Tag: SDS

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

Get Involved and Try Goalball!

HAVE YOU BEEN INSPIRED BY THE PARALYMPIC GAMES?

Northern allstars Goalball club, based at Sport Central, Northumbria University, Newcastle are welcoming new players! Goalball is a team sport designed specifically for people with a vision impairment. The Northern All Stars sessions are open to anyone regardless of their goalball experience and the club would like to promote their sessions to Scottish players owing to their proximity to the border! Upcoming sessions are as follows:

Saturday 12th October
Saturday 9th November
Saturday 14th December

(All sessions are 11am until 4pm).

If you have any further questions, please contact: goalballnorthernallstars@gmail.com

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.

11/09/2024

Double Gold Glory for the Scots on Day 10 in Paris

On the penultimate day of the Games, the Scottish athletes bagged another three medals at the Paris 2024 Paralympics.

By Lauren Cameron

On Saturday (7th), Fin Graham and Stephen Clegg found the top of the podium whilst Hope Gordon secured a silver to help bring Scotland’s medal tally to 20.

Scottish rider, Fin Graham, secured his first Paralympic gold of the Games on Saturday morning’s men’s C1-3 Road Race in Paris.

The 24-year-old outsprinted home favourites Thomas Peyroton-Dartet and Alexandre Leaute (FRA), with an impressive time of 1:43:19. 

The Highland athlete described the win: “It is the pinnacle of our sport… Paralympic gold, nothing compares to it. That’s what we work towards every four years, to be able to come away with that is amazing.”

Despite securing gold, Fin admits the race was not without its challenges.

“The French made it hard because it was two against one the whole race.” He added: “I didn’t really know what their plan was because they were talking in French the whole race.”

Describing the race, he added: “Alex [Leaute] led up the final climb and I thought that was his attempt to lead Thomas [Peyroton-Dartet] out. In the last couple of races I’ve managed to beat him in a sprint so I felt fairly confident.”

Fin’s confidence paid off, earning him his first Paralympic gold ahead of the Peyroton-Léauté duo. He adds the gold to his one silver that won on the track (men’s C3 3000m Individual Pursuit).

In the swimming finals, Stephen Clegg won his second Para swimming gold of Paris 2024 in the men’s100m Butterfly S12.

Stephen, 28, the world record holder in the event, crossed the finish line with a time of 57:49.

The win is Stephen’s second gold after a triumphant performance in the 100 Backstroke S12 earlier in the Games, cementing his status as a double Paralympic champion in Paris.

According to the Lothian athlete, Saturday’s win is just the beginning: “I’m always striving for more and better. Every result I have, I am evaluating how it’s gone as a performance rather than just the result”.

Reflecting on his journey to the Paralympics, he adds: “This is a reward for the roll of the dice I took 10 years ago. A lot of people thought I was crazy when I came back and take a shot at being a Paralympic champion.”

Stephen dedicates his win to his family and friends: “None of this happens without them. I owe them everything.”

Faye Rogers was also in action in the pool, finishing fourth in the 200m Individual Medley SM10 final. Despite not reaching the podium in her final event in Paris, she did take the title on day six – winning gold in the women’s 100m butterfly S10 on her Paralympic Games debut.

In 2021, Rogers was involved in a car accident and three years on, she is a Paralympic champion.

On her time in Paris, she said: “It’s been the best experience of my life, amazing from start to finish. But I’m glad to be done.”

“The biggest learning I’m taking away from this experience is how emotionally draining it is in the best way. That 100 fly gold medal was crazy and a high but then there are also some lows. I don’t think I appreciated that going in.”

ParalympicsGB’s success on Saturday continued with Hope Gordon, who took silver in the women’s Canoe Va’a single 200m VL3.

Hope, from Golspie, shared her thoughts from Saturday’s race: “I didn’t have the perfect race but there is no one I would rather stand next to on the podium than Charlotte [Henshaw].” 

She added: “I train with Dave everyday and he is like a brother to me. This is his fifth Games and for him to finally get that medal, it was so special to watch.” 

“We were happy with whichever way round it went and we just wanted to get as many medals on the medal table for ParalympicsGB”, said Hope.

Robyn Love and Jodie Waite were in action on the basketball court for the final time, as ParalympicsGB’s women’s wheelchair basketball team took on Germany in the 5-6 Playoff Game. The team finished with a strong win, 48-39, to end their Paralympic campaign in Paris with a fifth place finish.

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.   

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!

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.