Tag: Para Athlete

A photo of Gordon Reid playing Wheelchair Tennis at the 2024 Paris Paralympics, he is wearing his ParalympicsGB kit

Hall of Fame inductees 2026

Scottish Disability Sport (SDS), is delighted to announce that Gordon Reid OBE, Samantha Kinghorn OBE, and Stephen McGuire MBE have been inducted into the SDS Hall of Fame.

On Saturday 19th September, SDS’s Branch Conference, Annual General Meeting and Awards took place. The day provided SDS, its member branches, partners and stakeholders an opportunity to reflect on a year of Para Sport, whilst also celebrating some of Scotland’s greatest Para Athletes, who were being inducted into SDS’s Hall of Fame.

 

The Hall of Fame aims to celebrate the sporting careers and achievements of some of Scotland’s most iconic sports men and women with disabilities. Serving as a lasting tribute to the great Scottish champions, it reflects the sporting journeys of those who have contributed to the development and reputation of disability sport within Scotland, the UK and around the world.

 

Hall of Fame inductees 2026:

 

Hailing from Alexandria in West Dunbartonshire, Gordon Reid OBE is being inducted into the SDS Hall of Fame, after an incredible career in wheelchair tennis. Gordon has produced some of his most memorable performances when pressure was at its highest, securing his status as a Paralympic champion, Grand Slam winner and world number one in both singles and doubles.

A keen athlete as a child, Gordon contracted transverse myelitis at the age of twelve, a rare neurological condition which left him paralysed from the waist down. Determined to continue in sport, he was introduced to wheelchair tennis in 2005 and quickly rediscovered the game he loved.

Gordon made his Paralympic debut at the 2008 Beijing Summer Games aged only 16-years-old, going on to reach the quarter-finals in both singles and doubles at the London 2012 Paralympic Games.

Gordon’s 2016 season was career defining, winning his first Grand Slam singles title at the Australian Open, followed by the inaugural men’s wheelchair singles title at Wimbledon, where he also won the doubles title. At the 2016 Rio de Janeiro Summer Paralympic Games he became ParalympicsGB’s first men’s wheelchair tennis singles gold medallist, adding silver with long time doubles partner Alfie Hewett in the men’s doubles competition.

At the delayed 2020 Tokyo Summer Paralympic Games, Gordon added bronze in the men’s singles and silver in the men’s doubles with Alfie Hewett. Three years later, at the Paris 2024 Games, the duo won men’s doubles gold, giving Gordon a second Paralympic gold medal, confirming his place among the most decorated wheelchair tennis players of his era.

Awarded an MBE in 2017 and an OBE in the 2023 New Year Honours for services to wheelchair tennis, Gordon Reid OBE remains an outstanding ambassador for Scottish Disability Sport, British tennis and the Paralympic movement.

Born in the Scottish Borders, Samantha Kinghorn OBE has become a Paralympic Champion, World Champion and Commonwealth Games medallist whose achievements have placed her among the leading wheelchair racers of her generation.

As a teenager Samantha’s life changed dramatically, following an accident on her family farm. During her rehabilitation she was introduced to wheelchair sport, and quickly discovered the speed, freedom and challenge of wheelchair racing.

In 2014 Samantha won three gold medals for Great Britain at the IPC European Championships in Swansea, taking the T53 titles over 100 metres, 400 metres and 800 metres. The same year she represented Team Scotland at the Glasgow 2014 Commonwealth Games, announcing herself as a major Scottish talent.

Making her Paralympic debut at the Rio de Janeiro Summer Games in 2016, she gained valuable experience. She produced a breakthrough performance the following year at the 2017 World Para Athletics Championships in London, winning gold in both the T53 100 metres and 200 metres and adding bronze in the 400 metres.

At the delayed Tokyo 2020 Summer Paralympic Games, Samantha won her first Paralympic medals, taking bronze in the T53 100 metres and silver in the T53 400 metres. At the 2023 World Para Athletics Championships in Paris, she returned to the top of the podium, winning T53 100 metres gold, adding silver medals in the 400 metres and 800 metres.

Paris 2024 became the defining Games of Samantha’s career, winning gold in the T53 100 metres and four silver medals in the T53 400 metres, T53 800 metres, T54 1,500 metres and 4×100 metres Universal Relay.

Her achievements across Paralympic, World, European and Commonwealth competitions make her one of Scotland’s most decorated Para athletes.

Stephen McGuire MBE is one of Britain’s leading boccia athletes. From Hamilton, South Lanarkshire, Stephen has built an outstanding international career.

Born with muscular dystrophy, Stephen found in boccia a sport that matched his competitive drive and strategic mind.

Stephen’s early international success came alongside his brother Peter in the BC4 pairs event. The brothers won European gold in 2009 and World Championship silver in 2010, going on to make their Paralympic debut at London 2012.

Over the next decade Stephen became the benchmark British BC4 athlete, competing at the 2016 Rio de Janeiro and 2020 Tokyo Summer Paralympic Games, becoming individual BC4 World Champion at the 2016 World Championships in Beijing.

Stephen’s journey to the Paris 2024 Summer Paralympic Games showed his resilience, suffering a serious injury in 2022, breaking his knee and femur, requiring major surgery. Returning to international competitions winning BC4 Individual bronze, and BC4 Pairs silver with Fiona Muirhead at the 2023 European Para Championships.

Being selected late for Paris 2024 after earning a bipartite slot, Stephen seized his opportunity at his fourth Paralympic Games, defeating Colombia’s Edilson Chica Chica 8–5 in the men’s individual BC4 final to win his first Paralympic medal and become Paralympic champion.

Stephen went on to win double gold at the 2025 European Championships, taking the individual title and the BC4 pairs title with Sophie Newnham, before securing the BC4 Pairs title at the 2026 World Championships in Seoul, with Sophie.

Awarded an MBE in the 2024 New Year Honours, Stephen McGuire MBE is a more than worthy inductee into SDS’s Hall of Fame.

A photo of Patrick Wilson competing in a game of boccia. He is wearing his ParalympicsGB kit

Scottish boccia players competing at the World Championships

Taking on the best.

Scottish boccia players are getting ready to set off in preparation for the World Boccia Championships 2026.

The selected athletes have an exciting opportunity as they prepare themselves for the World Boccia Championships, which are being held next week.

Being held in Seoul, South Korea, the selected athletes have an incredible opportunity to take on the world’s top players, as they all do battle on the boccia courts, in the hope of being revered throughout the boccia community as the World Champion.

The historic KSPO Dome, in Olympic Park will host the World Championships from Monday 24th to Friday 4th September.

The squad that has been selected to represent Boccia UK has a new feel to it, as it combines emerging talent with some experienced faces from the British boccia scene. However, the Scottish representatives provide a wealth of experience to the group having competed at an astonishing combined seven Paralympics.

None will be more experienced than Paralympic champion Stephen McGuire, who is making his sixth start at a World Boccia Championships, at the event, Stephen will be looking to maintain his status as the BC4 Individual and Pairs world number one. Stephen who won the World Boccia Championships in 2016, will be partnering up with England’s Sophie Newnham, where they will be going back to the KSPO Dome, the site where they won BC4 Pairs gold last year at the World Boccia Challenger, in Seoul.

Kayleigh Brown will be hoping to continue her strong play from throughout 2026, which has seen her win two silvers at the World Boccia Challenger, Pajulathi. So far 2026 has been a whirlwind year for the Ayrshire based athlete, as she not only has to get herself ready to regularly compete at an international level, but also has to tend to her newborn son, Klay. Kayleigh will be competing in the Individual competition, along with joining forces with David Smith of Wales, and England’s Rashad Saraj in the BC1/2 Team competition.

Patrick Wilson has had an amazing return to form, as the two-time Paralympian found himself on the podium at the 2026 Boccia World Cup, in Povoa, winning bronze. Renowned as one of Edinburgh’s finest athletes, Patrick will be competing in the Individual competition, whilst joining up with England’s Sally Kidson in the Pairs.

Scottish boccia players selected to represent Boccia UK at the upcoming World Boccia Championships are:

  • BC2 – Kayleigh Brown
  • BC3 – Patrick Wilson & Merideth Greenwood (ramp operator)
  • BC4 – Stephen McGuire

 

To keep up to date with all things disability sport across Scotland, follow Scottish Disability Sport on Facebook, Instagram and LinkedIn.

side-on photo of Joanna Robertson in her racing chair on the track competing at our Senior Athletics Champs

New Resources to Support Para Athlete Coaching & Practice.

Recently Scottish Disability Sport (SDS) in partnership with sportscotland’s Institute of Sport, have launched a new suite of resources designed to support coaches and practitioners working with Para Athletes at pathway and performance level.

 

These new resources aim to enhance understanding, strengthen practice, and ultimately improve the experience and performance of the Para Athletes being supported.

 

The new resources include:

 

  • Para Athlete Impairments, this resource will help coaches and practitioners gain a clear and practical understanding of different impairment types, how they can impact performance, and how to tailor coaching methods and practices to meet individual athlete needs.

 

  • Classification in Para Sport, in this module learners can explore how classification systems work in para sport, why they matter, and how they influence training, competition, and long-term athlete development.

 

  • Supporting Para Athletes, in this resource, coaches and practitioners  can access guidance and strategies to create inclusive, athlete-centred environments that empower para athletes to thrive both in training and competition.

 

launched in advance of the Glasgow 2026 Commonwealth Games Opening Ceremony, SDS are looking forward to supporting more people working across para sport to create environments where athletes can flourish. These resources are available for all at no charge, and can be accessed through Brightspace.

 

Self register on to the new resources by clicking on the below links:

 

If you have any questions, email SDS’s Education and Learning Manager Alison Shaw at: alison.shaw@scottishdisabilitysport.com

To keep up-to-date with all things disability sport across Scotland, follow Scottish Disability Sport on Facebook, Instagram and LinkedIn.