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Clare Cunningham (athlete)

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Clare Bishop
Bishop at the 2016 Paralympics
Personal information
Nationality United Kingdom
Born (1977-06-15) 15 June 1977 (age 47)
Hillingdon, UK
Height5 ft 6 in (168 cm)
Medal record
Representing  United Kingdom
Women's Swimming
Paralympic Games
Gold medal – first place 1992 Barcelona 50m freestyle S9
Silver medal – second place 1992 Barcelona 100m backstroke S9
Silver medal – second place 1992 Barcelona 100m freestyle S9
Silver medal – second place 1992 Barcelona 4×100m freestyle relay S7-10
Silver medal – second place 1992 Barcelona 4×100m medley relay S7-10
IPC Swimming World Championships
Gold medal – first place Malta 1994 100m freestyle S9
Silver medal – second place Malta 1994 100m butterfly S9
Bronze medal – third place Malta 1994 50m freestyle S9
Bronze medal – third place Malta 1994 200m medley SM9
Bronze medal – third place Malta 1994 4×100m medley relay S7-10
Women's Paratriathlon
ITU Triathlon World Championships
Gold medal – first place 2009 Gold Coast TRI 4
Silver medal – second place 2010 Budapest TRI 4
Silver medal – second place 2011 Beijing TRI 4
Silver medal – second place 2012 Auckland TRI 4
Bronze medal – third place 2013 London TRI 4
Bronze medal – third place 2014 Edmonton PT4
European Triathlon Championships
Gold medal – first place 2009 Holten TRI 4
Silver medal – second place 2010 Athlone TRI 4
Bronze medal – third place 2011 Pontevedra TRI 4
Silver medal – second place 2013 Alanya TRI 4
Bronze medal – third place 2015 Geneva PT4
ITU Aquathlon World Championships
Bronze medal – third place 2012 Auckland TRI 4

Clare Bishop (formerly Cunningham; born 15 June 1977) is a retired Paralympic swimmer and triathlete who represented Great Britain.[1] She was born without her left forearm.[2]

Bishop first swam in international competition at the age of 13, at the 1990 World Championships and Games for the Disabled in Assen, The Netherlands.[3] At the 1992 Summer Paralympics, Bishop won the Women's S9 50m freestyle event in what was then World Record time.[4] She won silver medals in 100m freestyle, 100m backstroke, 4 × 100 m freestyle relay and 4 × 100 m medley relay events.[5] She competed at the 1996 Summer Paralympics but did not win a medal.[5] She retired from swimming after the Atlanta Paralympic games.[1]

In 2006, Bishop turned to triathlon.[1][2] Initially competing in age-group races against non-disabled triathletes, she discovered paratriathlon in 2009.[1][6] Classified as a TRI-4 (arm-impaired) paratriathlete, she became the 2009 ITU European Paratriathlon Champion and 2009 World Paratriathlon Champion in her class.[7] She placed second at the ITU World Paratriathlon Championships in 2010, 2011, and 2012, and third in 2013 and 2014.[7]

In late 2012, Bishop was elected to the International Triathlon Union Athletes Committee. She and South African Oswald Kydd, elected on the same day, are the first-ever paratriathlete representatives on the ITU Athletes Committee.[8][9]

Bishop competed in paratriathlon at the 2016 Summer Paralympics in the PT4 category and finished seventh.[10]

To prepare for Rio 2016, Bishop took a sabbatical from her career as a Chartered Accountant at Deloitte. She has a 2:1 MA Honours in English Language and Literature from the University of St Andrews, Scotland.[11]

Since retiring, Bishop has gained an MSc in Sport and Exercise Psychology with distinction from Loughborough University. Bishop is now using her wide range of experience of Paralympic sport in her role as Head of Athlete Services at the British Paralympic Association.[11][12] The Beijing 2022 Winter Paralympic Games were her second games as a member of ParalympicsGB where, as Deputy Chef de Mission, she was responsible for all areas of team education, safeguarding, welfare and anti-doping.[13]

Bishop, alongside Sir Matthew Pinset, was recruited to the SportAid Board of Trustees at the start of 2023.[14] She was appointed as a director for a three-year term.

References

[edit]
  1. ^ a b c d "Clare Cunningham". International Triathlon Union. Retrieved 18 January 2013.
  2. ^ a b "Clare Cunningham: 2009 World Champion". British Triathlon. Retrieved 18 January 2013.
  3. ^ "Clare Cunningham: FAQ". Archived from the original on 22 July 2012. Retrieved 18 January 2013.
  4. ^ "Barcelona 1992 Paralympic Games – Swimming – Women's 50 m Freestyle S9". International Paralympic Committee. Retrieved 18 January 2013.
  5. ^ a b "Paralympic Games: Athlete Search Results: Clare Bishop". International Paralympic Committee. Archived from the original on 14 October 2013.
  6. ^ "Discovering paratriathlon". Clare Cunningham. Archived from the original on 20 April 2013. Retrieved 18 January 2013.
  7. ^ a b "Clare Cunningham: Results". International Triathlon Union. Retrieved 18 January 2013.
  8. ^ "Clare Cunningham elected to ITU Athletes' Committee". British Triathlon. Retrieved 18 January 2013.
  9. ^ "Committees". International Triathlon Union. 26 December 2012.
  10. ^ Clare Cunningham Archived 22 September 2016 at the Wayback Machine. rio2016.com
  11. ^ a b "Clare Cunningham Paralympics GB". Paralympics GB. Retrieved 20 June 2020.
  12. ^ "Clare Cunningham BPA Appointment". Paralympics GB. Retrieved 20 June 2020.
  13. ^ "Britain names three deputy Chef de Missions for Beijing 2022 Winter Paralympics". www.insidethegames.biz. 11 March 2021. Retrieved 19 November 2022.
  14. ^ "SportsAid welcomes Clare Cunningham and Matthew Pinsent to Board of Trustees | SportsAid". www.sportsaid.org.uk. Retrieved 11 March 2023.
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