PORT Glasgow swimming legend Kenny Cairns MBE was last night awarded one of the highest honours in Scottish sport.

The Paralympian champ was inducted in the Scottish Sports Hall of Fame — becoming the third Port Glasgow Otter to achieve the distinction.

Kenny, right, who competed in five Paralympics, said it came as a total surprise to him.

He said: “I’m honoured — it’s not something that I was expecting at all.” Kenny, who was disabled from the chest down following a motorbike accident when he was 16, added: “It’s great that we have this opportunity to recognise the achievements of Scotland’s sportsmen and women of the past, but for me it’s also a great opportunity to profile our sports and, hopefully, to inspire the next generation.

“That would be a fantastic legacy.” Selected for the Paralympic Games in 1984, Kenny collected four golds and one silver, but it was only the start of an incredible 20-year career in sport.

He won medals in major swimming events all over the world, clocking up a total of 13 Paralympic medals across Barcelona 1992, Atlanta 96, Sydney 2000 and Athens 04.

Kenny also claimed 16 medals in successive World Championships between 1990 and 2006 as well as 21 European Championship medals between 1991 and 2001.

A former freestyle world record holder for 100 and 200 metres, Kenny demonstrated he was still a force to be reckoned with at the World Championships in South Africa in 2006, where he won four medals, two of them gold.

He still trains with the Otters, who are celebrating his success.

Otters secretary, Eileen Gowans, attended last night’s ceremony at Kelvingrove Art Gallery and Museum with Kenny and coaches Margaret McEleny and Eddie McCluskey Parlympian champ Margaret is also in the Hall of Fame, and the third Otter to achieve the recognition was the late Isobel Newstead (nee Barr).

Eileen said: “It’s an incredible achievement for a relatively small club. We are all so proud to see Kenny being honoured in this way.” Last night’s ceremony also inducted cyclist Sir Chris Hoy, sailor Shirley Robertson, rugby coach Sir Ian McGeechan and Shirley McIntosh, the the first Scottish woman to win a Commonwealth Games gold medal for shooting.

Congratulating them all, Louise Martin, chair of sportscotland and the Hall of Fame selection panel, said: “Our inductees have all been trailblazers who have demonstrated the determination and commitment required to excel in their chosen sports.

“They have all done so much to make us proud as a nation, but also to inspire those who follow in their wake.”