crowned Paralympic champion.

Stephen got off to a great start to take the first end 3-0, against Colombia’s Edilson Chica Chica.

The Colombian fought back in the second end though to draw level at the halfway point (3-3). Stephen needed to bounce back and lean on his years of experience to get himself back in front. The Scot did exactly that – he remained calm and dominated the third end with a further 5 points (8-3).

The Colombian had to pull something special out of the bag to leapfrog into the lead. However, Stephen only allowed his opponent to score two points after strategically setting up some good block balls.

Errors made by Edilson in the first and third ends proved critical and Stephen claimed the title, with a final score of 8-5.

The Para athlete from Hamilton went on to say: “The easiest way to qualify is through the pairs but I didn’t make it, so I had to focus everything on the individual. It was a lot of hard work, a lot of soul searching and I was the last person to be named on this team, the others knew months ago. It’s been an unbelievable season, I’ve made a final in every competition I’ve entered.

“There wasn’t many nerves, there were more in the semi-final because I’ve lost the last three. It’s a Paralympic final, I may never reach another one, so I told myself to enjoy it.”

The Scots won a second gold medal on day five of the Games thanks to Nathan Macqueen and teammate Jodie Grinham (ENG), who showed great composure on their way to bagging gold in the mixed team compound open, in Para archery.

Their path to the podium followed a 150-141 over Australia in the quarterfinals and a new Paralympic record in the semifinals against Italy with a score of 156 (v 149).

The duo looked solid heading into the gold final where they faced Fatemeh Hemmati and Hadi Nori (IRI). The pair shot some incredible arrows in very tense moments. They kept their cool to take the Paralympic title, winning 155-151.

“It’s pure relief. This is my third Games and I hadn’t medalled. We are both parents now and there is a lot of sacrifice being a high-performance athlete, being away from your children. They are the hardest bits but this has made it all worth it, I can give my wee boy a medal.” Said the Scotsman.

Sammi Kinghorn and Melanie Woods were racing in the same event today on the Para athletics track. The Scottish duo clocked 3:34.83 and 3:20.70 respectively, to seal their places in tomorrow’s 1500m T54 final.

Just one year after giving birth to her son, Alison Peasgood delivered a terrific swim-bike-run to finish fourth in the women’s Para triathlon PTVI (vision impairment). Alison, with guide Brooke Gillies, clocked a time of 1:09:21.

“I’m just completely overwhelmed.” Said Alison after the race.

Despite Paris being Alison’s third Paralympic Games (Rio 2016 silver, Tokyo 2020 4th), it is the first time she has been guided by 26-year-old fellow Scot, Brooke, at a Paralympics.

“Give me a whole year and I’ll be fully fit but I’m just so proud of Brooke for supporting me through this.” Alison said.

Reflecting on the past year, the 36-year-old Para athlete from Dunfermline said: “It’s been a rollercoaster, there’s nothing you can compare it to. There are days where you feel amazing, there’s days where you feel awful but ultimately no matter what I do I know Logan (son) is going to want to play with me. He’s here, probably fast asleep somewhere.”

In Para table tennis, Martin Perry’s Paralympic campaign concluded in Paris after a defeat in the men’s singles SM6, last 16.

Ian Seidenfeld of USA got the better of Martin in each set, 11-5, 11-5, 11-9.

“This has been the highlight of my career and up there with one of the best experiences of my life”, Martin said.

“This whole experience has been everything I’ve wanted it to be and more despite the results. Obviously they would have been the cherry on top but the whole experience and privilege of being at the Paralympics and representing my country at the highest level is a honour I will never forget.”

Gordon Reid continued his winning ways in the men’s wheelchair tennis singles.

Gordon used his extensive experience to ease through to the quarter finals with a comfortable 6-1, 6-1 win against Japan’s Takuya Miki.

He will face the talented Argentinian Gustavo Fernandez in the last eight. Gustavo has the slight edge in head-to-head matches over the 58 times (27 v 31) they have played each other.

Reid will very much see this as the business end of the event beginning now and a chance to get to the final four in what will undoubtedly be a tough fixture.

31/08/2024

World Record Breaking Swim by Stephen Clegg to Claim a First Gold for the Scots in Paris

It was a golden swim for Stephen Clegg in the men’s 100m backstroke S12, who set a new world record on his way to claiming the Paralympic title.

It was the perfect start to his Paralympic campaign in Paris and the win marked his first ever Paralympic gold medal in Para swimming.

He said: “In Tokyo and Rio, nerves crippled me and that was me done. Now they fuel me. I know I’m ready to go when I’ve got tingles in my fingers and I had them in my heat and final today. I knew there was something good coming.”

The Scot looked strong in the morning heat, finishing nearly a second ahead of the field. His dominance continued in the evening when he clocked a new world’s best time of 59.02 – 1.65 seconds faster than second place.

“Not long ago this was one of my weaker events and now I’m a world record holder”, said the swimmer who trains in Edinburgh.

“That gold had been a long time coming. Now the pressure is off a little bit in terms of that sort of barrier I’ve had. What a way to start for me, I’m over the moon with it.”

In wheelchair basketball the women’s team suffered a loss to Canada following a very tight game, 54-63.

After a strong start to take the opening quarter 13-10, Canada had a great comeback to win both the second and third quarters (11-19, 12-22). Great Britain closed out strong with a 18-12 win in the final quarter but it was too little too late.

It was a crucial win for Canada who secure second place in the pool, with Great Britain slotting in third place ahead of Spain. The People’s Republic of China top their pool with four points but it’s still all to play for in the women’s game.

In boccia, despite losing his final pool match in the morning – conceding 2-4 to Canada’s Iulian Ciobanu – Stephen McGuire finished top of the pools to head into the evening’s quarterfinals with confidence.

Stephen showed why he is one of the best in the men’s individual BC4, by bouncing back to have a convincing 6-1 win over Yuk Wing Leung (HKG).

“It’s a massive day, the champion. He won the gold medal in Rio, and he also medalled in Tokyo. It was always going to be a tough match. Always 50/50 matches that we play together but he’s always done well at the Paralympics. He has always got that medal so to get over that line in the quarter final for me to be playing for a medal, I’m delighted.” Said Stephen.

He continued to say: “This is probably up there with one of the best games I’ve ever played, the best results I’ve ever had. This one and probably the world championship final that I won in 2016. This certainly ranks as one of the best.”

Stephen will now face Croatia’s Davor Komar in the semifinals tomorrow (Sunday 1st) at 10:55am BST.

Edinburgh based Patrick Wilson (with ramp operator, Meredith Greenwood) dominated his final pool match with a 9-0 win over Karabo Morapedi (RSA) in the men’s individual BC3. He qualified ahead of teammate William Arnott, to cements his spot in tomorrow’s (Sunday 1st) quarterfinal against Damian Iskrzycki (Poland).

Meanwhile in the women’s individual BC2, Kayleigh Haggo gave a great performance in her quarterfinal but couldn’t match the strength of Gischa Zayana (INA), who took the game 8-2. Whilst this marks the end of her individual competition in Paris, Kayleigh will feature alongside teammate David Smith and Claire Taggart in the mixed team on Tuesday 3rd.

30/08/2024

Boccia Success Continues on Day 2 of the Paris 2024 Paralympics

Two out of three Scottish boccia athletes won their matches on Day 2 in Paris.

By Bethany Lee

It was another intense day for ParalympicsGB’s Scottish boccia athletes.

Stephen McGuire continued his winning streak and Kayleigh Haggo was victorious after a nail-bitting game. Patrick Wilson faced a tough match against the current world number one in the BC3 men’s division.

This morning, Stephen McGuire had his second win in the men’s individual BC4 game against Ukraine’s Artemis Kolinko.

He took an immediate lead with strategic shots and confidently closed the game with a 7-1 win.

Stephen said: “Artem is a pairs European champion so he’s a tough opponent. In terms of the structure of the group it was important to get that win so I’m very happy.”

“The dream is to get a medal for Paralympics GB. I’m just going to keep going through the rounds and see where that takes me. There’s less nerves this time out and I think that comes down to experience.”

Today’s win follows Stephen’s victorious 8-0 game yesterday.

He said: “Two wins out of two, I’ve got one group game left so fingers crossed. If I win that one, I’m through and I top the group so that’s my goal.”

Continuing Scotland’s success, Kayleigh Haggo returned to the court for the women’s individual BC2 game against Portugal’s Ana Correia.

After a close start, the fourth end saw Kayleigh secure a sweeping 6-2 win.

Kayleigh said: “I feel amazing. To get the first win, I can’t believe it.

“I’m really happy I’ve used what I’ve learned – I’ve played Ana three times in the last six months and won all three despite her being ranked higher than me. So it gives me a lot of confidence going forward.”

A busy day awaits Kayleigh tomorrow with the women’s individual BC2 quarterfinal.

She said: “I came here with no expectations and no pressure so to get into the quarterfinal would be amazing.”

The day ended with Patrick Wilson’s tough match against Daniel Michel (AUS), number one in the world in men’s BC3.

Australia are favourites in boccia at this year’s Paris 2024 Paralympics, and David is amongst their best competitors.

Despite leading strong with 2 points in the first end, Patrick missed out on the win by 7-2.

“He is the best in the world right now and he had to be at his best to beat me. I’m not out by any means so I come back tomorrow. I could be out tomorrow or be in – anything is possible. I had fun, I had a good time. That is why we come – for that.”

You can catch all the action on Channel 4. More information here. 