Claire Cashmore (born 21 May 1988) is a

Paralympic The Paralympic Games or Paralympics is a periodic series of international multisport events involving athletes with a range of disabilities. There are Winter and Summer Paralympic Games, which since the 1988 Summer Olympics in Seoul, South Kore ...

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

Paralympic Games The Paralympic Games or Paralympics is a periodic series of international multisport events involving athletes with a range of disability, disabilities. There are Winter Paralympic Games, Winter and Summer Paralympic Games, which since the 1988 ...

with

swimming Swimming is the self-propulsion of a person through water, such as saltwater or freshwater environments, usually for recreation, sport, exercise, or survival. Swimmers achieve locomotion by coordinating limb and body movements to achieve hydrody ...

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 the International Triathlon Union or ITU), and was first held as a Paralympic event at the 2016 S ...

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), Charnwood Borough of Leicestershire, England; it is the administrative centre of Charnwood Borough Council. At the United Kingdom 2021 census, the town's built-up area had a popula ...

England England is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is located on the island of Great Britain, of which it covers about 62%, and List of islands of England, more than 100 smaller adjacent islands. It ...

. She was born in

Redditch Redditch is a town and non-metropolitan district with borough status in Worcestershire, England. It is located south of Birmingham, east of Bromsgrove, north-west of Alcester and north-east of Worcester. In 2021, the town had a population of ...

, without a left forearm.

Career

Cashmore made her debut for

ParalympicsGB The British Paralympic Association (BPA) is the National Paralympic Committee for ''Great Britain'' (GBR), and is responsible for the United Kingdom's participation in the Paralympic Games. The BPA select, prepare, enter, fund and manage the ...

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 human swimming, 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 ...

SB8 at the 2006 IPC Swimming World Championships 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 with a gold medal in the 100m

SB8. At the

in Rio de Janeiro 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. She was given a place on the UK Sport 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, Cashmore was tipped as a favourite for the Paratriathlon at the Summer Paralympics, Paratriathlon. 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 from 1994 and Hagley Catholic High School in Hagley, Worcestershire. Cashmore graduated from the University of Leeds in 2011 with a bachelor's degree in linguistics and phonetics. Cashmore was appointed Member of the Order of the British Empire (MBE) in the 2017 New Year Honours 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 breaststroke 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 Triathletes at the 2020 Summer Paralympics Triathletes at the 2024 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 Medalists at the 2024 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 English female backstroke swimmers British female freestyle swimmers English female freestyle swimmers English female medley swimmers English female butterfly swimmers British female butterfly swimmers 21st-century English sportswomen