Claire McLean (born 4 July 1973) is an Australian Paralympic cyclist and

paratriathlete 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 Paralympics, Paralympic event at the 2016 Summer Paralympics in Rio ...

. She represented Australia at the

2016 Rio Paralympics ) , nations = 159 , athletes = 4,342 , opening = 7 September , closing = 18 September , opened_by = President Michel Temer , cauldron = Clodoaldo Silva , events = 528 in 22 sports , stadium = Maracanã , sum ...

when paratriathlon made its debut at the Paralympics.

Career

McLean was born in

Cottesloe, Western Australia Cottesloe is a western suburb of Perth, Western Australia, within the Town of Cottesloe. Cottesloe was named for Thomas Fremantle, 1st Baron Cottesloe, a prominent Tory politician and the brother of Admiral Sir Charles Fremantle for whom the ...

in 1973. She damaged her arm in a motor cycle accident when she was nineteen.Western Australians Brant Garvey and Claire McLean named in seven-strong Australian Rio para-triathlon squad
3 August 2016, PerthNow, Retrieved 12 September 2016 She won a silver medal at the

2004 Athens Games The 2004 Summer Olympics ( el, Θερινοί Ολυμπιακοί Αγώνες 2004, ), officially the Games of the XXVIII Olympiad ( el, Αγώνες της 28ης Ολυμπιάδας, ) and also known as Athens 2004 ( el, Αθήνα 2004), ...

in the Women's Bicycle Time Trial LC1-4/CP 3/4 event. She has since won several Paracycling World Championship and World Cup medals in the C5 classification. As a TRI-4 (arm impaired) paratriathlete, she placed 3rd in her first International paratriathlon race, the 2012 ITU Paratriathlon World Championships. At the

2014 ITU World Triathlon Series The 2014 ITU World Triathlon Series was a series of eight World Championship Triathlon events that lead up to a Grand Final held in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada. The Series was organised under the auspices of the world governing body of triathlon, th ...

Final in

Edmonton Edmonton ( ) is the capital city of the Canadian province of Alberta. Edmonton is situated on the North Saskatchewan River and is the centre of the Edmonton Metropolitan Region, which is surrounded by Alberta's central region. The city ancho ...

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tot ...

, she finished seventh in the Women's PT4. In January 2015, McLean won the Oceania Paratriathlon Championships PT4 event at th Penrith, New South Wales. McLean finished eighth at the 2015 World Triathlon Series Women's P4 Final in

Chicago (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name ...

. McLean failed to be selected for the

2012 Summer Paralympics The 2012 Summer Paralympics, branded as the London 2012 Paralympic Games, were an international multi-sport parasports event held from 29 August to 9 September 2012 in London, England, United Kingdom. They were the 14th Summer Paralympic Gam ...

in London and decided to switch to the new triathlete sport. She did represent Australia at the

when paratriathlon made its debut at the Paralympics. McLean finished ninth in PT4 at the 2016 Rio Paralympics Games. In reflection on her performance throughout the

Paralympics 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 impaired ...

McLean says "Without that big goal I feel a little bit lost. I think everyone needs to have something to aim towards, to seek some sort of personal improvement, whether it’s physically, spiritually, psychologically or just being a good person on a day to day basis. It’s what keeps me going."

References

External links

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McLean Conquering Phobias
{{DEFAULTSORT:McLean, Claire 1973 births Living people Australian female cyclists Australian female triathletes Paralympic cyclists for Australia Paralympic triathletes for Australia Paralympic silver medalists for Australia Cyclists at the 2004 Summer Paralympics Medalists at the 2004 Summer Paralympics Triathletes at the 2016 Summer Paralympics Cyclists from Western Australia Paralympic medalists in cycling Sportswomen from Western Australia