Chelsea McClammer
![]() McClammer in 2013 | |
Personal information | |
---|---|
Born | Benton City, Washington, United States | March 1, 1994
Education | University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign |
Height | 1.65 m (5 ft 5 in) |
Weight | 45 kg (99 lb) |
Sport | |
Country | ![]() |
Sport | Paralympic athletics |
Disability | Paraplegia |
Disability class | T53 |
Medal record |
Chelsea McClammer (born March 1, 1994) is an American Paralympic athlete with Team USA, she has won two silver medals and one bronze at the 2016 Summer Paralympics.
Early life
[edit]McClammer played basketball, tennis and athletics as a child, but injured her spinal cord in a car accident when she was six years old and then she had to start with a wheelchair.[1]
Career
[edit]Chelsea McClammer started competing in wheelchair racing when she was a tween.[2] She was introduced to wheelchair racing at a sports convention and hired coach Theresa Skinner to train her for competitive racing.[1] With Skinner as her coach, McClammer qualified for the U.S. Paralympics Track and Field Nationals at the age of 12.[3]
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/0/01/IMG_7801_Chelsea_McClammer_%2841876912635%29.jpg/220px-IMG_7801_Chelsea_McClammer_%2841876912635%29.jpg)
As a freshman in high school, McClammer became the youngest member of Team USA in the 2008 Summer Paralympics in Beijing at 14 years old.[4] In Beijing, McClammer qualified for the T54 finals and bested her personal record.[5] She missed the first two weeks of school at Kiona-Benton City High School but upon her return, McClammer joined the school's cross country team. While competing with the team, she set a new state record with a time of 7:29 for 2.1 miles.[6] However, after undergoing surgery for scoliosis, she competed in class T53.[7]
In 2011, McClammer earned a bronze medal in the 800-meter race at the 2011 Parapan American Games in Guadalajara, Mexico.[8] She also earned a gold medal with a time of 34.55 in the women's 200m T53, and another at the 100m.[9] Upon graduating from high school, McClammer enrolled at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign.[10]
As a student at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, McClammer was named to Team USA's 2013 IPC Athletics World Championships team and competed in the women's 200 meters.[11] McClammer won a bronze medal in the women's 200 meters T53 race with a time of 31.95.[12] She later competed with Team USA at the 2015 IPC Athletics World Championships.[13] She finished the competition placing fourth in the 800 T54 meter race.[14]
In 2016, McClammer won two silver medals and one bronze in the women's 5,000 meters-T53/54, 4×400 relay-T53/54, and 1500 meter races at the 2016 Summer Paralympics.[15] The next year, she competed with Team USA at the 2017 World Para Athletics Championships where she won a silver medal with a time of 55.50.[16]
In 2019, McClammer tested positive for hydrochlorothiazide (HCTZ), a prohibited diuretic. USADA found that the HCTZ appeared as a trace contaminant in a permitted prescription drug, without McClammer's knowledge and without cause of negligence. As a result, she accepted a finding of no fault and was not disqualified from any past or future competitions.[17]
References
[edit]- ^ a b Santoliquito, Joseph (April 27, 2009). "Paralympian McClammer's Talent Taking Her Places". MaxPreps. Retrieved December 10, 2019.
- ^ "Benton City Athlete to Compete in Beijing Paralympics". NBC Right Now. August 16, 2008. Retrieved December 10, 2019.
- ^ Blanco, Annemarie (July 17, 2015). "Going for the Gold: How fate led Chelsea McClammer to the track". teamusa.org. Archived from the original on August 4, 2015. Retrieved December 10, 2019.
- ^ Leaming, Sara (July 1, 2008). "Girl from Spokane team racing her way to Beijing". The Spokesman-Review. Retrieved December 10, 2019.
- ^ "Team St. Luke's Athlete Returns from 2008 Paralympics in Beijing". st-lukes.org. September 18, 2008. Retrieved December 10, 2019.
- ^ Lotze, Katherine (November 10, 2008). "Chelsea McClammer: State Champion and Veteran Paralympian". MileSplit WA. Retrieved December 10, 2019.
- ^ "McClammer has plenty of reasons to smile". teamusa.org. November 9, 2011. Archived from the original on January 6, 2014. Retrieved December 10, 2019.
- ^ "Richland High senior wins gold at games". Tri-City Herald. November 17, 2011. Retrieved December 10, 2019.
- ^ "Three Track World Records Smashed on Day 4 of Parapan Athletics". paralympic.org. November 18, 2011. Retrieved December 10, 2019.
- ^ "Benton City wheelchair track athlete McClammer takes silver at Rio Paralympics". Tri-City Herald. September 11, 2016. Retrieved December 10, 2019.
- ^ Blanchard, Jamie M. (June 18, 2013). "TEAM USA NAMED FOR 2013 IPC ATHLETICS WORLD CHAMPIONSHIPS". teamusa.org. Archived from the original on June 22, 2013. Retrieved December 10, 2019.
- ^ Blanchard, Jamie M. (July 21, 2013). "Tatyana McFadden wins first title at 2013 IPC Athletics World Championships". teamusa.org. Archived from the original on August 22, 2013. Retrieved December 10, 2019.
- ^ Lau, Mary Kate (February 5, 2015). "Meet the 2015 IPC Marathon World Championship Team". teamusa.org. Archived from the original on March 15, 2015. Retrieved December 10, 2019.
- ^ "Team USA Closes Paralympic Track And Field Worlds With 39 Medals". ehandicapworldrecords.org. October 31, 2015. Retrieved December 10, 2019.
- ^ "Benton City's McClammer earns 2 more silvers at 2016 Rio Paralympics". Tri City-Herald. September 15, 2016. Retrieved December 10, 2019.
- ^ Tammaro, Brianna (July 19, 2017). "Tatyana McFadden Completes Four-Event Sweep At World Para Athletics Championships". teamusa.org. Archived from the original on July 20, 2017. Retrieved December 10, 2019.
- ^ "U.S. Paralympic Track & Field Athlete Chelsea McClammer Accepts Finding of No Fault". usada.org. March 8, 2019. Retrieved December 10, 2019.
External links
[edit]- Living people
- 1994 births
- People from Benton County, Washington
- Track and field athletes from Washington (state)
- University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign alumni
- Paralympic bronze medalists for the United States
- Paralympic silver medalists for the United States
- Athletes (track and field) at the 2008 Summer Paralympics
- Athletes (track and field) at the 2016 Summer Paralympics
- Medalists at the 2016 Summer Paralympics
- American female wheelchair racers
- People with paraplegia
- Paralympic medalists in athletics (track and field)
- Paralympic track and field athletes for the United States
- Medalists at the 2011 Parapan American Games
- Medalists at the 2015 Parapan American Games
- Medalists at the World Para Athletics Championships
- Illinois Fighting Illini Paralympic athletes
- 21st-century American sportswomen