Claire Cashmore, MBE (born 21 May 1988) is a Paralympic Swimming Champion and PTS5 classified British paratriathlete. She has been to four Paralympic Games with swimming 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 after winning gold and silver at the Paralympic Games in 2016, and became ITU World Champion in the PTS5 classification in 2019. Claire Cashmore is based in Loughborough, England. She was born in Redditch, England, without a left forearm.[2]
Cashmore made her debut for ParalympicsGB as a 16-year-old competing at Athens in 2004, winning two bronze medals.[3] She won her first international medal in the 100m breaststroke SB8 at the 2006 IPC Swimming World Championships in Durban.[3] During the 2009 season, Cashmore broke the European 200m IM record and represented GB at the World Short-Course Championships in Rio.[4] Cashmore went on to win a bronze at the Paralympic Games in Beijing in 2008, and a further two silvers and a bronze at the Paralympic Games in London 2012.[5] 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 breaststroke SB8.[3] At the Paralympic GamesinRio de Janeiro in 2016 Claire took silver in the 100m breaststroke SB8 and also claimed a gold medal in the 4 × 100 m medley relay.[3]
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.[6] The 2018 season saw Cashmore win gold in the GBR Paratriathlon National Championships[7] and four consecutive silver medals at the Eton Dorney ITU Paratriathlon World Cup,[8] Iseo - Franciacorta ITU World Paratriathlon Series,[9] Tartu ETU Triathlon European Championships[10] and ITU World Triathlon Grand Final Gold Coast.[11]
She enjoyed a number of successes in 2019 winning silver medals in the PTS5 classification at the Yokohama ITU World Paratriathlon Series,[12] the Tokyo ITU Paratriathlon World Cup[13] and the Valencia ETU Paratriathlon European Championships.[14] However, her greatest achievements of the year saw her win gold at the GBR Paratriathlon National Championships,[15] the Groupe Copley World Paratriathlon Series Montreal[16] and the ITU World Triathlon Grand Final in Lausanne[17] where she became ITU World Champion in the PTS5 classification.
