Claire Williams (born 29 September 1987) is a Paralympianathlete from Wales competing mainly in category T12 throwing events. She has qualified as a member of the Great Britain team in three Paralympic Games, in 2004 at Athens, 2008 at Beijing and London 2012. At London she took the bronze medal in the discus.
Williams was born in Carmarthen, Wales in 1987.[1] Williams, who has a visual impairment, became interested in sport while a school girl, taking up jujitsu.[2] At the age of 12 she switched to athletics, becoming Welsh Schools Champion for hammer and discus.[3] She was educated at Ysgol Bro Myrddin and was part of Carmarthen harriers.[4]
In 2004, at the age of 17, Williams was selected for the Great Britain team for the 2004 Summer Paralympics in Athens. She threw a personal best of 35.26m in the T12 discus, coming in fifth.[3][5][6] After Athens Williams continued her athletics training and also matriculated to Loughborough University, completing her degree in psychology in 2007. With her studies over, Williams started competing further afield, and recorded a personal best of 36.78m at Loughborough, which gave her another place in the Great Britain team in the 2008 Summer Paralympics in Beijing.[5] She again came fifth, throwing a distance of 35.01.
In 2009, she came first in the discus at both the Czech and Welsh Opens, and at Loughborough in May she threw a new personal best of 40.30, the first time she had thrown over 40 metres competitively.[5] Williams was back in the Great Britain team in January 2011, chosen to compete in the 2011 IPC Athletics World Championships in Christchurch, New Zealand. A throw of 37.19m gave her another 5th placing in an international competition. Between May and July 2011, Williams threw over 40m in four different competitions, including a personal best of 43.15 at Loughborough.[5]
Williams made the Great Britain team for the third time when she was selected for the 2012 Summer Olympics in London. A series of injuries going into the games, along with a self-perceived loss of form, saw Williams going into the games doubting her own ability at gaining a podium finish.[7] In the run up to the Games she participated in the European Championships taking the bronze medal in the discus. On 1 September at the 2012 Summer Paralympics she took part in the F11–12 discus event and threw 39.63 m which converted to 908 pts, and was enough to give Williams her first Paralympic medal, a bronze.[7]
Personal lifeedit
Williams' lives in Carmarthen and has two children.
Referencesedit
^. paralympics.org.uk. Archived from the original on 2 September 2012. Retrieved 2 September 2012.
^"Claire Williams". channel4.com. Retrieved 2 September 2012.
^ ab"Claire Williams". disabilitysportwales.org. Retrieved 2 September 2012.
^"Claire Williams – Carmarthen Harries" (PDF). (PDF) from the original on 24 November 2020.
^ abcd"Claire Williams". thepowerof10.info. Retrieved 2 September 2012.
^. london2012.com. Archived from the original on 2 September 2012. Retrieved 2 September 2012.
^ ab"Paralympics: Discus bronze reduces Claire Williams to tears". walesonline.co.uk. 2 September 2012. Retrieved 2 September 2012.
claire, williams, athlete, claire, williams, born, september, 1987, paralympian, athlete, from, wales, competing, mainly, category, throwing, events, qualified, member, great, britain, team, three, paralympic, games, 2004, athens, 2008, beijing, london, 2012, . Claire Williams born 29 September 1987 is a Paralympian athlete from Wales competing mainly in category T12 throwing events She has qualified as a member of the Great Britain team in three Paralympic Games in 2004 at Athens 2008 at Beijing and London 2012 At London she took the bronze medal in the discus Claire WilliamsPersonal informationFull nameClaire WilliamsNationalityBritishBorn 1987 09 29 29 September 1987 age 36 Carmarthen WalesSportCountryGreat BritainSportAthleticsEventF12 DiscusClubCarmarthen and District HarriersAchievements and titlesParalympic finals200420082012Personal bestDiscus 43 15mMedal record Representing Great BritainAthleticsParalympic Games2012 London Discus throw F11 12European Games2012 Stadskanaal Discus Throw F11 12 Contents 1 Career history 2 Personal life 3 References 4 External linksCareer history editWilliams was born in Carmarthen Wales in 1987 1 Williams who has a visual impairment became interested in sport while a school girl taking up jujitsu 2 At the age of 12 she switched to athletics becoming Welsh Schools Champion for hammer and discus 3 She was educated at Ysgol Bro Myrddin and was part of Carmarthen harriers 4 In 2004 at the age of 17 Williams was selected for the Great Britain team for the 2004 Summer Paralympics in Athens She threw a personal best of 35 26m in the T12 discus coming in fifth 3 5 6 After Athens Williams continued her athletics training and also matriculated to Loughborough University completing her degree in psychology in 2007 With her studies over Williams started competing further afield and recorded a personal best of 36 78m at Loughborough which gave her another place in the Great Britain team in the 2008 Summer Paralympics in Beijing 5 She again came fifth throwing a distance of 35 01 In 2009 she came first in the discus at both the Czech and Welsh Opens and at Loughborough in May she threw a new personal best of 40 30 the first time she had thrown over 40 metres competitively 5 Williams was back in the Great Britain team in January 2011 chosen to compete in the 2011 IPC Athletics World Championships in Christchurch New Zealand A throw of 37 19m gave her another 5th placing in an international competition Between May and July 2011 Williams threw over 40m in four different competitions including a personal best of 43 15 at Loughborough 5 Williams made the Great Britain team for the third time when she was selected for the 2012 Summer Olympics in London A series of injuries going into the games along with a self perceived loss of form saw Williams going into the games doubting her own ability at gaining a podium finish 7 In the run up to the Games she participated in the European Championships taking the bronze medal in the discus On 1 September at the 2012 Summer Paralympics she took part in the F11 12 discus event and threw 39 63 m which converted to 908 pts and was enough to give Williams her first Paralympic medal a bronze 7 Personal life editWilliams lives in Carmarthen and has two children References edit Claire Williams paralympics org uk Archived from the original on 2 September 2012 Retrieved 2 September 2012 Claire Williams channel4 com Retrieved 2 September 2012 a b Claire Williams disabilitysportwales org Retrieved 2 September 2012 Claire Williams Carmarthen Harries PDF Archived PDF from the original on 24 November 2020 a b c d Claire Williams thepowerof10 info Retrieved 2 September 2012 Claire Williams london2012 com Archived from the original on 2 September 2012 Retrieved 2 September 2012 a b Paralympics Discus bronze reduces Claire Williams to tears walesonline co uk 2 September 2012 Retrieved 2 September 2012 External links editClaire Williams at the International Paralympic Committee Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Claire Williams athlete amp oldid 1163413382, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
