Paris 2024 & Reconnecting with the Outdoors|Sammi Kinghorn

I recently had the pleasure of catching up with Paralympian and Countryfile presenter, Samantha (Sammi) Kinghorn. Hailing from the Scottish Borders, Sammi actually went to the same school as me, and so her journey has been one I have always excitedly followed.

After an accident at the age of 14, Sammi was left paralysed from the waist down. Fourteen years on, Sammi is now an internationally renowned wheelchair racer, having competed in the Paralympics, and the Commonwealth Games. Not only that, Sammi is now one of the newest additions to the fantastic team of Countryfile presenters. Read the full Q&A to find out how Sammi began her racing journey, what it takes to prepare for championships like the Paralympics, and what taking on a television presenting role has meant for her and her identity.

You grew up on a farm in the Scottish Borders. Can you tell us what life was like growing up in the Scottish countryside? And just a little bit about yourself in general? Maybe a small back story on how you got to where you are today?

I genuinely think I had one of the most idyllic childhoods. Whenever I came home from school, I’d put on my wellies, my old clothes, and then find my dad. I’d spend so much time on the farm, and lambing season was probably my favourite time of year, and still is! I’d help dad a lot and do the overnight shifts with him, I loved it. Growing up in the country, I just had so much freedom. I was definitely that kid that if you told me that was allowed to go outside then I was devastated.

I had an accident on the farm when I was 14, where I was crushed with the main arm of a forklift. My whole life flipped upside down. I spent six months in a spinal unit where I literally learned to do everything over again; how to dress myself, get into the shower, get into a bath. It was while I was in hospital that I went to something called the spinal unit games.

And was this where you experienced wheelchair racing for the first time?

Yes, groups of people from each hospital get to visit Stoke Mandeville Stadium (the National Centre for Disability Sport), and compete against each other in different sports. That was my first introduction to disability sport, which just completely blew my mind. I had no idea that things that could be adapted the way they are. I tried so many sports. I tried basketball, table tennis, archery, weightlifting, everything!

It wasn’t until the last morning that the nurse told me we were going to go and try athletics. I couldn't visualise how they were going to adapt athletics. I understood all the other ones. But I thought, how am I ever going to go fast enough? Am I just going to push myself along a track in my day chair? Because that doesn't exactly sound like fun.

When we got down, there was a girl wheelchair racing on the track, and I remember her just flying round. I just thought, "Oh my gosh, that’s so cool. That’s what I want to do.”. I made the decision then are there, that I needed to buy racing chair. They are lots of money, so luckily being from a little area where everyone knew my story, people were quite happy to donate money to help me try and achieve something.

When did you first start to think that you could take racing seriously and compete at the highest level?

Pretty much as soon as I tried it, after six months in hospital, I told my parents I really wanted to do this sport. We trawled online for clubs, and the closest was in Glasgow, so we went there and met a coach, and I put the order form in for my first racing chair in the December of that year. Once I had my own chair it just rocketed from there!

It just spiralled into training all the time. When I left school I decided to do it full time. My parents gave me a year and a half to do get somewhere with it, so I just decided, I'm going to try and do this. I really am an all or nothing person. I hate spreading myself thin, and I like to give my best to something.

You recently broke the the 1500-metre world record. Massive congratulations! What an amazing achievement! What kind of work goes into achieving something like this? What is your average day like in the lead-up to these events?

I train twice a day, six days a week. It’s a mixture of gym and track sessions. I push around 100 miles a week, which is tiring, but it's good fun. I’ve got to be as healthy as possible. Basically, not have any wine, and eat healthy. It's quite a strict process a few months before a competition, but then it's weird, because training gets slightly easier when you get closer to competitions. You have lots of recoveries, because you want every rep to really count. It feels quite counterintuitive, and you can start to panic, worrying that you won’t be fit enough. But, you’ve just trust the process and trust your coach, and it’ll be fine. It's quite hard though when it's your hopes and dreams, and you just have to trust someone else to get you there.

What would you say is the main driving force for you? What keeps you going during the gruelling training periods?

I think I just want to be as good as I believe I can be and it helps that I see I'm still improving. So it's a lot easier. For example, there are athletes who have been in their sport for ages and they stop getting personal bests and stop improving, in which case I imagine it's a lot harder to motivate yourself. Whereas I'm quite excited in the fact that when I go to race each season, I tend to get personal bests. It spurs you on for the next one.

I've also always just really wanted to do something after my accident. And when I found wheelchair racing, I was so appreciative that I found something that fitted in my life so well, and that I loved.

Another big motivator is knowing friends and family are coming to watch. It’s expensive for them, and everyone's made a real effort to be there, which just makes me feel, “Right, I’m going to make every session count!”.

Realistically, I don't think that's something I'm ever going to regret. I don't think that when I get to 60 I'll wish I hadn't trained as hard. I think I'm probably going to wish I tried more. So I feel like those are the motivating factors to just keep going, because it's not gonna last forever.

Once the training is all over is there anything that you like to do?

Go on a big holiday! We're going to Bali this year with a few of my friends, and to Singapore to watch the Formula 1. People always talk about the post race blues. They’re quite a big thing. When you win a medal, everyone immediately around you is like, “Wow, you're amazing, that’s so cool!”, and then you go home, and you realise that nobody really cares that much! It's quite a harsh reality! So it's nice to have something to look forward to. When I'm done, I don’t have to be as cautious about what I'm eating or drinking, which is so important, to just relax. I get around three weeks off in the year, so I just cram them with as many holidays with different people as possible. I'm normally more tired by the time a break has finished!

I’d love to talk a little about your new role on Countryfile. First of all, congratulations, what a great show to be a part of. It must be so lovely to go back to the countryside! How have you found being a part of the show so far?

I remember when they first asked me, I got a call from my agent asking if I wanted to do a one-off Countryfile episode. It was for an episode in Dartmoor. Most walks out in the countryside have a lot of kissing gates, and I can’t get through a kissing gate at all. But this place in Dartmoor had taken them out, so that everyone can go for really long walks, and it's easy and accessible. I thought they were just asking because I was in a wheelchair, and it made more sense for that episode, but then around two weeks later, they phoned me and apparently that was a just a screen test without them telling me it was a screen test, and they wanted to keep me on!

I love it. I love meeting everyone too. I met Hamza the other day, which I feel like is the closest I'm going to get to meeting David Attenborough! I get to work with Matt Baker, we’ll be doing a piece to the camera and in my head I’m just thinking, “That’s Matt Baker!”. And then there’s John Craven and Charlotte Smith, who were on it when I was little and watched it with my dad. They're the ones that I remember from my childhood, which is really cool.

It's nice, because I didn't grow up wanting to be a sports person. It’s almost like I don't feel like it's my whole identity. I think sometimes I’ve struggled with that, with people only seeing me as a sports person. There's so much more than that, there's so many other things that I am. Pulling the country into my career is a bit more of me than just the racing.

It must be so great to be a part of something that encourages people to get outdoors, learn more about the countryside, and that gets the word out about the importance of our countryside. How important is getting outdoors for you?

It’s been so good. I think that it’s always been my biggest thing, people should spend more time outdoors. It stresses me out to see kids that are on their phones all day. I think getting outdoors is so important for mental health. I can get up some days and I don't even want to speak to my coach, and then I get outside, I warm up, the endorphins hit, and all of a sudden I’m my usual self again! It just really helps me, getting outside, going for a walk, or something. I think it's really important. And then being able to show the countryside, that’s one of the nicest things with Countryfile, and getting to see different places myself!

Are there any stand-out places you’ve visited or things you’ve witnessed while filming for the show so far?

I would say Dartmoor, that was really cool, with the wild ponies! I've also eaten so many sausage rolls at bakeries, I feel like I know the really good sausage roll places now. 

Is there anything else that you kind of want to do in the future as well?

Yeah, I'd love to be a TV presenter. 

You are!

Yeah.. weird! I still feel a lot of imposter syndrome. But I do think that's probably the route I would try and go down when I finish my sporting career. I’d also like a small holding, with some little animals. Something small that I could handle myself. It's quite hard because with sport, it can be that the decision is almost be made for you if you get badly injured, or if someone else comes on the team and is better than you. It’s always good to have something ready for when it ends, so having Countryfile is really nice. I always feel like I come back to racing feeling to refreshed to train again, because my brain’s been doing something completely different. It’s so great just being outside as well, like yes, I’m always wet, and I'm always cold. But it's so fun.

Are there any favourite outdoor spots you like to visit in your free time that you can recommend to our readers? Could be in Scotland or anywhere else in the UK!

My favourite place in the world is just up the road from me here in the Scottish Borders. When I was a little girl, that's where I would go and sit. It's just so high. You can see Hume castle from there, you can see for miles. It's so beautiful.

Anything exciting coming up?

I'm going to Switzerland soon. We go every year. It's one of the biggest races in the calendar for us! And then hopefully the Paralympics! I find out shortly, and then if I’m selected, we leave in August to compete. Everyone is booked to go, so I’ve got to make it. It’s very exciting!

[Since speaking with Sammi it has been confirmed that she was selected for the Team GB Squad] We’re so excited for you, good luck Sammi!

Thank you so much to Sammi for taking the time to talk with us. We'll definitely be cheering for you when the Paralympic Games kicks off on the 8 September. If you would like to follow Sammi along on her journey, then you can find her on Instagram here.