“This is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. To have the games so close to home, for my first time, I’m going to give it my all, and try my best but I don’t want to put too much pressure on myself – it’s all about working towards LA and having the opportunity to play against the best in the world.”
Kayleigh Haggo first impressed fans when she set the (RR2) world record across all distances in Frame Running. She set these when she won the world title in 2019 and gold at the Para-athletics European Championships in 2021.
It wasn’t until 2022 that she made the switch to Boccia: “I knew that frame running wasn’t going to be in Paris so I knew I would have to commit full time to work or change sports,
“I just filled out a form to compete for British Boccia and then didn’t think much of it after that.”
After being selected as part of the team it only took Kayleigh six months until she was back competing on the international stage for her country. Working with the Scottish Institute of Sport and Scottish Disability Sport, Kayleigh was able to secure full funding from The National Lottery: “I’m grateful for the opportunity that I’ve had from the National Lottery, it has allowed me to concentrate solely on practising and playing boccia. I just want to say thank you to everyone that plays the lottery, so that they know how they are helping parathletes like me to excel in our sports.”
Boccia is a parathlete sport where the competitors aim to hit or get as close as possible to a jack. It can be played individually or as a team.
Kayleigh along with her fellow Team GB athletes competed at the Boccia World Cup in 2023 and came home with the Bronze medal. She took home her first individual medal at the World Boccia Challenger – receiving a gold medal. At the same event, she won team Gold with David Smith and Claire Taggart.
As this is Kayleigh’s first Paralympics she’s not putting any pressure on herself to medal, but with upcoming Challenger events in Delhi and Sydney, her spirits are high for what’s to come in the near future.
But looking further down the line, she’s setting her sights for the Podium at the L.A Paralympics: “I’ve always wanted to go to L.A, so as much as I’m looking forward to Paris and having all my family there to support me it’s going to be great experience to set me up for future events.”
All of Kayleigh’s family will be there to cheer her on, including her fiance who she’s getting married to later in the year and her Gran who’s not had a passport for over 20 years, will be making the journey from Maybole to Paris.
It’s safe to say that all of us here at SW/S will be supporting and cheering her on.
Best of Luck to all the Scottish women competing in the Paris Paralympics.
If you’d like to find out more about Boccia you can follow their socials or check out the Scottish Disability Sports website.
