Day six of the World Para Athletics Championships saw Scottish athletes, Maria Lyle and Sammi Kinghorn win bronze medals.
Lyle added to her 200m bronze with another in the T35 100m. The 17 year-old got a lightning start and put herself in podium contention from the start.
Reigning Paralympic Champion, Xia Zhou of China powered into a lead within 30m, though, only to be beaten in the final few strides by Isis Holt of Australia reversing the gold-silver positions from Rio. Lyle, third in Rio, kept her head, claiming bronze in 14.45 seconds.
Lyle later revealed that just a few days ago she thought her championships were over before they’d even started, saying: “Basically in the holding camp a couple of weeks ago my fascia became inflamed in between my shin bone and my calf so I’ve had a lot of injections and pain killers to try and calm it down so that I could manage to run and It’s been really amazing to have the support of the British Athletics medical team to help me get to the start line.”
Sammi Kinghorn had also already achieved gold in the 200m on Saturday night and set off at a tremendous pace around the opening bend, maintaining her form and speed down the back straight. Kinghorn scrapped hard to claim bronze, an improvement on fifth place in Rio 2016.
“My arms felt like they were going to fall off; I’m not going to lie” said Kinghorn, adding: “I didn’t have much left towards the end. I knew it was an opportunity so I just had to keep going and going and throw my arms down as hard as possible. I can’t believe that I’ve won another medal. I’ve raced really well all season, so I knew that I had the speed. I know that I struggle with endurance against other girls – they are more mature than I am, have been in the chair longer, so they’re a little bit stronger come the end of the race”.
Speaking about her overall experience she commented: “People underestimate how much a home crowd makes a difference: when you’re on the start line and you get the loudest scream, it does put the other athletes off. I kind of soak that up, give them a wave and try and make them scream a bit louder. I’m so thankful we have them here to support us.”
Great Britain currently sit in third place on the medal table behind China and the USA.
British Athletics medallists at the World Para Athletics Championships London 2017:
Gold (11):
Hollie Arnold – F46 Javelin
Olivia Breen – T38 Long Jump
Hannah Cockroft – T34 100m, 800m
Aled Davies – F42 Discus
Sophie Hahn – T38 200m
Sophie Kamlish – T44 100m
Sammi Kinghorn – T53 100m
Jonnie Peacock – T44 100m
Stef Reid – T44 Long Jump
Richard Whitehead – T42 200m
Silver (2):
Kare Adenegan – T34 100m
Toby Gold – T33 100m
Bronze (9):
Kare Adenegan – T34 800m
Kadeena Cox – T38 200m
David Henson – T42 200m
Sammi Kinghorn – T53 400m
Maria Lyle – T35 100m and 200m
Gemma Prescott – F32 Club Throw
Andrew Small – T33 100m
Richard Whitehead – T42 100m