Sammi Kinghorn
It is quite the event to simply watch the Olympics, let alone compete. Hours of dedication, focus and a will of steel are all necessary attributes to partake, but are all also qualities gold medallist Paralympian Sammi Kinghorn learned from her childhood farming in the Scottish borders.
Sammi, 28, says she had the ‘best childhood in the world', and was always outside in her wellies.
Farming was all she thought about at school and doing it alongside her dad was something she loved even more.
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She says: "From a young age my dad respected and trusted me. I used to do night lambing – I was passionate about the sheep."
But in the winter of 2010, everything changed for Sammi, when heavy snow hit the farm and the surrounding area.
Her dad woke her up to help, as he was attempting to clear the street so local people could get out, and she was walking in front of him driving the forklift.
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She says: "I was being an annoying 14-year-old, trying to put him off his job. I have no idea why I decided to jump on the forklift – I jumped on the joining part where the boom comes up and I thought he had seen me.
"I remember thinking I was really cool, showing off and not thinking about the consequences of being on a piece of machinery."
Sammi's dad had not, unfortunately, seen her and started to lower the shovel down.
She recalls there was an immense amount of pressure on the back of her neck and then she felt her back pop.
But before she felt the pain, she says she immediately felt a huge amount of guilt.
"I grew up in a household where they love what they do and I have taken away the two things dad loved the most – one of his children, as I thought I was going to die, and the farm. Dad would not want to farm again after this."
The shovel started to come back up and she managed to pull herself off, but as her feet hit the floor, although she could not really feel them, she could move.
In a bid to get her dad to see her, she began sprinting but slipped on some compact snow.
She says: "I was on the ground and had pins and needles in my legs and everything then contracted and then released. That was the last time I felt my legs."
Building a future
Sammi was rushed to the nearest hospital in the Borders, and as she lay there, she began to ‘plan my life in bed', believing this was now her existence.
It was her mum and dad's reaction, however, which led her to pursue greater things.
Sammi says: "Mum and dad came in and screamed: ‘My baby, we are so sorry'.
"My dad could not even look at me – I was not having that.
"He did not do anything wrong, and I thought: ‘I am going to do something else and make him proud'."
Getting her wheelchair was ‘exciting', giving her a new outlook and, more importantly, independence.
At the time, at just 15 years old, her friends were starting to go out and go to parties, and Sammi decided she was going to make a life for herself, no matter her circumstances.
She says: "I realised very quickly that I could lie here every night and ask: ‘Why me?' But in the morning, I will still be paralysed, so why not build a life around that that?
Paralympic sports
"Disability has changed in the last 28, years but so has women's sports. I did not know that was something I could do.
"When I was given a chance to do sport again it gave me a chance to meet other people like me, which was huge.
"I had always wanted to be a zoologist, and that was probably the hardest thing to hear after the accident, that this probably would not happen. So, I had to work out who I was again.
"I was pretty lucky when I found a sport I loved and something me and my dad could enjoy together. That is something which made me love it more.
"He comes out cycling with me. In the beginning, before school, I would go out pushing and dad would be out checking the sheep and give me a little wave. It has brought me and dad closer together."
Getting the chance to connect with her dad again was really important to Sammi. Although growing up on the farm was something she cherishes, there was never really a chance to take time out to find out who Sammi was away from that or go to school events – taking time off is something many farmers struggle with.
Her accident changed that.
She says: "He takes more time off than ever. I cannot shake him. He comes and watches me compete all over the world."
Sammi has since achieved various accolades, travelling all over the world to compete.
Olympics
Last year, she won four medals at the Para Athletics World Championships in Paris, including gold in the T53 100 metres, securing her third career world title and setting a new championship record time.
She also achieved silver medals over 400m, 800m and in the universal 4x100m relay.
Sammi has previously won two world gold medals, as well as silver and bronze medals at the Tokyo Paralympics in 2021 and, most recently, took home another gold at the 2024 Paris Olympics.
Her parents still live on the mixed beef, sheep and arable farm – her dad works for the Tweedie family and has done for 30 years.
And Sammi will never shy away from her farming roots.
She says: "I think it made me a confident and independent child, because my dad always allowed me to help and be involved with his job which he took seriously, so, in turn, I did also. I loved to help him and to learn from him."
But it has been a journey and, looking over her story from the accident to now, it is certainly one of resolve, hard work and pride.
Did she ever think she would be in this position?
She says: "It is so incredible; I do not think it has quite sunk in yet that I have actually done it. But I am just in a place of contentment right now, which is amazing.
"I was so pleased that all my friends and family were able to come out and watch me in Paris – that was the best part of it all and the part which meant the most to me."
