Samantha Kinghorn

Samantha Kinghorn – often known as Sammi – is a Paralympic champion with 11 years of international wheelchair racing experience. She has competed in three Paralympic Games, four World Championships, and three Commonwealth Games.

Her medal haul includes bronze, silver, and gold medals across championships, as well as an MBE in 2022 and an OBE, which was awarded to her in the 2025 New Year’s Honours List for her services to athletics and disability sport.

Whilst she may now be a successful sportswoman, this was not always her dream. In 2010, she was involved in an accident on her family’s farm, which left her paralysed from the waist down. Now a strong advocate for disabled empowerment, Sammi enjoys speaking candidly about the impact of her accident to a wide range of audiences, with the hope that her story serves as a reminder of the power of sport and the need for wider representation in all industries.

She can now regularly be seen presenting BBC’s Countryfile (from 2023 to present), and has worked with brands including EDF, Honda, NatWest, and Puma.

Contact Great British Speakers today to book Paralympic wheelchair racing champion Samantha Kinghorn for your next event.

Type Of Speaker

Disability Diversity Equality, Diversity & Inclusion Female Speakers Health & Wellbeing High Performance Nature & Wildlife Olympians Resilience Speaker Sport

More About Samantha Kinghorn

In December 2010, Samantha Kinghorn was crushed by snow and ice falling from the roof at her family’s farm, breaking her back and causing paralysis from the waist down. She spent five months in hospital and whilst she there, her physio took her to Stoke Mandeville Stadium to take part in the WheelPower Inter Spinal Games here she could try out a variety of wheelchair sports.

Samantha Kinghorn hire paralympic champion speaker book at agent Great British Speakers

SAMMY KINGHORN | ATHLETICS

Her first race was at the 2012 London Mini Marathon, where she finished in second place. And the medals just keep coming. She was named in the Scotland squad for the 2014 Commonwealth Games, where she finished in fifth place in the 1500m. In the build up to the games, she was named Glasgow’s Disabled Athlete of the Year, and was part of a promotional film for the games.

She has since represented Team GB at the 2014 IPC European Championships, winning three gold medals; the 2015 IPC Athletics World Championships, winning one bronze medal, and the 2017 IPC Athletics World Championships, bringing home one bronze, and two gold medals.

She won a bronze medal at the 2019 World Para Athletics World Championships, and one gold and one silver at the 2023 World Para Athletics World Championships. She also took second place at the 2021 British Athletics Championships.

Sammi has taken part in three Paralympic Games: she took part at the 2016 games in Rio, coming in 5th and 6th place in her chosen lengths; the 2020 Tokyo games, winning a silver and a gold medal; and at the 2024 Paris games, winning one gold and three silver medals.

Sammi is now regarded as the fastest ever female British wheelchair racer regardless of classification in the 100mm, 200m, 400m, and 800m races.

SAMMY KINGHORN | OTHER WORK

As well as her sporting career, Sammi has regularly presented on the BBC’s programme Countryfile (2023-present) thanks to her love for farming and the outdoors. Her passion for presenting the show has brought accessibility and diversity to rural broadcasting.

In 2017, she became the first Para athlete to receive the Scottish Sportsperson of the Year award in its 15-year history. In 2024, she was named as BBC’s Sports Personality of the Year.

She is now a popular keynote speaker, talking honestly about her accident and her athletic achievements, speaking to everyone from corporate leaders to schoolchildren.

Samantha Kinghorn hire paralympic champion speaker book at agent Great British Speakers