Tag: Disability Sport

09/09/2024

Doubles Delight as Gordon Reid Becomes a Paralympic Champion Again

Scotland’s wheelchair tennis hero completes a coveted golden career slam in Paris with Alfie Hewett

By Paul Morrison

The unbridled joy was hard to hide for ParalympicsGB’s Gordon Reid and Alfie Hewett as the pair fulfilled a career-long dream of winning the Paralympic title in the men’s wheelchair tennis doubles event on Friday (6th), day nine of the Paris 2024 Paralympic Games.

Gordon and Alfie defeated the Japanese duo of Tokito Oda and Takuya Miki to achieve doubles gold at the third time of asking.

As well as Paralympics champions, the Brits’ win also completes their remarkable career golden slam to establish their status as one of the greatest doubles partnerships of all time.

The win gives Gordon his second Paralympic gold medal, adding to his singles title in Rio eight years ago, while Alfie added a silver medal in the singles as he was defeated by Oda in Saturday’s final.

Undoubtedly the top match in wheelchair tennis doubles at the moment, Gordon and Alfie would have been confident in their chances as they defeated Oda and Miki in all three major finals this year.

Once again, the Brits took no time to get going as they broke the Japanese pair to open the match, thanks to some astonishing winners at the net from Gordon, something that would become one of the match’s key points.

As Oda and Miki then got themselves on the board after breaking Gordon’s serve, the Brits would hold their own in many highly competitive points to manage to give them the chance of securing the first set and completing the first step to winning gold.

Taking the first set 6-2, Gordon and Alfie would only get stronger as they tallied off the first three games of the second set as the Japanese pair struggled to find any answer to get the upper hand.

While Oda and Miki weren’t completely out of the match after breaking Alfie’s serve, the instant response was there for the Brits who broke straight back. Gordon then held his service game to make it 5-1, finding themselves one game away from the gold medal.

A strong return game was produced from the Brits and an excellent drop shot from Alfie gave them the gold as the Roland Garros crowd at Phillippe-Chatrier witnessed a historic moment as the pair couldn’t stop the emotions getting the better of them.

Gordon and Alfie’s win also saw the ParalympicsGB team surpass the 40 mark for gold medals won at the Paris 2024 Paralympic Games.

Shortly after the win, Gordon and Alfie would find themselves atop the podium as the medal ceremony began, with the British and Japanese pairs being joined by Spain’s Martin De La Puente and Daniel Caverzaschi, who won the bronze medal match on Suzanne-Lenglen.

The prizing moment of receiving their gold medals and hearing the British national anthem saw the duo sport some wide and joyous smiles that spoke a thousand words of how they felt in this moment.

Speaking after the match, Gordon tried to make some sense of the incredible moment, saying: “We finally did it, it’s ours. It feels amazing, even if it’s not fully sunk in yet, the emotions and adrenaline are still high.”

Knowing that the win has banished the devastation of losing out in the gold medal matches from Tokyo (2020) and Rio (2026), he added: “We’ve been desperate for this for a long time, we’ve come close twice and felt that heartbreak and pain.”

“Those matches have been some of the toughest moments of my career so to sit here with the gold around our necks is one of the best feelings.”

Beginning to come to terms with the title they just achieved, he finally said: “Sometimes you need to feel some pain to enjoy the highs when they come, we need to really savour this moment.”

For Alfie, he could only add a silver medal in the singles to his doubles gold with Gordon when he was pipped to the title by an inspired Oda 2-6, 6-4, 5-7 in a dramatic final to round off the brilliant wheelchair tennis events in Paris.

The pair will take this victory into the last major tournament of the year as they look to add the Wheelchair Doubles Masters to their winnings this year in November.

Well done Gordon and Alfie!

09/09/2024

Friday Night Delight as Ben Sandilands Smashes World Record in Paris on Debut Paralympic Games

Three golds, one silver and a new World and Paralympic record were set on day nine of the Paris 2024 Paralympic Games.

Ben Sandilands won a sensational gold on his Paralympic debut in World and Paralympic record style.

The athlete from Fife, coached by Steve Doig, left his opponents in the dust as he turned down the homestretch and sprinted to a new world’s best time in the men’s 1500m T20.

On the win, Ben said: “It’s an amazing feeling. I’ve put in so much hard work and I want to thank my family and friends, and my coach Steve Doig. I knew I had the speed in me at the end from my training. The timing has to be perfect and I went for it, and the world record means a lot. It’s incredible.”

Ben clocked a time of 3:45.20 to seal him the Paralympic title on his Games debut.

Podium photo with Ben Sandilands (gold) standing next to silver and bronze medallists — Photo Credit: ParalympicsGB/David Pearce

Sammi Kinghorn also produced a podium performance alongside teammates Zach Shaw, Jonnie Peacock and Ali Smith in the 4x100m Universal Relay.

The squad of four raced to a new European Record of 46.01, bettering their own record set in the earlier heat.

Sammi said: “It’s so exciting. I’m glad I’ve done my individuals now and I can enjoy being part of a team. It’s really special being in the call room with everyone else. We had fun out there, went pretty fast and got a European record so pretty good.”

Victory didn’t just belong to Ben, as Gordon Reid (with Alfie Hewett) finally got his hands on gold in the men’s wheelchair tennis doubles final.

The duo won gold in fantastic fashion, comfortably defeating Japan’s Takuya Miki and Tokito Oda, 2-0 (6-2, 6-1).

“We finally did it, it’s ours. It feels amazing, even if it’s not fully sunk in yet, the emotions and adrenaline are still high,” said the 32-year-old from Hellensburgh.

“We’ve been desperate this for a long time, we’ve come close twice and felt that heartbreak and pain. Those matches have been some of the toughest moments of my career so sitting here with the gold around our necks is one of the best feelings. Sometimes you need to feel some pain to enjoy the highs when they come, we need to really savour this moment.”

It was another medal in Paris for Jenny Holl, who piloted Sophie Unwin to an incredible gold in Para cycling (road).

Jenny and Sophie tactically sat behind Irish silver medallists, Katie-George Dunlevy and pilot Linda Kelly, right up until the final 500m.

Jenny said, “It was just a case of all race make sure we’re still with them and if we were with them with 500m to go, we knew we would be pretty solid.”

The pair took the win by three seconds, clocking a time of 2:37:26 to claim the title in the women’s B road race.

Commenting on their performance in Paris, Jenny said:
“I think the main thing for us is we both know all the time that each of us is working as hard as we possibly can so we have that trust and its really nice to see it show in a set of medals at a Games.”

In Para canoe, Hope Gordon won her heat to set a new Paralympic Games Best time of 58.25 in the women’s Va’a Single 200m – VL3. The win allows her to advance directly to the Final A race on Saturday (7th).

Hope was unsuccessful in obtaining an automatic qualification place in the women’s Kayak Single 200m – KL3, final A race. Finishing second in her (with a time of 48.96) means that Hope will advance to the semifinal for another chance of qualifying.

In Para swimming, Louis Lawlor was in action in the men’s 100m Backstroke S14. Louis swam a storming race in the morning’s heats, setting a new Scottish record with a time of 1:00.41 and a place in the Paralympic final.

The final was packed and highly competitive, with the Scot finishing seventh.

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.

04/09/2024

Gordon Reid Gets a Shot at Gold in Doubles After Singles Exit

The Scottish tennis star can look back on a busy day with positivity despite a gutting loss in his singles match

By Paul Morrison

A defeat in the singles quarter final this morning didn’t stop ParalympicsGB’s Gordon Reid from booking a spot in Friday’s doubles gold medal match today after a statement semi final victory with partner Alfie Hewitt.

The Scot didn’t appear affected by his straight set loss to Argentina’s Gustavo Fernandez as the top seeds in doubles took down French duo Stephane Houdet and Fredric Cattaneo.

There is still British hope in the singles draw with Alfie going through to tomorrow’s semi final, while Gordon will have all his focus on Friday to win doubles gold for the first time at a Games.

For the second time at the wheelchair tennis event in Paris, Gordon was involved in two matches on the same day, with his first contest coming in the morning on Roland Garros’ main court, Phillippe-Chatrier.

Sharing a head-to-head that goes all the way back to their junior careers, Gordon and fourth seed Fernandez have faced off over 50 times, with the Argentinian having the slight advantage overall.

It looked to be a thriller of a match after the 15-minute opening game that saw Fernandez keep his serve. However it turned out to be the closest game of the set as Gordon struggled to get up to speed while Fernandez took full advantage of the Scot’s slow start.

Losing his first three service matches, Gordon was tasked with pulling off an almighty comeback following a 6-0 set where Fernandez showcased his quality, producing crushing winners that were unforgiving on Reid’s shaky performance.

The second set proved to be much closer as both players traded blows, which saw a total of eight breaks of serve. Great shot making was clear to see from each side of the court as Gordon stepped his game up to a high level that tennis fans have been familiar with over the years.

Forcing a tie-break, there was very little to split the two top 5 players, but despite some sensational skill from Gordon, he was unable to stop the Argentinian this time round as Fernandez only needed a single match point to secure his spot in tomorrow’s semi final with the 6-0, 7-6(5) triumph over the Scot.

Fernandez had nothing short of total respect for his competitor and friend, saying: “I’ve known him (Gordon) since he was 14 and I was 13. We care for each other because it’s a long time since we’ve known each other. It’s nice. It’s a beautiful thing that tennis gives you.”

Later in the day, Gordon would get the chance to put the loss behind him in perfect fashion as he joined Alfie Hewitt to play for a spot in the doubles gold medal match, with the French pair of Houdet and Cattaneo the only obstacle in their way.

One of the all-time greats in wheelchair tennis doubles, 53-year-old Houdet was himself aiming for a fourth doubles gold medal after winning in Beijing 2008, Rio 2016 and Tokyo 2020.

Denying Gordon and Alfie of gold in 2016 and 2020, the Brits looked to finally get the better of the Frenchman but were made to comeback from a break down in the opening game.

It wasn’t long until the British duo were back ahead before both pairs were breaking each other for most of the first set. Gordon and Alfie found joy in targeting Cattaneo’s side of the court but struggled to find an answer to Houdet’s sharp hand skills with the racket.

The winning count was proving the difference as Gordon and Alfie’s 12 point-winning strikes helped them take the first set over the French partners.

The second set stayed on serve to make it 4-3 to the Brits before a blow was dealt for the French on Cattaneo’s serve that gave Gordon the opportunity to serve out the match.

With some excellent point-constructing and world class shot making, Gordon starred to confirm their win with a neat drop shot as the ParalympicsGB men made it a third straight gold medal match at the Paralympic Games.

With a strong win over a French pair cheered on by all corners of Suzanne-Lenglen, Gordon and Alfie are just one win away from accomplishing a first-time achievement for the British duo.

Gordon will be back in action on Friday (6th) with Alfie on Phillippe-Chatrier to face the second seed Japanese pair of Takuya Miki and Tokito Oda in the men’s doubles final in what will be a must-see spectacle for British fans. Come on Gordon and Alfie!

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.  

04/09/2024

Sammi Kinghorn Adds Gold to Her Collection Whilst Jenny Holl Completes Her Medal Set, at Paris 2024

Sammi Kinghorn turns golden in Paralympic record style, on the seventh day of the Paris 2024 Paralympic Games.

The 28-year-old can finally call herself a Paralympic champion at these Games, after an outstanding race in the women’s 100m T53. The Scot flew down the Para athletics track to clock a new Paralympic record time of 15.64 seconds. She adds this gold to the two silvers she’s already picked-up at the Stade-de-France.

Para cycling waved goodbye to the velodrome and took to the roads on day seven. It was here that Jenny Holl piloted Sophie Unwin to a superb silver medal in the women’s B Individual Time Trial.

The Irish team made up of Katie George-Dunlevy and pilot Linda Kelly got the better over the Brits, going quicker than Jenny and Sophie by 1:23.60 seconds.

The silver completes the Paralympic medal set for the duo, after having taken gold and bronze earlier in Paris.

The Scots were again in action in Para swimming, with both Stephen Clegg and Toni Shaw making their evening finals.

The medals were just out of reach for Stephen who missed the podium by just over half a second, in the men’s 100m freestyle S12. He had to settle for fourth place behind the two Ukrainians and the Azerbaijan athletes. The same result was repeated in the final of the mixed 4x100m freestyle relay – 49 points, where Stephen represented the Scots in ParalympicsGB’s relay team.

Toni Shaw couldn’t match the world record pace of Australia’s Alexa Leary, in the women’s 100m freestyle S9. The swimmer from Aberdeen gave a great effort in a packed final, to finish eighth in a time of 1:05.60.

There was defeat and disappointment in the women’s wheelchair basketball, the boccia mixed team BC1/BC2 and the men’s wheelchair tennis singles, as all lost their quarterfinal matches.

Robyn Love and Jodie Waite’s dream of a Paralympic medal were squashed after a thrilling quarterfinal against the USA. The USA took advantage of Great Britain’s missed opportunities in the final quarter to steal the win, 59-52.

It was heartbreak in the boccia when Kayleigh Haggo, David Smith and Claire Taggart lost the tiebreak to Indonesia, which ended their Paralympic journey in Paris.

Gordon Reid also failed to advance further in the men’s singles tournament, after a fiercely contested quarterfinal against Gustavo Fernandez. The Argentinian rallied to a 6-0, 7-6 win over the Scot.

Gordon did find success in the men’s wheelchair tennis doubles though, where he and tennis partner Alfie Hewett beat the home favourites to advance to Friday’s gold medal game.

The duo beat France’s Frederic Cattaneo and Stephane Houdet 6-4, 6-3, which means they will battle it out for gold against Japan’s Takuya Miki and Tokito Oda in two days time.

03/09/2024

Gordon Reid Prevails with Alfie Hewitt in Entertaining Quarter Final Doubles Clash

The ParalympicsGB duo showed their class on the clay again with a straight set win to give them safe passage to the last four.

By Paul Morrison

There was more joy at Roland Garros this afternoon for Scotland’s Gordon Reid as he qualified for the men’s wheelchair tennis doubles semi final with teammate Alfie Hewitt.

The pair were too good on the day for the Dutch duo of Ruben Spaargaren and Maarten Ter Hofte, getting the better of the seventh seeds 6-2, 6-1 on an atmospheric Suzanne-Lenglen.

“It was really good. We came out firing right from the start, and we produced some of our best stuff at the beginning of the match”, said Gordon following the win.

Gordon and Alfie will continue their charge in the doubles tomorrow afternoon in what promises to be a must-watch match against tricky opposition.

The pair were once again off to a flying start as a quick break was followed by a strong service game from Gordon to hold an early advantage over the young Dutch players.

Gordon and Alfie were experiencing more success with an aggressive approach to their play, which uncovered the cracks in Spaargaren and Ter Hofte’s game plan. This saw the Brits quickly find themselves 5-0 and giving the Scot a chance to serve for the set.

Falling to complacent levels, the Dutch pair took the next two games where they won eight of the last 10 points at one stage.

After regrouping well and finding their focus again, Alfie was able to serve out for a 6-2 lead and pushing the Brits halfway towards victory.

The second set opened with a tense and engaging return game for Gordon and Alfie in a battle that went on for over 15 minutes that demonstrated a strong resilience from all players to rush and make every shot. This led to the Brits breaking which Gordon secured with a great showing on serve.

The top seeds then slowly came through the next three games as winners with their effective attacking tactics, forcing the Dutch pair to overhit shots out of the court.

In a repeat of the first set, Gordon was unable to serve the match out due to multiple errors as Spaargaren and Ter Hofte won a deserved game in the set.

Any chance of a comeback was shut down right after though, with the victory being sealed on a fourth match point. An exciting match-up that was played in great spirits from all players proved to be a great contest for Gordon and Alfie.

While the more experienced pair came out on top on the day, Spaargaren and Ter Hofte showed their quality and will carry on becoming a true force as a doubles team in years to come.

“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.

Gordon and Alfie will be back together tomorrow in the last four of the doubles event as they face the mission of getting passed the French pairing of Stephane Houdet and Frederic Cattaneo on Suzanne-Lenglen as the Brits will have their eye on avenging their losses in the gold medal match at the Rio 2016 and Tokyo 2016 Games at the hand of Houdet.

“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”, commented Gordon.

Gordon will have another busy day at Roland Garros as he is also first up on Phillippe-Chatrier to compete against Argentine maestro Gustavo Fernandez in the singles quarter final.

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.

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.

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.