GB end on a high in Coimbra

After 15 months out of boccia competition due to health reasons, Edinburgh’s Patrick Wilson certainly made a comeback at the Coimbra World Cup, winning gold in the individual and silver in the Pairs event.

Before travelling to Portugal, Boccia UK deliberately did not discuss performance goals with the Scottish BC3 player, instead focussing on simply being able to compete internationally again.

Coach Glynn Tromans explains:

“Patrick’s results and performances were exceptional, but it was even more rewarding to see him on an international boccia court again, demonstrating his tactical supremacy and resilience.”

wilson makes boccia comeback

In his two pool matches, Wilson – with ramp operator Meredith Greenwood – saw victory and defeat. Into the knockout rounds, he triumphed over Gabriele Zendron of Italy 4-2, Diogo Castro of Portugal cast 3-1 before going up against South Korea’s Jon Ho Kwon in the final and winning 5-3.

Wilson and Greenwood went on to win silver in the BC3 Pairs event with Sally Kidson and her ramp operator, Chloe Lewis. The duo saw off South Korea, Italy and Sweden but lost to Poland in the pool matches before dominating the semi-final over Greece 7-1. Wilson found himself once again in a final with South Korea, but losing 2-3 to win silver.

it was silver in the pairs for wilson and kidson, supported by chloe lewis and meredith greenwood

Wilson was in reflective mood after the double win:

“When I’m on the boccia court, I think of those who have supported me or that I’ve played with or have coached me. Some of them are no longer with us and some are. These medals are for them.”

Wilson and Kidson were not the only British athletes to get on the medal table. 17-year old Sophie Newnham continued her rapid rise up the world rankings, winning gold. That makes it eight medals from eight international opportunities this season and Boccia UK is now eagerly awaiting the latest update to the world rankings as she is expected to move upwards from her current world number four position.

Newnham, from Surbiton, then joined Stephen McGuire in winning gold in the BC4 Pairs. Together, they have made a huge impact on the Pairs competition winning every tournament entered in 2025.

Newnham explained:

“I’ve enjoyed a really successful season, medalling in eight out of eight opportunities. I’m really pleased as I’ve had a challenging couple of months with starting university in September and learning how to balance this with training. Steph and I have also won gold in all of the Pairs competitions we’ve played together this year. It’s an amazing achievement for us and it’s exciting that there’s still so much more to build on.”

McGuire also took a bronze in the individual BC4 men’s event. This season, the Paralympic gold medallist has notched up six medals from seven events which included double gold at the European Championships.

But McGuire from Hamilton says there is only one highlight:

“Competing with super Sophie Newnham and winning all our Pairs events has been a standout achievement and reflects the hard work behind the scenes. We’ve qualified for the Worlds next year and we now look to building on the foundations we’ve been able to set in 2025.”

mcguire and newnham continue winning streak

Sally Kidson remained undefeated in the pool matches but was knocked out of the individual competition at the quarter final stage by Portugal’s Joana Pereira.

Louis Saunders just missed out on progressing through to the knockout rounds, having clocked up two victories from three pool matches. Meanwhile, Reshad Saraj gathered essential experience, beating semi-finallist Minkyu Kwak of South Korea.