Last Updated on 19/05/2026 by Crip Life
After months of winter training, Great Britain’s boccia stars are preparing for their first tournament of the season.
The 2026 opener is Boccia Challenger Finland in Pujalahti, which will see 88 athletes from 20 different countries compete for medals. Competition kicks off on the 9th May.
UPDATE: Scroll down to view Great Britain’s results from the Boccia Challenger in Finland
Kayleigh Brown makes boccia return after having baby Klay
It will see the return of Kayleigh Brown (formerly Haggo), who has been on maternity leave since July.
The 27-year-old Ayrshire athlete, who has several world records in frame-running, setting her first at the age of 12, made her debut for Boccia UK in 2022.
She has gone on to compete at the Paralympics. After just two years in the sport, she reached the quarter finals in Paris. Last season, she won bronze at the European Championships while six months pregnant.
Kayleigh, who is married to Kevin, her sports assistant, said:
“There’s a good lineup in Finland with 16 BC2 females attending. My goal is to enjoy the competition and find a good balance with Klay being there. This is my first tournament since having Klay, and it will be great to have him at a tournament – but I’m sure it will be a learning curve. I’m a bit nervous about the lack of sleep, but I have assistants to help, and hopefully I can have some daytime naps to catch up.”
She will play individually before joining up with David Smith OBE, a three-time Paralympic gold medallist, and Reshad Saraj from London in the BC1/2 Team event.
Other British boccia players competing in Finland
David Smith – who lives in Swansea and is currently ranked world number three – said:
“My aim this season is to win the World Championships and set a marker for my rivals. In the BC1s, I’m looking forward to playing everyone inside the top 10 and especially those above me in the rankings. In the Team, we are looking to play lots of different opposition and refine how we play together.”
Read: Patrick Wilson: A Boccia Career Defined By Resilience, Precision And Comeback
Paralympic gold medallist and world number one Stephen McGuire, from Lanarkshire, is also aiming to build on an excellent 2025 season, ahead of the World Championships later this year:
“I’m looking forward to kicking off my season in Lahti. It’s an important chance to get competitive matches under my belt, while testing new equipment and applying the work I’ve put in over the winter.”
He competes in the BC4 category, and he will be joined by West Sussex player Louis Saunders and Fiona Muirhead, also from Lanarkshire.
Wiltshire’s Sally Kidson is Britain’s only representative in the BC3 category in Finland. She is the reigning European Champion and is currently ranked world number nine.
Read: Sophie Newnham: Teenage Talent Leading The Next Generation In British Boccia
Five medals for GB in Finland
British boccia stars made a solid start to the 2026 season, winning five medals at the Boccia Challenger Finland.
Both David Smith – Britain’s best ever boccia athlete – and Stephen McGuire, Paralympic gold medallist, won gold in the individuals.
Stephen remained undefeated in Finland, winning the final on a tense tiebreak to Andrii Okulov of Ukraine. The world number one said:
“Winning gold in the opening event of the season is a fantastic way to start 2026. It gives me a lot of confidence moving forward. It’s been a positive week in testing new equipment, continuing to work on tactics and putting all the work from winter training into competition, where you’re put under pressure.
“There’s still a long season ahead though, with the Astana World Cup in Kazakhstan only two weeks away. The focus now is building on consistency, improving with each event, and being in the best possible shape for the World Championships in Seoul this August.”
David is also keen to put a marker down for his opponents this year, as he and his teammates gear up for the World Championships in July:
“The start of this season confirmed that I’ve been doing the right training over winter. Lots of scenarios cropped up that I’ve been preparing for and so I had the confidence to exploit those situations.
“I can now relax a bit and I’m looking forward to playing a bit more freely at the Astana World Cup in Kazakhstan next month. I won’t be changing any approaches in my game though – it’s just about resetting and taking my execution and risk-taking a bit further,” explained the Swansea player.
David went on to win a second silver with the Team, alongside Kayleigh Brown and London’s Reshad Saraj:
Kayleigh certainly made a definitive comeback, also winning silver in the individuals, after losing to world number seven Chantal Van Engelen in the finals:
“I’m really pleased, my goal was to enjoy the competition so to medal twice was a bonus. It was challenging at times especially if I could hear Klay crying when I was on court but Sophie and Kev made the perfect support team and I couldn’t have done it without them.”
Adding to the haul for Great Britain, European Champion Sally Kidson bagged bronze in the BC3 women’s category.
Outside of the medals, Louis Saunders put in some solid performances, narrowly losing in the quarter-finals to world number five Artem Kolinko.
Fiona Muirhead played in a round robin format, and while she didn’t medal, she was able to score points against tough opponents, including world number 12, Natalia Konenko.
You can find out more about Boccia UK by visiting its website and following on Facebook and Instagram.