Chelsea McClammer

{{Infobox sportsperson

| name = Chelsea McClammer

| nickname =

| image = 2013 IPC Athletics World Championships - 26072013 - Chelsea McClammer of USA during the Women's 400m - T53 first semifinal.jpg

| imagesize =

| caption = McClammer in 2013

| nationality =

| sport = Paralympic athletics

|disability = Paraplegia

|disability_class = T53

| event =

| club =

| coach =

| birth_date = {{Birth date and age|1994|3|1|mf=y}}

| birth_place = Benton City, Washington, United States

| residence =

| education = University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign

| retired=

| death_date =

| death_place =

| height = 1.65m

| weight = 45kg

| pb =

| country = {{USA}}

| medaltemplates =

{{Medal|Country|{{USA}}}}

}}

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

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.{{cite web |last1=Santoliquito |first1=Joseph |title=Paralympian McClammer's Talent Taking Her Places |url=https://www.maxpreps.com/news/PofJxzNLEd6pcwAcxJTdpg/paralympian-mcclammers-talent-taking-her-places.htm |website=MaxPreps |access-date=December 10, 2019 |date=April 27, 2009}}

Career

Chelsea McClammer started competing in wheelchair racing when she was a tween.{{cite web |title=Benton City Athlete to Compete in Beijing Paralympics |url=https://www.nbcrightnow.com/news/benton-city-athlete-to-compete-in-beijing-paralympics/article_3813a82b-e0a2-5e08-86c8-4ff88b1dfa4c.html |website=NBC Right Now |access-date=December 10, 2019 |date=August 16, 2008}} She was introduced to wheelchair racing at a sports convention and hired coach Teresa Skinner to train her for competitive racing. With Skinner as her coach, McClammer qualified for the U.S. Paralympics Track and Field Nationals at the age of 12.{{cite web |last1=Blanco |first1=Annemarie |title=Going for the Gold: How fate led Chelsea McClammer to the track |url=https://www.teamusa.org/US-Paralympics/Features/2015/July/17/Going-for-the-Gold-How-fate-led-Chelsea-McClammer-to-the-track |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150804013429/http://www.teamusa.org/US-Paralympics/Features/2015/July/17/Going-for-the-Gold-How-fate-led-Chelsea-McClammer-to-the-track |url-status=dead |archive-date=August 4, 2015 |website=teamusa.org |access-date=December 10, 2019 |date=July 17, 2015}}

File:IMG 7801 Chelsea McClammer (41876912635).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.{{cite news |last1=Leaming |first1=Sara |title=Girl from Spokane team racing her way to Beijing |url=https://www.spokesman.com/stories/2008/jul/01/girl-from-spokane-team-racing-her-way-to-beijing/ |access-date=December 10, 2019 |publisher=The Spokesman-Review |date=July 1, 2008}} In Beijing, McClammer qualified for the T54 finals and bested her personal record.{{cite web |title=Team St. Luke's Athlete Returns from 2008 Paralympics in Beijing |url=https://www.st-lukes.org/Why-St-Lukes/Newsroom/News/Team-St-Luke-s-Athlete-Returns-from-2008-Paralympics-in-Beijing/ |website=st-lukes.org |access-date=December 10, 2019 |date=September 18, 2008}} 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.{{cite web |last1=Lotze |first1=Katherine |title=Chelsea McClammer: State Champion and Veteran Paralympian |url=https://wa.milesplit.com/articles/20654/chelsea-mcclammer-state-champion-and-veteran-paralympian |website=MileSplit WA |access-date=December 10, 2019 |date=November 10, 2008}} However, after undergoing surgery for scoliosis, she competed in class T53.{{cite web |title=McClammer has plenty of reasons to smile |url=https://www.teamusa.org/us-paralympics/features/2011/november/09/mcclammer-has-plenty-of-reasons-to-smile |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140106232400/http://www.teamusa.org/US-Paralympics/Features/2011/November/09/McClammer-has-plenty-of-reasons-to-smile |url-status=dead |archive-date=January 6, 2014 |website=teamusa.org |access-date=December 10, 2019 |date=November 9, 2011}}

In 2011, McClammer earned a bronze medal in the 800-meter race at the 2011 Parapan American Games in Guadalajara, Mexico.{{cite news |title=Richland High senior wins gold at games |url=https://www.tri-cityherald.com/news/local/article32036013.html |access-date=December 10, 2019 |publisher=Tri-City Herald |date=November 17, 2011}} She also earned a gold medal with a time of 34.55 in the women's 200m T53, and another at the 100m.{{cite web |title=Three Track World Records Smashed on Day 4 of Parapan Athletics |url=https://www.paralympic.org/news/three-track-world-records-smashed-day-4-parapan-athletics |website=paralympic.org |access-date=December 10, 2019 |date=November 18, 2011}} Upon graduating from high school, McClammer enrolled at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign.{{cite news |title=Benton City wheelchair track athlete McClammer takes silver at Rio Paralympics |url=https://www.tri-cityherald.com/sports/olympics/article101251082.html |access-date=December 10, 2019 |publisher=Tri-City Herald |date=September 11, 2016}}

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.{{cite web |last1=Blanchard|first1=Jamie M.|title=TEAM USA NAMED FOR 2013 IPC ATHLETICS WORLD CHAMPIONSHIPS |url=https://www.teamusa.org/US-Paralympics/Features/2013/June/18/Team-USA-named-for-2013-IPC-Athletics-World-Championships|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130622122016/http://www.teamusa.org/US-Paralympics/Features/2013/June/18/Team-USA-named-for-2013-IPC-Athletics-World-Championships|url-status=dead|archive-date=June 22, 2013|website=teamusa.org |access-date=December 10, 2019 |date=June 18, 2013}} McClammer won a bronze medal in the women's 200 meters T53 race with a time of 31.95.{{cite web |last1=Blanchard |first1=Jamie M. |title=Tatyana McFadden wins first title at 2013 IPC Athletics World Championships |url=https://www.teamusa.org/US-Paralympics/Features/2013/July/21/Tatyana-McFadden-wins-first-title-at-2013-IPC-Athletics-World-Championships |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130822120939/http://www.teamusa.org/US-Paralympics/Features/2013/July/21/Tatyana-McFadden-wins-first-title-at-2013-IPC-Athletics-World-Championships |url-status=dead |archive-date=August 22, 2013 |website=teamusa.org |access-date=December 10, 2019 |date=July 21, 2013}} She later competed with Team USA at the 2015 IPC Athletics World Championships.{{cite web |last1=Lau |first1=Mary Kate |title=Meet the 2015 IPC Marathon World Championship Team |url=https://www.teamusa.org/US-Paralympics/Features/2015/February/05/Meet-the-2015-IPC-Marathon-World-Championship-team |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150315075139/http://www.teamusa.org/US-Paralympics/Features/2015/February/05/Meet-the-2015-IPC-Marathon-World-Championship-team |url-status=dead |archive-date=March 15, 2015 |website=teamusa.org |access-date=December 10, 2019 |date=February 5, 2015}} She finished the competition placing fourth in the 800 T54 meter race.{{cite web |title=Team USA Closes Paralympic Track And Field Worlds With 39 Medals |url=http://www.ehandicapworldrecords.org/en/article/team-usa-closes-paralympic-track-and-field-worlds-with-39-medals |website=ehandicapworldrecords.org |access-date=December 10, 2019 |date=October 31, 2015}}

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.{{cite news |title=Benton City's McClammer earns 2 more silvers at 2016 Rio Paralympics |url=https://www.tri-cityherald.com/sports/olympics/article102086772.html |access-date=December 10, 2019 |publisher=Tri City-Herald |date=September 15, 2016}} 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.{{cite web |last1=Tammaro |first1=Brianna |title=Tatyana McFadden Completes Four-Event Sweep At World Para Athletics Championships |url=https://www.teamusa.org/News/2017/July/19/Tatyana-McFadden-Completes-Four-Event-Sweep-At-World-Para-Athletics-Championships |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170720070124/http://www.teamusa.org/News/2017/July/19/Tatyana-McFadden-Completes-Four-Event-Sweep-At-World-Para-Athletics-Championships |url-status=dead |archive-date=July 20, 2017 |website=teamusa.org |access-date=December 10, 2019 |date=July 19, 2017}}

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.{{cite web |title=U.S. Paralympic Track & Field Athlete Chelsea McClammer Accepts Finding of No Fault |url=https://www.usada.org/sanction/chelsea-mcclammer-accepts-finding-of-no-fault/ |website=usada.org |access-date=December 10, 2019 |date=March 8, 2019}}

References

External links

{{Team USA|new_id=chelsea-mcclammer-856510|old_id=MC/Chelsea-McClammer|archive=20210418104643}} ([https://web.archive.org/web/20151030011223/http://www.teamusa.org/para-track-and-field/athletes/chelsea-mcclammer archive October 30, 2015])
{{IPC|chelsea-mcclammer}}

Category:Living people

Category:1994 births

Category:People from Benton County, Washington

Category:Track and field athletes from Washington (state)

Category:University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign alumni

Category:Paralympic bronze medalists for the United States

Category:Paralympic silver medalists for the United States

Category:Athletes (track and field) at the 2008 Summer Paralympics

Category:Athletes (track and field) at the 2016 Summer Paralympics

Category:Medalists at the 2016 Summer Paralympics

Category:American female wheelchair racers

Category:People with paraplegia