Tanni Grey-Thompson, one of Britain’s most successful Paralympians, believes that Sammi Kinghorn has every chance of becoming world champion for the first time at the World Para Athletics Championships, which began in London yesterday. The wheelchair racer from the Borders has had a remarkable year so far, claiming the world record in the T53 200m in May before adding European records in the 100m, 400m and 800m just a couple of weeks later. Kinghorn has yet to claim a global title but her time could well be nigh, believes Grey-Thomson. “In short, yes, I think she can win gold in London,” the 11-time Paralympic champion said. “Things don’t always go exactly to plan but winning medals is absolutely what Sammi should be doing – the question is what colour they’re going to be. She’s definitely got the ability to be on the podium in London though, that’s for sure.”
Grey-Thompson raced in the same T53 category that Kinghorn now competes in and the Welsh athlete admits to being hugely impressed by the 21 year-old’s record-breaking performances so far this year. However, as nice as records are, it’s medals that really matter believes Grey-Thompson. “You look at how Sammi is progressing and her career is going from strength to strength,” she said. “London is a different track for her, but world records have been broken there. However, for Sammi, it’s about medals, it’s not about world records. World records come and go - they’re nice to have for a while but they’re not yours forever. Some records last a long time but others don’t last long at all. For me, it was all about medals, they were the most important thing.”
The Scot cites a meeting with the Grey-Thompson as the reason she took up wheelchair racing and while she still has a considerable way to go before she gets anywhere near the Paralympic legend’s achievements, as a world and European record holder, Kinghorn is now going into races with a target on her back. Grey-Thompson broke thirty world records over the course of her lengthy career and so knows only too well what the pressure of being the number one ranked athlete feels like. It is, she admits, a unique situation but it was a pressure that she never buckled under. In fact, she believes that being the top dog can be a motivating factor for Kinghorn, who will compete in the 100m, 200m, 400m and 800m over the course of the next week. “I didn’t really feel pressure after breaking world records and being at the top - I think that was because it was what I always wanted to do,” Grey-Thompson said. “One of the skills you need to have as an athlete is to only take on the pressure that you feel you can handle. There’s lots of stuff that you can’t do anything about so you just need to control the controllables. That’s easy to say but not always easy to do but it’s so, so important. And breaking world records does give you a huge boost – it’s a really exciting thing to do and so it can push you on in a very positive way.”
Racing in front of a home crowd is, for most athletes, a real privilege but it can also be considered a burden. With only five years of racing under her belt, Kinghorn remains relatively inexperienced and so she must control her emotions and not get carried away with the occasion. Grey-Thompson won a gold and two silver medals when she competed in a home World Championships, in Birmingham in 1998, and she has some felicitous advice for the Glasgow-based athlete as she goes into London 2017. “Having a home crowd behind you is good, although that definitely brings different pressures,” she said. “Competing at a home championship makes it harder to manage your family and friends and all the people who are around you and when you’re at home, it can be harder to make sure you’re totally focused. The important thing is that you treat it like any other Word Championship and forget that it’s in your home country. The stadium is great and the crowd will be fantastic but for Sammi, it will be about focusing on the job in hand and not getting distracted by anything around her. Just be in your own little bubble. Sometimes it can be easier to be in a bubble when you’re away from home but I’m confident that Sammi will do well in London.”
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