Tom Killin

Tom Killin
Medal record
Representing  Great Britain
Wheelchair fencing
Summer Paralympic Games
Silver medal – second place 1980 Arnhem Men's team sabre
Silver medal – second place 1980 Arnhem Men's team foil
Wheelchair curling
Winter Paralympic Games
Silver medal – second place 2006 Turin Mixed competition

Tom Killin (born 30 March 1950[1]) is a British multi-sport Paralympian. Killin was paralysed following a traffic accident at the age of 17.[2]

Killin was born in Edinburgh. He won two medals in fencing at the 1970 Commonwealth Games. He also represented Scotland and Britain in disability table tennis and basketball for 12 years, including winning a World Championship silver medal in singles table tennis.[3] Killin made his first Paralympic appearance as a wheelchair fencer at the 1980 Summer Games where he won two silver medals, and also competed in the 1984 Summer Paralympics.[3][4]

He first joined the Braehead Curling Club in 2003.[5] In 2005 he represented Scotland at the World Championships in a team that also contained Frank Duffy, Ken Dickson, Angie Malone and Michael McCreadie. They won the gold medal and all five athletes were selected to compete for Britain in the first Paralympic wheelchair curling event held at the 2006 Winter Paralympics in Turin, Italy.[3][6]

During the Paralympic tournament Britain won their group games against the teams from Denmark, Sweden, Italy and the United States, and lost the matches against Switzerland, Norway and Canada. Their record of four wins and three losses meant they finished the group stage in second place and advanced to the medal rounds. They beat Sweden in the semifinal and went on to face Canada in the final. Trailing 6–3 in the final, end skip Frank Duffy had an opportunity with the last stone of the tournament for an open hit of a Canadian stone that would have scored four for Britain and won them the gold medal. He threw too hard and the shot tracked an inch wide allowing Canada to score one and win 7–4 leaving Killin and the rest of the British team as silver medalists.[7]

In 2010 Killin was again part of Great Britain's Paralympic wheelchair curling team. The team, which also featured Michael McCreadie as skip, Angela Malone, Aileen Neilson and James Sellar, had finished fifth at the 2009 World Championships.[8][9] Britain won three of their nine group games, beating teams from Switzerland, Germany, and Japan. They finished in sixth position, which meant that they did not advance to the medal matches.[10]

  1. ^ "2010 Team handbook and guide". paralympics.org.uk. British Paralympic Association. Archived from the original on 9 June 2011. Retrieved 20 April 2010.
  2. ^ Adam Morris (14 January 2010). "Curler shrugs off his disability to head for fourth Paralympics". The Scotsman. Retrieved 21 April 2010.
  3. ^ a b c Doug Gillon (28 February 2006). "Ready, willing and able quintet curling for gold Scottish rink are GB's strongest medal contenders at Paralympics, says Doug Gillon". The Herald. Retrieved 21 April 2010.
  4. ^ Elizabeth Hudson (9 March 2006). "New beginnings". BBC Sport. Retrieved 21 April 2010.
  5. ^ "Athlete Profile - Tom Killin". Scottish disability Sport. Retrieved 21 April 2010. [dead link]
  6. ^ British Paralympic Committee (30 October 2005). "GB announces strong curling team for Winter Paralympic Games". British Wheelchair Curling Association. Archived from the original on 5 March 2012. Retrieved 20 April 2010.
  7. ^ "Canada take GOLD at Torino Paralympics". wheelchaircurling.com. Archived from the original on 28 February 2010. Retrieved 20 April 2010.
  8. ^ "Meet the ParalympicsGB Wheelchair Curlers". ParalympicsGB. Retrieved 13 April 2010.[permanent dead link]
  9. ^ "Britain name Paralympic curling squad for Vancouver". BBC Sport. 13 January 2010. Retrieved 13 April 2010.
  10. ^ "Wheelchair Curling Schedule and Results". Vancouver 2010 official website. Retrieved 10 February 2010.