Mental Fitness Credited for Sammi Kinghorn’s 2024 Paralympic Success

Paralympic gold medallist Sammi Kinghorn has stated that enhancing her mental fitness was crucial to her achievements in 2024, a year in which she secured five Paralympic medals. The 28-year-old athlete, Kinghorn, earned five medals at the Paris Paralympics, comprising a gold in the 100m T53 event and four silver medals across various track distances. These recent additions bring the Borders athlete’s total Paralympic medal count to six, building on her 100m bronze from the Covid-delayed 2020 Tokyo Games. Reflecting on past competitions, Kinghorn told BBC Scotland, “I was physically fit, but not mentally.” She further elaborated on her efforts, stating, “I’ve worked really, really hard this year on that.” Kinghorn emphasized the importance of self-belief, adding, “You can have all the natural ability, you can work as hard as you can but if you don’t believe that you can then you never will.” She also acknowledged moments of self-doubt, explaining, “There were still times where I would panic and be like, ‘maybe I can’t’. That’s when I leaned on that incredible support group that I have to deal with me and my doubts.” Kinghorn expressed her disbelief regarding her achievements, stating, “I don’t think it’s sunk in yet. I got to ring the bell, which is going into Notre Dame, which is just such a special thing. It’s so unique to Paris and such a cool thing. When that’s actually put back into Notre Dame, I’ll be able to say, ‘I rung that bell’.” On Wednesday, Kinghorn received her most recent honor, being recognized as the female Para-athlete of the year at the Scottish Sports Awards. Stephen McGuire was presented with the corresponding male award, following his gold medal win in boccia at the Paris Games. Kinghorn also shared her sentiments about past and present victories: “I’m so sad that I won my first Paralympic medal in front of nobody, without my friends and family there because they do mean so much to me,” she remarked, concluding, “To be able to share these ones with them and with my coach… it’s for them just as much as it is for me.”