Cashmore amongst Team GB Paralympians set for weekend World Para Triathlon

With crucial qualification points for the Paris 2024 Paralympic Games on offer from the race, there will be an extra competitive edge to proceedings with several of the World’s top Para triathletes facing off for one of the sport’s biggest races of the season. 

Alongside the elite race, there is also a British Paratri Super Series and a Splash and a Dash Disability Aquathlon event. The Super Series is for those with and without a sporting classification who want to take part in a triathlon either to complete it or compete in it.

Whilst the Splash and Dash is a participation-focused swim followed by a run or walk to the finish line with participants choosing how much of a ‘swim’ or ‘run’ they want to do enabling anyone to take part in the experience.  

In the women’s elite PTS 5 category, which criteria see triathletes compete who have a moderate level of forearm absence or loss of limb, multiple medal-winning Paralympian Claire Cashmore will be looking to defend her title won last year in the competition’s inaugural year. 

35-year-old Cashmore, a gold and silver medalist at Swimming in the Rio Paralympic games in 2016 and a bronze medalist at Paratriathlon in Tokyo four years later was born without a left forearm and is keen to promote and inspire the next generation whilst also using the event to prepare for next year’s showpiece event in Paris.

“I think it’s important to inspire the next generation. We want to see more people getting involved particularly in the Para triathlon which is quite a new growing sport,” explained Cashmore. 

“Hopefully, we can encourage more people to do it. Not just Paralympians, that’s not what it’s all about. It’s about getting involved in a sport and realising how fantastic it is. The fact that we have the festival going on over the weekend where you can get involved and try it is really great. 

“I would like to thank Welsh Sport for investing and putting the event on. It is great that they want to showcase Swansea and Welsh sport to show what a good place that is in. 

“That’s what we want, to have that whole community feeling where everybody is all in one arena essentially competing alongside each other.” 

As well as being a successful athlete, Cashmore also became a successful author over the lockdown period writing a children’s book. The story, centered around a girl with a similar disability, is written in a way to normalise and represent disability to a younger generation in an attempt to break the stigma and not focus attention directly on impairment.

“The book I wrote is called Splash; I wrote it during lockdown. I am really passionate about getting a bit more representation in books,” continued Cashmore.

“I wanted it to be a bit more subliminal in its messaging in terms of the girl that exists in the book has one arm but that is never mentioned or is the focus, but hopefully normalises it to kids. 

“She is the main character and does lots of different things but just happens to have one arm. That is the route I wanted to go down to normalise disability as much as possible.” 

The Loughborough-based athlete is looking forward to coming face-to-face with Para Olympic champion Lauren Steadman and American silver medalist Grace Norman for the first time this season in what is likely to be a mouthwatering contest to entertain the crowds in attendance of one of Saturday’s showpiece races.

“Hopefully, I can do well this weekend. The whole podium from Tokyo [Paralympics 2020] will be here in myself, Lauren and Grace so it’s going to be competitive. Both those girls are racing really well at the moment. I haven’t raced them at all this season, so it will be good to see where I am at,” said Cashmore. 

“Training has been going well. It has been a weird season in a sense that I started late back. I have only competed in two races. I’m getting back to grips with being back in racing again. The first race was a duathlon so very different and then two weekends ago an actual triathlon.

“I love racing. It’s what I do all the training for and to be back on home soil again is really exciting. 

“Sometimes I think it would be unnatural to say that your whole life is full of ups, there are always going to be some downs, but those are the things that are going to challenge you. They are the times when you actually learn more about yourself.

“It was difficult [the transition from swimmer to triathlete] and I think I underestimated how difficult it was. You think I can swim so have that bit nailed, but I didn’t because swimming in a pool is very different to swimming in open water.

“I think if you were always successful you probably wouldn’t understand yourself as much as you probably do when those times are a bit more challenging, but it’s those moments that make you whole and give you that bit of perspective and teach you a lot about yourself.” 

(Lead image: Steve Cox)