SAMANTHA Kinghorn will begin her campaign at the 2015 IPC Athletics World Championships in Doha later this week.
The 19-year-old wheelchair racer from the Berwickshire village of Gordon – one of the Sunday Herald's Six To Follow to Rio 2016 – has been selected to represent Great Britain in the T53 100m, 200m, 400m and 800m.
It will be a busy schedule with Kinghorn, the reigning triple European champion, potentially racing eight times in the first five days of the championships.
"I'm nervous for competing, but looking forward to getting out there," she said. "I am getting more used to the big occasions now, but I still get the same amount of nerves. Although I can cope with those a lot better now."
Kinghorn spent the week before she flew out to Doha doing heat chamber training sessions in preparation for racing amid the searingly hot, dry conditions in Qatar.
"That was a bit different – I never usually sweat that much," she laughed. "It was a strange feeling, but good fun and I quite enjoyed it."
Earlier this month, Kinghorn was shortlisted for the Sir Peter Heatly Trophy as Young Sportsperson of the Year at the 2015 Commonwealth Games Scotland Awards Dinner.
She won the women's 10K wheelchair race at the Great Scottish Run on October 4 setting a new course record of 28min44sec – two minutes faster than the last time she competed.
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