Scotland’s Sammi Kinghorn left her opponents in her wake to set a 200m T53 World Record at Mesa, Arizona. The Rio Paralympian, 21, raced home in 28.67 seconds to knock a remarkable 0.26 seconds off the record set by US racer Jessica Galli five years ago.
It was a superb performance by the wheelchair racer from the Borders who is coached by Ian Mirfin.
Kinghorn, who won 200m T53 bronze at the 2015 World Championships in Doha, Qatar, demonstrated that she will be a force to be reckoned with at the World Para Athletics Championships in London later this summer with that performance. She also led from the front to win the 800m in 1.52.05. By the end of the meet, Sammi had five gold medals to her name with wins in a further three events.
She took the 100m in 16.63 which was into a headwind and only 100th outside her own European record. In the 1500m, Sammi won a tactical race against T54 athletes in 3.35.53, opening up a four-second gap in the last 200m. Her 55.32 time in the 400m was only five hundredths outside her own European record.
Sammi then moved on to compete at the Daniela Jutzeler Meet in Arbon, Switzerland, where she was once again in superb form. The young Scot set a 100m European record with a win in 16.21 and that time was just 0.02 outside the World Record and the second fastest of all time in her classification. Then, in the 400m, Sammi set another European record of 53.72 in second place in the race for the second fastest of all time (and inside the previous WR).
Sammi can’t stop setting records at the moment and she clocked another European best in the T53 800m in 1.47.60 at the Swiss Champs with a great performance.
That followed victories in Arbon again, when the Paralympian won the 100m T53/T54 overall in 16.38 and 400m T53/T54 overall in 54.08. She finished third in the T53/T54 1500m heat in a new Scottish record of 3.26.35.
There were also PBs for young Scots athletes Luke Deighan, Sean Frame and Kyle Brotherton at this event.
Many congratulations to Sammi, her family and coach Ian Mirfin, on a really strong start to the season ahead of London.