Claire McLean (born 4 July 1973) is an Australian Paralympic cyclist and paratriathlete. She represented Australia at the

2016 Rio Paralympics The 2016 Summer Paralympics (), the 15th Summer Paralympic Games, were a major international multi-sport event for athletes with disabilities governed by the International Paralympic Committee, held in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, from 7 to 18 Sept ...

when paratriathlon made its debut at the Paralympics.

Career

McLean was born in

Cottesloe, Western Australia Cottesloe is a Western suburbs (Perth), western suburb of Perth, Western Australia, within the Town of Cottesloe. Cottesloe was named for Thomas Fremantle, 1st Baron Cottesloe, a prominent Tories (British political party), Tory politician and ...

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 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 Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Alberta. It is situated on the North Saskatchewan River and is the centre of the Edmonton Metropolitan Region, which is surrounded by Central Alberta ...

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its Provinces and territories of Canada, ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, making it the world's List of coun ...

, she finished seventh in the Women's PT4. In January 2015, McLean won the Oceania Paratriathlon Championships PT4 event at

Penrith, New South Wales Penrith is a city in New South Wales, Australia, located in Greater Western Sydney, 55 kilometres (31 mi) west of the Sydney central business district on the banks of the Nepean River, on the outskirts of the Cumberland Plain. Its elevati ...

. McLean finished eighth at the 2015 World Triathlon Series Women's P4 Final in

Chicago Chicago is the List of municipalities in Illinois, most populous city in the U.S. state of Illinois and in the Midwestern United States. With a population of 2,746,388, as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it is the List of Unite ...

. 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 event, multi-sport parasports event held from 29 August to 9 September 2012 in London, England, United Kingdom. They were the 14th Sum ...

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 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 ...

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

* * *
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 21st-century Australian sportswomen