Sammi Kinghorn gives all to add 400m bronze to her 200m gold

Sammi Kinghorn needed to pull out all the stops to secure a medal double at the world para athletics championships last night with bronze in the 400 metres T53 final.

Scottish athletes walk out on to the track at the opening ceremony. Picture: Getty.

The 21-year-old Borderer, who took 200m gold at the London Stadium last weekend, threatened a shock victory but then was forced to hold off Canada’s Angela Ballard by two hundredths of a second to snatch third place in 55.71 seconds. China’s Hongzhuan Zhou won ahead of American Chelsea McClammer.

“I was throwing everything at it,” Kinghorn said. “I was thinking it must be close. I really didn’t have much left so I was so glad to hang on for a bronze medal.”

She will now rest up for two further opportunities to make the podium on Sunday in the 100m and 800m but confessed landing a maiden world title had already fulfilled her main goal for the championship.

Maria Lyle , after coming in third in the T35 200 metres, was part of a repeat 1-2-3 in the 100m final with her Australian rival Isis Holt defending her title by lowering her world record to 13.43 secs to nudge out Paralympic champion Zhuo Xia of China.

With the British 4x100 relay squad withdrawing from the fray, Lyle will now focus on finding a new coach ahead of moving her base back to her native East Lothian after a year in Hertfordshire. But given the inflammation of her fascia that occurred at the pre-championships holding camp, this was as much as she could have hoped for.

“For me it’s just coming and getting a medal and to do that injured and not in the best of shape, I can’t really explain what that means,” she said.

“For next season I am going to focus on my 200m. Hopefully I can recover, have a good winter and enjoy myself and then see how next season goes because that’s what sport is all about: enjoying yourself.”

Tonight’s action will see Hannah Cockcroft, who has never lost in a major competition, go for a golden hat trick at the championship in the 400m T34.

Rhys Jones survived two false starts yesterday to qualify for the T37 100m final in a personal best of 11.69 secs while Zac Shaw won his 200m T12 semi in 22.73 to set up a medal shot.