Claire Williams (born 29 September 1987) is a

Paralympian 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 ...

athlete An athlete (also sportsman or sportswoman) is a person who competes in one or more sports that involve physical strength, speed, or endurance. Athletes may be professionals or amateurs. Most professional athletes have particularly well-devel ...

from

Wales Wales ( cy, Cymru ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is bordered by England to the Wales–England border, east, the Irish Sea to the north and west, the Celtic Sea to the south west and the ...

competing mainly in category T12 throwing events. She has qualified as a member of the Great Britain team in three Paralympic Games, in 2004 at Athens, 2008 at Beijing and

London 2012 The 2012 Summer Olympics (officially the Games of the XXX Olympiad and also known as London 2012) was an international multi-sport event held from 27 July to 12 August 2012 in London, England, United Kingdom. The first event, the ...

. At London she took the bronze medal in the discus.

Career history

Williams was born in Carmarthen, Wales in 1987. Williams, who has a visual impairment, became interested in sport while a school girl, taking up jujitsu. At the age of 12 she switched to athletics, becoming Welsh Schools Champion for

hammer A hammer is a tool, most often a hand tool, consisting of a weighted "head" fixed to a long handle that is swung to deliver an impact to a small area of an object. This can be, for example, to drive nails into wood, to shape metal (as w ...

and discus. She was educated at Ysgol Bro Myrddin and was part of Carmarthen harriers. In 2004, at the age of 17, Williams was selected for the Great Britain team for the

2004 Summer Paralympics ) , nations = 136 , athletes = 3,806 , events = 519 in 19 sports , opening = 17 September , closing = 28 September , opened_by = President Costis Stephanopoulos , cauldron = Georgios Toptsis , stadium = Olympic ...

in Athens. She threw a personal best of 35.26m in the T12 discus, coming in fifth. After Athens Williams continued her athletics training and also matriculated to

Loughborough University Loughborough University (abbreviated as ''Lough'' or ''Lboro'' for post-nominals) is a public research university in the market town of Loughborough, Leicestershire, England. It has been a university since 1966, but it dates back to 1909, when L ...

, completing her degree in psychology in 2007. With her studies over, Williams started competing further afield, and recorded a personal best of 36.78m at Loughborough, which gave her another place in the Great Britain team in the

2008 Summer Paralympics The 2008 Summer Paralympic Games (), the 13th Summer Paralympic Games, took place in Beijing, China from September 6 to 17, 2008. As with the 2008 Summer Olympics, equestrian events were held in Hong Kong and sailing events in Qingdao. It was ...

in Beijing. She again came fifth, throwing a distance of 35.01. In 2009, she came first in the discus at both the Czech and Welsh Opens, and at Loughborough in May she threw a new personal best of 40.30, the first time she had thrown over 40 metres competitively. Williams was back in the Great Britain team in January 2011, chosen to compete in the

2011 IPC Athletics World Championships The 2011 IPC Athletics World Championships was held in Christchurch, New Zealand from January 21 to 30, 2011. Athletes with a disability competed, and the Championships was a qualifying event for the London 2012 Paralympic Games. Ove1000 athlet ...

in Christchurch, New Zealand. A throw of 37.19m gave her another 5th placing in an international competition. Between May and July 2011, Williams threw over 40m in four different competitions, including a personal best of 43.15 at Loughborough. Williams made the Great Britain team for the third time when she was selected for the

2012 Summer Olympics The 2012 Summer Olympics (officially the Games of the XXX Olympiad and also known as London 2012) was an international multi-sport event held from 27 July to 12 August 2012 in London, England, United Kingdom. The first event, the ...

in London. A series of injuries going into the games, along with a self-perceived loss of form, saw Williams going into the games doubting her own ability at gaining a podium finish. In the run up to the Games she participated in the

European Championships The European Championships is a multi-sport tournament which brings together the existing European Championships of some of the continent's leading sports every four years. The inaugural edition in 2018 was staged by the host cities of Berlin, ...

taking the bronze medal in the discus. On 1 September at the 2012 Summer Paralympics she took part in the F11–12 discus event and threw 39.63 m which converted to 908 pts, and was enough to give Williams her first Paralympic medal, a bronze.

Personal life

Williams' lives in Carmarthen and has two children.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Williams, Claire 1987 births Paralympic athletes for Great Britain British female discus throwers Living people Sportspeople from Carmarthen Athletes (track and field) at the 2004 Summer Paralympics Athletes (track and field) at the 2008 Summer Paralympics Athletes (track and field) at the 2012 Summer Paralympics Paralympic bronze medalists for Great Britain Alumni of Loughborough University Medalists at the 2012 Summer Paralympics Welsh female discus throwers Welsh Paralympic competitors Paralympic medalists in athletics (track and field) People educated at Bro Myrddin Welsh Comprehensive School