Tag: scottish disability sport

30/09/2024

Great Success at Grampian and Highland Parasport Festivals

By William Moncrieff, Communications Apprentice

The Grampian and Highland Parasport Festivals took place over the weekend (Friday 27th and Saturday 28th, respectively), officially starting the SDS Parasport Festival 2024/2025 season.

Aberdeen Sports Village hosted Grampian’s Parasport festival, with Lochaber Leisure Centre was the venue for Highland’s.

Having just joined SDS in early June, it was Elizabeth Mills’ first time oragnising a festival in her area. She described the day as, “Absolutely amazing”, which left her a bit speechless.

She said, “I wasn’t expecting it to be so moving and touching and I think a lot of parents and volunteers and coaches have felt that as well. All the kids have just been absolutely incredible at what they do.”

The Highland Parasport festival was organised by Kathryn Talbot-Heigh, her second whilst in position as Regional Development Manager (RDM) at SDS.

“I think the Parasport Festivals are really good for being able to provide new sports to the participants who wouldn’t have had the confidence or opportunity to try before,” said Kathryn,

“We have a couple of children here today who are playing rugby for the first time, they are now asking to play it long term, this now means that we can try support the local rugby club to provide this in the area.”

Across the two Parasport festivals, participants got to try boccia, swimming, kayaking, rugby, shinty, bowls, cycling, table tennis, snow sports and athletics.

Not only do the Parasport Festivals provide participants with a fantastic introduction to sports but they can also provide an opportunity for personal growth and development. This is something that Jamie, a parent who brought their daughter, Bessie, to the Highland Parasport festival, noticed.

“Sport is a fundamental building block for children to have both inside and outside of school. Certainly, by introducing Bessie to a range of new sports and locations to do these sports has given her a lot of new confidence.” He continued to say: “She has definitely grown a lot as a person, meeting new people with their own needs and disabilities has helped. You can see with Bessie that the festival has also helped her overcome social anxieties.”

Elizabeth – also known as Wizzy – believes that the festivals are very important because, “they [parents, children] don’t know what’s out there. It’s really difficult to get that contact – to try and find other people to contact to get involved in that sport and if they don’t have my email where else are they going to go? So, this is a good introduction to the pathways which they can then follow.”

Reaching remote areas across the country is a crucial part of the work as a SDS RDM.

“Within the Highlands we won’t have the huge numbers but it is just as important that children in these rural areas have the opportunity to come and take part because they are still the same children in mainstream schools with disabilities that can’t always take part,” said Kathryn.

“It might be that we only have 10 or so children participating, but it is really important to have something that they haven’t had to travel long distances to access,” Kathryn explained.

Louise Gillespi, the National Development Manager at SDS, attended the event in the Highlands, and viewed it as a huge success.

“It’s great to be here in the Western Highlands. Usually we are around the Inverness area, so it’s nice to be in a new location.”

She continued to say, “It’s great to be here with some new sports like shinty to showcase, showing that these sports can be inclusive. It has been good to provide the participants with a range of sports, that way they can work out what works for them, hopefully they can then go and take this knowledge and find a regular sport throughout their local communities.”

If you would like to try a new sport in your area, find out more here or contact your RDM (via the same link).

Stay up to date with the latest news and opportunities by following SDS on Facebook, X and Instagram, as well as keeping tabs on the SDS website.

30/09/2024

Scottish Disability Sport National Survey 2024

Scottish Disability Sport (SDS) is excited to introduce its first ever National Survey. SDS aims to address inequalities experienced by people living in Scotland with a disability or a long-term health condition when trying to be more physically active. To make sure that these actions are making a meaningful difference, SDS would like to hear from adults (16+) living with a disability or long-term condition in Scotland. For example, what makes it difficult for you to take part in sport and physical activity and what would make it easier?  Even if you do not take part in any activity, we would still like to hear from you. Please share this survey with your networks and encourage anyone eligible to complete it as it will make a difference in the future.

We are working on producing an easy-read version for the next wave of circulation and if anyone should need any additional support in completing the survey please contact SDS on admin@scottishdisabilitysport.com or on 0131 317 1130.

(This survey is created in collaboration with researchers at Queen Margaret University Edinburgh and builds on the report produced by the Observatory for Sport in Scotland and University of West of Scotland and SDS are grateful to all who helped support this survey, including our sister organisation Activity Alliance who provided invaluable insight from their survey experience).

LINK TO SURVEY – SDS NATIONAL SURVEY 2024

QR Code Link to Survey, below:

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.

24/09/2024

Golden Debut: A Recap of Faye Rogers First Paralympic Games

The Para swimmer left Paris with a gold medal in her first ever Paralympic games, three years after her accident.

By Bethany Lee

21-year-old Faye Rogers can now call herself a Paralympic champion after winning gold at the Paris 2024 Paralympic Games (28 August – 8 September).

The University of Aberdeen student had her crowing moment in the women’s 100m Butterfly S10. The race was incredibly tight, with Faye swimming beside ParalympicsGB teammate Callie-Ann Warrington.

The pair were neck-and-neck until Faye pushed into the lead, grabbing the gold with a time of 1:05.84, a slender 0.57 seconds ahead of her teammate.

Photo of Faye Rogers and her teammate Callie-Ann Warrington, swimming side by side in the final of the 100m butterfly S10. — Photo credit: ParalympicsGB

The thrilling conclusion to the intense race left Faye in shock. Looking back on her golden moment, she said: “You know when you see people celebrating in the pool, I didn’t. I knew I’d won, but it didn’t sink in, and then I got out of the pool and I was like woah I’ve just won, it kind of hit me late.”

When asked how it felt to win, she added: “To be honest there was a lot of relief in there, I was quite nervous going into it. I think the best feeling was being on the podium. I could see my family and I was trying really hard not to just look at my mum and cry. I honestly can’t put into words how amazing that feeling is.”

Photo of Faye leaning on the swimming lane ropes and smiling after her race — Photo credit: ParalympicsGB

As well as winning gold, Faye made it to two other Paralympic finals, finishing 5^th in both the women’s 200m Individual Medley SM10 with a time of 2:33.90 and the women’s 400m Freestyle S10 with a time of 4:41.50.

She also competed in the women’s 100m Freestyle S10, finishing second in the swim-offs by just 0.06 seconds.

Looking back as the Games came to a close, Faye said: “This week has just been crazy, it’s still not sunk in yet. It’s just been the most surreal week.”

Photo of Faye Rogers smiling and holding her gold medal on the podium — Photo credit: ParalympicsGB

The University of Aberdeen student had already drawn attention after her international debut at the 2023 World Championships, taking home three medals including a gold in the 100m Butterfly S10. She was also named Para Swimming Emerging Athlete of the Year in 2023 by British Swimming.

The star swimmer has been competing since the age of nine and took part in the Olympic trails in 2021 in London. Shortly after, she was involved in a car accident and told she’d never race competitively again.

Now, she is a world champion, a European record holder and, almost exactly three years after her accident, a Paralympic gold medallist.

Going forward, Faye hopes to compete for Scotland in the 2026 Commonwealth Games, which will be on home soil (or water!). Faye was born in Durham but trains and is based in Aberdeen where she is studying biochemistry with the hopes of becoming a doctor.

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 the SDS website.

24/09/2024

Young Start Programme – the Importance of Training and Developing the Future Generation.

By William Moncrieff, SDS Communications Apprentice

In September – to celebrate sportscotland’s theme of #SportForSkills – Scottish Disability Sport (SDS) is shining a spotlight on the Young Start Programme and all of the experiences and skills being learnt and developed by young individuals with disabilities across Scotland.

The Young Start Programme is a year long course that helps young people aged between 16 – 24 living with a vision impairment, hearing loss, physical disabilities or mild learning disabilities throughout Scotland, to develop their confidence and coaching skills. The Young Start Programme will further help individuals enrolled on the course gain a coaching qualification.

SDS caught up with two members of the Young Start Programme, Callum and Jordon, to find out how the programme has supported them on their coaching journey.

Callum Ballantyne is 23 years old and has a learning disability. Callum initially found out about the programme when his athletics coach mentioned it to him.

“It first interested me by seeing that it could help me get a coaching qualification”, said Callum.

Before Callum joined the Young Start Programme he was involved in sports, both participating and coaching in athletics and BMX.

“It helped me on my coaching experiences through picking up different skills”, said Callum.

“I love being a coach because I am an athlete myself and I love to give back to my sport of athletics.”

He continued to say: “I love working with kids of all abilities and helping them achieve their dreams. I love to see all of the kids’ smiling faces when they achieve something, small or big.”

There have been many skills and lessons that Callum has developed throughout his time on the programme. He explained: “The most important thing that it has taught me is that there is a coaching opportunity out there for people with a learning disability. It helps you get the skills you need to become a coach.”

Providing these coaching opportunities to young people with a disability is something Callum strongly believes in.

“I think we should see more people with a learning disability work in the coaching world. I think we can bring in skills and experiences that other people can’t bring in. I think it will help the workplace become more inclusive as well,” he said.

Callum views his experience in the Young Start Programme as being very valuable and enjoyable.

“I would recommend the programme to other people because the programme helps you build on your skills for coaching and it helps you to get into the coaching world.”

Callum continued to say: “It’s good because you’ve got a mentor throughout your journey on the programme.”

SDS also connected with Jordon, another member of the Young Start Programme, who was keen to share his experience.

Jordon is 17 years old and has a learning disability. Applying for the Young Start Programme was something that Jordan was incredibly interested in, with himself being a keen footballer and having done a little bit of coaching throughout school.

“I found out about Young Start through the sports coordinator in the school,” Jordan said.

Jordan was instantly happy that he had applied, as he really enjoyed getting out into the field and coaching. “My favorite thing about coaching is helping everyone build up skills. I find this to be rewarding. I am happy when I coach football. I just enjoy it because I get to help different people.” Jordan explained.

Along with enjoying coaching and meeting participants, Jordan has used the programme to develop skills.

“I think I have built on my communication and stopping conflict.” He added, “The course helped me grow in confidence. I definitely feel more confident now, compared to before the course. The course has helped me gain coaching qualifications.”

When looking at what he has managed to achieve and learn from the course, Jordan highly recommends the Programme. “If anyone was thinking of joining the Programme I would tell them just to do it. It will build your confidence along with other skills and you will get a qualification.”

If you are interested in the Young Start Programme or would like to find out more, please contact your SDS Regional Development Manager.

11/09/2024

Medal Moments at the Paris 2024 Paralympics

The Paris 2024 Paralympic Games have come to an end. Here are all the mighty medal-winning moments from Scotland’s Para athletes in the French capital.

By Bethany Lee

Sunday saw the grand finale of an incredible Paralympics, with Great Britain winning a total of 124 medals and finishing second behind the People’s Republic of China.

Scots made up 9.8% of the ParalympicsGB team and brought home a total of 20 medals, including 11 golds, 8 silvers, and 1 bronze.

The Scottish athletes competed in 10 different sports and gave some unforgettable performances.

So, here are all of the medals won by ParalympicsGB’s Scottish athletes at this year’s Paris 2024 Paralympics!

Key: WR – World Record; PR – Paralympic Record; PGB – Paralympic Games Best; ER (AR) – European Record (Area Record); SR – Scottish Record; PB – Personal Best.

Para Swimming

The Scots were giving it their all in the pool, with the Borders’ Stephen Clegg, Glasgow’s Louis Lawlor, Aberdeen’s Toni Shaw, and University of Aberdeen student Faye Rogers all competing. Stephen and Faye delivered standout performances, gaining 3 golds for ParalympicsGB.

Gold – Stephen Clegg – Men’s 100m Backstroke S12 – Time of 59.02 (WR) – Day 3

Gold – Stephen Clegg – Men’s 100m Butterfly S10 – Time of 57.49 – Day 10

Gold – Faye Rogers – Women’s 100m Butterfly S10 – Time of 1:05.84 – Day 6

Para Cycling

On the track and road, Strathpeffer’s Fin Graham and Aberdeen’s Neil Fachie sped to the podium whilst Forth Valley’s Jenny Holl piloted partner Sophie Unwim to four medal victories. None of the cycling Scots came home empty handed.

Gold – Jenny Holl (Pilot for Sophie Unwin) – Women’s B 3000m Individual Pursuit – Time of 3:17.643 (WR) – Day 4

Gold – Jenny Holl (Pilot for Sophie Unwim) – Women’s B Road Race – Time of 2:37:26 – Day 9

Gold – Fin Graham – Men’s C1-3 Road Race – Time of 1:43:19 – Day 10

Silver – Fin Graham – Men’s C3 3000m Individual Pursuit – Time of 3:22.540 – Day 2

Silver – Neil Fachie (With Pilot Matthew Rotherham) – Men’s B 1000m Time Trial – Time of 59.312 – Day 4

Silver – Jenny Holl (Pilot for Sophie Unwim) – Women’s B Individual Time Trial – Time of 39:39.118 – Day 7

Bronze – Jenny Holl (Pilot for Sophie Unwim) – Women’s B 1000m Time Trial – Time of 1:07.719 – Day 2

Para Athletics

It was a busy tournament for the Scots on the track. The Borders’ Samantha Kinghorn MBE, Fife’s Ben Sandilands, and Glasgow’s Melanie Woods all fought hard in their races. Sammi had a particularly special games, collecting a total of five medals to better her medal tally from the Tokyo 2020 Games.

Gold – Ben Sandilands – Men’s 1500m T20 – Time of 3:45.20 (WR & PR) – Day 9

Gold – Sammi Kinghorn – Women’s 100m T53 – Time of 15.64 (PR) – Day 7

Silver – Sammi Kinghorn – Women’s 800m T53 – Time of 1:42.96 – Day 4

Silver – Sammi Kinghorn – Women’s 1500m T54 – Time of 3:16.01 – Day 5

Silver – Sammi Kinghorn – Women’s 400m T53 – Time of 53.45 – Day 8

Silver – Sammi Kinghorn (with Zach Shaw, Jonnie Peacock, and Ali Smith) – 4x100m Universal Relay – Time of 46.01 (ER, AR) – Day 9

Boccia

Three Scottish athletes took to the court for some boccia action in Paris: Edinburgh’s Patrick Wilson, Ayrshire’s Kayleigh Haggo, and Hamilton’s Stephen McGuire. Stephen left with his first Paralympic medal – a glorious gold in the inaugural event for his category.

Gold – Stephen McGuire – Men’s Individual BC4 – Win of 8-5 – Day 5

Para Archery

Lothian star Nathan Macqueen represented Scotland in Para Archery, winning gold with teammate Jodie Grinham.

Gold – Nathan Macqueen – Mixed Team Compound Open – Win of 155-151 – Day 5

Wheelchair Tennis

The tennis court was on fire this Paralympics with some exciting action, including a wonderful doubles win from Glasgow’s Gorden Reid.

Gold – Gorden Reid (with Alfie Hewett) – Men’s Doubles – Win of 2-0 (6-2, 6-1) – Day 9

Para Canoe

And finally, in Para canoe, Hope Gordon was the only Scottish athlete to compete. She did us proud, bringing home a shiny silver for ParalympicsGB.

Silver – Hope Gordon – Women’s Va’a Single 200m VL3 – Time of 56.59 – Day 10

A very successful Paralympics overall for our Scottish athletes.

10/09/2024

Scottish Women in Sport Conference 2024 – Safe and Strong

Last month, the Scottish Women in Sport Conference featured a great lineup of inspirational speakers, including SDS’s YPSP Administrator Grace Stirling and Commonwealth Games Para Cyclist Laura Cluxton.

Laura Pilkington, SDS Board Director, hosted the session, during which Laura and Grace shared their experiences in sport.

They both delivered fantastic presentations highlighting sports’ positive contributions to their lives. They described situations where inclusive practice, implemented to support their safety and well-being, could have improved their experiences.

They challenged the audience to think inclusively to promote and support the safety, inclusion and well-being of participants and athletes with disabilities. The key messages from Laura and Grace were:

Focus on an athlete’s ability, not disability

Educate sports staff and coaches to embed inclusion in their practice

Athletes feeling safe will lead to better performance

Be proactive, not reactive

Small changes can make a big difference

Contact Scottish Disability Sport for support.

You can watch the highlights of the video here.

If you are an organisation that would like to offer more inclusive opportunities, please contact Scottish Disability Sport at admin@scottishdisabilitysport.com or telephone 0131 317 1130.

And in other news… Scottish Women in Sport Awards!

Scottish Women in Sport are seeking nominations for this year’s awards. You can use this SW/S Nomination Form to submit the following. Deadline is this Friday 13th September!

Sportswoman of the Year

Young Sportswoman of the Year

Para Athlete of the Year

SW/S Inspiration in Sport

Team of the Year

Coach/Manager of the Year

Community Champion of the Year

Volunteer of the Year

Pioneer in Sport

Most Valuable Partnership

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!

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.

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.