IAN Mirfin remembers with a fond smile the first time he met Samantha Kinghorn at a come-and-try session he was running at the Red Star Athletics Club in Glasgow.

Kinghorn, who was paralysed from the waist down after an accident on the family farm near the Berwickshire village of Gordon in 2010, was not long discharged from hospital at the time and asked about getting involved in sport under his tutelage.

Mirfin, having spent almost three decades coaching para-sport athletics, had heard that question dozens of times over the years. Only a select few ever followed through. He recalls telling Kinghorn to think about it and then contact him when she was ready.

Some months later an email pinged into his inbox out of the blue. It was from Kinghorn. The message was brief and to the point. It read: "Hey, remember we spoke? That's me ready to go now."

And so began their incredible journey as athlete and coach, one that since 2012 has taken them to three European golds, a world bronze and now all the way to the Rio 2016 Paralympics where Kinghorn, 20, will compete in the T53 100m, 400m and 800m.

Mirfin, 57, says he knew fairly quickly that Kinghorn – one of the Sunday Herald's Six To Follow to Rio – had the potential to be a world-class wheelchair racer. "She has very fast arms," he says. "If you've got that fast turnover and can generate power, then you can run or push fast. It is the difference between Usain Bolt and someone like me running 100m."

The biggest thing that shone through was her steely determination, albeit often to her detriment in those fledgling days. "Some of the issues we had early on was with Sammi over-training," he recalls. "She thought it was OK to do an extra session outside the programme we had set.

"One time Sammi went out with a friend and did something like 18 miles round a park when she had only been training five or six months. She then wondered why she couldn't train for a few days afterwards. It took her a wee while to realise that rest is part of training."

With such rookie mistakes now far behind them, Kinghorn will make her Paralympics debut on Thursday morning when racing begins with the 100m heats. Mirfin talks frankly as to what their realistic goals will be over the next fortnight.

"Sammi is still young – only 20 – and her best years are still ahead," he says. "I believe Tokyo 2020 and the Paralympics after that will be where she really starts to show.

"Rio will be fantastic and the target will be to get to finals, enjoy it, be in the mix, put herself in the race, and see what happens. The long-term plan from my perspective is that it will be Tokyo before we can see what she can do.

"The best athlete in that [T53] class in the world is now into her 19th year of racing and has only really got good in the last two."

Mirfin is referring to Angie Ballard, the 34-year-old Commonwealth Games champion and five-time Paralympic medallist, from Australia.

"When you put that in perspective it can take 10 or 15 years or more to get to the top," he adds. "That is starting to mirror what happens in mainstream or able-bodied athletics.

"I think that sometimes people can dismiss the Paralympics because in the past it has been possible for athletes to come in and very quickly be top of the pile, whereas you couldn't do that on the Olympic side without having the years of training and prep behind you.

"In wheelchair racing – which is the toughest sport I know – it takes a long time to come through."

Cambuslang-based Mirfin and his wife Janice Eaglesham founded Red Star AC in 1990 and have been instrumental in transforming disability sport – and the lives of hundreds of athletes – in Scotland.

The couple have been responsible for coaching several Paralympic and world championships medallists over the years as well as supporting those involved in athletics at grassroots level.

They received the Unsung Hero award at the 2011 BBC Sports Personality of the Year and earlier this year were awarded an MBE in recognition of their huge contribution to disability sport.

Mirfin was appointed Paralympics lead for Scottish Athletics in 2013.

He believes that in Rio, Ballard coupled with a strong challenge from China – Huang Lisha and Zhou Hongzhuan swept gold across the board between them in the T53 class at London 2012 – will make for a fierce battle.

Mirfin emphasises that his focus is on helping Kinghorn achieve her full potential, rather than get side-tracked by what the competition is up to. "I see too many athletes who concentrate on what their rivals are doing," he says. "In my experience that is a waste of time and effort."

There's another smile when asked about the attributes that make Kinghorn such an exciting prospect in the athletics world. "As a coach it is often easier to point to weaknesses, but Sammi's biggest strength is that she always bounces back from whatever is thrown at her," he says.

"I sometimes think she needs to be more assertive and not be afraid to say what she thinks. Often Sammi will accept things and I always say to her: 'If you think I'm talking crap, then tell me. This is your career, not mine.' I know she will always do the work to get to where she wants to go.

"Sammi is determined and focused. In addition to that, she is a very affable young woman. Putting all of that together? Sammi is Sammi's biggest strength."

READ MORE: Final countdown as Samantha Kinghorn prepares for Rio debut