Claire Cashmore, (born 21 May 1988) is a

Paralympic The Paralympic Games or Paralympics, also known as the ''Games of the Paralympiad'', is a periodic series of international multisport events involving athletes with a range of physical disabilities, including impaired muscle power and impaire ...

Swimming Champion and PTS5 classified British paratriathlete. She has been to four

Paralympic Games The Paralympic Games or Paralympics, also known as the ''Games of the Paralympiad'', is a periodic series of international multisport events involving athletes with a range of physical disabilities, including impaired muscle power and impaire ...

with

swimming Swimming is the self-propulsion of a person through water, or other liquid, usually for recreation, sport, exercise, or survival. Locomotion is achieved through coordinated movement of the limbs and the body to achieve hydrodynamic thrust that r ...

and has won 4 bronze, 3 silver, and 1 gold medal. Cashmore also broke the world record in the SM9 100m Individual Medley in 2009. She decided to switch to competing in

paratriathlon Para triathlon is a variant of the triathlon for athletes with a physical disability. The sport is governed by World Triathlon (TRI) (formerly known as ITU), and was first held as a Paralympic event at the 2016 Summer Paralympics in Rio de Janeiro, ...

after winning gold and silver at the

in 2016, and became ITU World Champion in the PTS5 classification in 2019. Claire Cashmore is based in

Loughborough Loughborough ( ) is a market town in the Charnwood borough of Leicestershire, England, the seat of Charnwood Borough Council and Loughborough University. At the 2011 census the town's built-up area had a population of 59,932 , the second larg ...

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...

. She was born in

Redditch Redditch is a town, and local government district, in north-east Worcestershire, England, approximately south of Birmingham. The district has a population of 85,000 as of 2019. In the 19th century, it became the international centre for the ...

, without a left forearm.

Career

Cashmore made her debut for ParalympicsGB as a 16-year-old competing at Athens in 2004, winning two bronze medals. She won her first international medal in the 100m

breaststroke Breaststroke is a swimming style in which the swimmer is on their chest and the torso does not rotate. It is the most popular recreational style due to the swimmer's head being out of the water a large portion of the time, and that it can be s ...

SB8 at the 2006

IPC Swimming World Championships The World Para Swimming Championships, known before 30 November 2016 as the IPC Swimming World Championships, are the world championships for swimming where athletes with a disability compete. They are organised by the International Paralympic C ...

in Durban. During the 2009 season, Cashmore broke the European 200m IM record and represented GB at the World Short-Course Championships in Rio. Cashmore went on to win a bronze at the

in Beijing in 2008, and a further two silvers and a bronze at the

in London 2012. In 2014, she claimed her first individual gold medal on the international stage, marking her third

IPC Swimming European Championships The World Para Swimming European Championships (World Para Swimming European Open Championships), known until 2018 as the IPC Swimming European Championships, are the European continental championships for swimming where athletes with a disabilit ...

with a gold medal in the 100m

SB8. At the

Rio de Janeiro Rio de Janeiro ( , , ; literally 'River of January'), or simply Rio, is the capital of the state of the same name, Brazil's third-most populous state, and the second-most populous city in Brazil, after São Paulo. Listed by the GaWC as a b ...

in 2016 Claire took silver in the 100m

SB8 and also claimed a gold medal in the medley relay. After competing in Rio, Cashmore took some time to reflect on her career and decided to transition into

Paratriathlon Para triathlon is a variant of the triathlon for athletes with a physical disability. The sport is governed by World Triathlon (TRI) (formerly known as ITU), and was first held as a Paralympic event at the 2016 Summer Paralympics in Rio de Janeiro, ...

. She was given a place on the

UK Sport UK Sport is the government agency responsible for investing in Olympic and Paralympic sport in the United Kingdom. It is an executive non-departmental public body sponsored by the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport. It was created ...

talent transfer programme and made her major international debut at the 2017 ITU World Triathlon Grand Final Rotterdam. The 2018 season saw Cashmore win gold in the GBR Paratriathlon National Championships and four consecutive silver medals at the Eton Dorney ITU Paratriathlon World Cup, Iseo - Franciacorta ITU World Paratriathlon Series, Tartu ETU Triathlon European Championships and ITU World Triathlon Grand Final Gold Coast. She enjoyed a number of successes in 2019 winning silver medals in the PTS5 classification at the Yokohama ITU World Paratriathlon Series, the Tokyo ITU Paratriathlon World Cup and the Valencia ETU Paratriathlon European Championships. However, her greatest achievements of the year saw her win gold at the GBR Paratriathlon National Championships, the Groupe Copley World Paratriathlon Series Montreal and the ITU World Triathlon Grand Final in Lausanne where she became ITU World Champion in the PTS5 classification. Before the

2020 Summer Paralympics The , branded as the Tokyo 2020 Paralympic Games, was an international multi-sport parasports event held from 24 August to 5 September 2021 in Tokyo, Japan. They were the 16th Summer Paralympic Games as organized by the International Paralym ...

, Cashmore was tipped as a favourite for the

. She ultimately won bronze, with compatriot Lauren Steadman taking the gold.

Personal life

Cashmore was born on 21 May 1988 in

, England, without a left forearm. She attended

Dubai English Speaking School Dubai English Speaking College is a British private school located in the Academic City, Dubai, UAE. It follows the National Curriculum for England. DESC was founded by the first headteacher, Peter Daly, in 2005 with 35 Year 7 students, and was l ...

from 1994 and

Hagley Catholic High School Hagley Catholic High School is a coeducational school for ages 11–18 situated in the village of Hagley, Worcestershire, England. Currently a member of the Catholic Emmaus trust of schools, it was founded by the Catholic community in Worcester ...

in Hagley, Worcestershire. Cashmore graduated from the

University of Leeds , mottoeng = And knowledge will be increased , established = 1831 – Leeds School of Medicine1874 – Yorkshire College of Science1884 - Yorkshire College1887 – affiliated to the federal Victoria University1904 – University of Leeds , ...

in 2011 with a bachelor's degree in

linguistics Linguistics is the scientific study of human language. It is called a scientific study because it entails a comprehensive, systematic, objective, and precise analysis of all aspects of language, particularly its nature and structure. Linguis ...

and

phonetics Phonetics is a branch of linguistics that studies how humans produce and perceive sounds, or in the case of sign languages, the equivalent aspects of sign. Linguists who specialize in studying the physical properties of speech are phoneticians. ...

. Cashmore was appointed

Member of the Order of the British Empire The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding contributions to the arts and sciences, work with charitable and welfare organisations, and public service outside the civil service. It was established o ...

(MBE) in the

2017 New Year Honours The 2017 New Year Honours are appointments by some of the 16 Commonwealth realms to various orders and honours to recognise and reward good works by citizens of those countries. The New Year Honours were awarded as part of the New Year celebrati ...

for services to swimming.

Paratriathlon Competitions

The following list of results. Unless indicated otherwise, the competitions are

s. DNF = Did not finish DNS = Did not start DSQ = Disqualified

References

External links

* * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Cashmore, Claire English female swimmers Paralympic swimmers for Great Britain 1988 births Congenital amputees Paralympic gold medalists for Great Britain Paralympic silver medalists for Great Britain Paralympic bronze medalists for Great Britain Swimmers at the 2004 Summer Paralympics Swimmers at the 2008 Summer Paralympics Swimmers at the 2012 Summer Paralympics Swimmers at the 2016 Summer Paralympics Living people Alumni of the University of Leeds Medalists at the 2004 Summer Paralympics Medalists at the 2008 Summer Paralympics Medalists at the 2012 Summer Paralympics Medalists at the 2016 Summer Paralympics Medalists at the 2020 Summer Paralympics S9-classified para swimmers Members of the Order of the British Empire Sportspeople from Redditch British female triathletes Paralympic triathletes for Great Britain Medalists at the World Para Swimming Championships Medalists at the World Para Swimming European Championships Paralympic medalists in swimming British female breaststroke swimmers British female medley swimmers British female backstroke swimmers