Tag: disability

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.

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.

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.

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

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.

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.

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.

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.

29/08/2024

Paris 2024 Paralympics: Day 1 Review

Day one in Paris did not disappoint.

The Scots were in action in Para swimming, boccia, wheelchair basketball, Para cycling (track), Para table tennis and Para archery.

First up was Toni Shaw who swam a great heat to secure her spot in the final of the women’s 400m freestyle S9 with a time of 4:53.38. It was a highly competitive race where the swimmer from Aberdeen found herself in a five-way battle for bronze.

Turning seventh at the 250m mark, Toni put in one of the fastest last 50m splits in the field, touching home with a time of 4:48.44 for fifth place. Despite being off the medals, her performance was faster than her bronze medal winning swim at last year’s World Championships.

Robyn Love and Jodie Waite got their Paralympic campaign off to a terrific start with a convincing win in the women’s wheelchair basketball Preliminary Round against Spain, winning 69-34.

Robyn – who’s competing at her third Paralympic Games in Paris – said: “In these group stages, you can’t get too high or too low but I’m so proud of the squad and how we performed”.

Compared to the last Paralympics where no spectators were allowed, Paris is proving to be quite special for Robyn, with her young daughter in the crowd.

“She’s like a little good luck charm and emotional support baby for the squad and she’s definitely part of the team. The first thing I did when I came out was look for her. Whenever I see her face it makes me relaxed because I know that whatever I do, she doesn’t care about the result she’s here to watch her mummies and see her mummies and I went and had a little cuddle with her afterwards”, said Robyn.

Winning ways continued in the boccia with Patrick Wilson (BC3) and Stephen McGuire (BC4 v Abdul Razzaq Abdul Rahman, MAS) taking their opening pool matches in the individual events, 5-3 and 8-0 respectively.

Following his win against fellow ParalympicsGB teammate, William Arnott, Patrick said: “It was a difficult match but I got through it. It was important to get through it. It’s always a bit awkward to play against a teammate but we did it in the right way. I’m excited to get out there and try to get my second win. I’ve got to be good to do that.”

It wasn’t to be for Kayleigh Haggo though, who suffered a defeat to the number three seed Soyeong Jeong (KOR). She lost 3-1 in the women’s individual BC2.

In the men’s B 4000m individual Pursuit (track cycling), Neil Fachie and pilot Matthew Rotherham finished in 13th, clocking a time of 5:33.212 in the qualification round. They’ll next be in action on Sunday 1st, in the men’s B 1000m Time Trial qualification.

Meanwhile in the Para table tennis, debutant Martin Perry coupled with Will Bayley in the men’s doubles MD14, advance to the next round after a 3-0 win over Germany’s Thomas Rau and Bjoern Schnake.

Martin valued having such an experienced partner to play alongside, saying after the match: “To have Will next to me, filling me with that confidence and knowing that he believes in me, meant that after that I felt like I was standing ten feet tall. We fought for every ball and we played some good stuff. To finally get a match at the Paralympic Games means so much to me.”

The final Scot in action on day one was Nathan Macqueen in the men’s Individual Compound Open. Nathan put in a strong performance to finish sixth with a season’s best score of 696, to take him though to tomorrow’s (30th) round of 16 where he will face Slovakia’s Martin Doric.

Looking ahead to tomorrow he said: “It’s the biggest crowd that any of us have shot in front of. It’s going to be pretty special. And to have the family out there is going to be pretty cool. I’m just going to go and do my best.”

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.

27/08/2024

Faye Rogers is Ready to Take on Paris

“Going to the Paralympic Games is just insane and I am so excited.” – Faye Rogers is ready for her Paralympic Games debut at Paris 2024.

By William Moncrieff

The 21-year-old Para swimmer – who studies at the University of Aberdeen – will be competing in the women’s 100m Butterfly S10, 100m freestyle S10, 400m freestyle S10 and the 200m individual medley SM10 in Paris.

Faye first found out that she was going to become a Paralympian after the Para swimming trials in April. She was nervous immediately after as she felt unwell and wasn’t completely happy with her performance. However, she got selected and was over the moon to get the news.

“It was so exciting to get that confirmation through,” said Faye.

“I just want to go and be my best, make all of that hard work pay off.”

Faye took up Para swimming after a serious car crash left her with life changing injuries. When looking back over the journey she has been on, Faye is incredibly proud with how she reacted.

“I am quite proud of myself for sticking with it and getting to this point”, said Faye, who has been swimming since aged nine.

She continued to say: “As much as my journey in swimming hasn’t looked as I expected it to look as a child, I am still just really proud of myself where I’ve got to.”

“I didn’t dare to dream about the Paralympics until a year and a half ago,” said Faye.

“Following my accident and impairment I didn’t know whether I would be good enough.” Faye made the Paralympics a goal of hers after trials for the World Championships in 2023. It was here that she realised her potential in the sport and consequently, she gave herself a pep talk: “I’ve got a year to work and get myself selected.”

Adding: “That was the point that it became a goal rather than a dream.”

Just a day out from the opening ceremony of the Paris 2024 Paralympics, Faye has had time to reflect on her journey as an athlete.

“I think having that goal and having that to aim for and work for has been pretty much the only thing that has got me through the last three years. Having a serious accident and being told that you aren’t going to be able to do something that you have done all your life, something you love, is really hard.”

She continued to say, “I think having in the back of my mind there is the Paralympics and I can achieve everything that I wanted to achieve was sort of life changing.”

All of the best of luck in Paris, Faye!

Make sure to follow the action live on Channel 4 and keep up-to-date by following SDS on Facebook, X and Instagram. More information and the competition schedule is available on the SDS website.

12/08/2024

SDS Supports the Eric Liddell 100 Legacy Project

We all know the theme tune of the film Chariots of Fire but do we know the story behind the main character, Eric Liddell? To find out more about him, watch this short video, Eric Liddell.

It has been 100 years since Eric won the gold medal in the 400m event at the Paris 1924 Summer Olympic Games. SDS is supporting our partners, Eric Liddell 100 Legacy Project, to recognise and celebrate the life of Eric Liddell in two ways:

1. For this year only, the SDS National Senior Athletics Championships will name all 400m events, the Eric Liddell 400m event. All winners of the 400m events will receive an Eric Liddell medal.

2. One person from each SDS member branch will be awarded a unique Eric Liddell pin badge at SDS’s AGM on Sunday 6th October. SDS will award 14 ‘Eric Liddell Pin Badges’ at the AGM to celebrate some outstanding individuals that demonstrate the Eric Liddell values (listed below), whilst contributing to the development of disability sport in Scotland.

Passion – enthusiasm, dedication, optimism, self-belief

Compassion – humility, selflessness, respect, care, community-minded

Integrity – discretion, loyalty, self-sacrifice, principled

One of the 14 Pin Badge Award winners may be nominated to attend the Eric Liddell 100 Awards 2024 event in November. Nomination forms will be sent to all SDS member branches soon.

If you would like further information on any of the above, please don’t hesitate to email us at admin@scottishdisabilitysport.com or telephone us at 0131 317 1130.

12/08/2024

Macqueen Targets Top Spot in Paris with Family By His Side

By Emma Logan, Communications Manager

As the current world number two, Nathan Macqueen is hungry to regain the top spot and put on a good show for his family that will be cheering him on when he competes at the Paris 2024 Paralympic Games.

The Paris Paralympics will be the third Games for the Para archer from Dumfries, after making his debut at Rio 2016. Nathan’s world number two ranking comes after a silver medal at the 2023 World Para Championships compound open. He followed this up this year with a gold in the compound open mixed team division at the European Para Cup (with Jodie Grinham) and a bronze in the mixed team medal at the European Para Championships (with Phoebe Paterson Pine).

Despite the pressure that comes with competing on the world stage, Nathan’s tactic is to simply enjoy the event.

“I just want to go in and enjoy it because when I’m enjoying myself, I’m more relaxed and that’s when I shoot my best”, said Nathan.

“That’s when I’m at my most dangerous to other archers. It’s when I start thinking about the occasion is when things go a bit wrong.”

Despite currently recovering from a chest infection, training shows Nathan to be on top form.

“I was one point off the British record three weeks ago at a competition. It’s the first time I’ve ever shot over 700 (points) in a competition as well, so that was really good.”

Nathan’s family could be his secret weapon in Paris. For the first time he will have family members present and cheering him on at the Paralympics, which is a great advantage for him.

“There’s ten members of my family going out”, said Nathan.

“It’s going to be a new one for me because I’ve never had anyone at a competition before. I normally struggle. In Tokyo and Rio with the time difference and trying to get that bit of the day where you can talk to family and what not but (this time) they’re going over. They’re going to be in the same time zone as me. I’ll be able to see them so yeah, I’m hoping that it will allow me to focus more and not be homesick.”

His family have played an instrumental part in his sporting journey. After his motorbike accident in 2009, Nathan participated in several different sports before his now wife recommended that he try archery, after having participated in the sport when he was younger with his dad.

“If I didn’t have the support from my family then I wouldn’t be in the position I am now”, said Nathan.

“The amount of sacrifices she (his wife) makes so that I can do what I do. So, just thank you.”

Returning to the sport has proven to have a huge impact on his life, outside of competing on the world stage.

“It has given me a focus and a goal. I was always really goal orientated. I was a joiner beforehand so you would set yourself a goal for the day and archery is the exact same. Short term goals, mid term and long term goals. Just marking it out.”

Regardless of his form and his family’s support, you can never predict the outcome of an archery competition.

“It’s a really unforgiving sport”, commented Nathan.

“You can’t control anyone else. You can’t even influence anyone else. You just need to go out and shoot your best. You could shoot a world record and then someone else could pip the world record by a point and you’d lose.”

Despite the challenges of the sport, Nathan advises anyone that feels inspired to take up archery after watching the Paralympics should remember to: “Just be patient and have fun.”

He continued to say, “I never thought I’d be doing archery for a living but here I am. So just try things and don’t be afraid to fail either.”

Nathan will be competing in the compound men’s open category and compound open mixed team, between the 29th August and 2nd September at the Paris 2024 Paralympics. You can watch the Paralympics live and catch up on Channel 4, from the 28th August to the 8th September. More information about Nathan can be found on his website.