 Clare Griffiths at the 2016 Paralympic Games in Rio de Janeiro | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Personal information | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Nationality |  Great Britain | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Born | (1979-09-18)18 September 1979 (age 46) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Height | 167 cm (5 ft 6 in) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Weight | 56 kg (8 st 11 lb) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Sport | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Country | Great Britain | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Sport | Wheelchair basketball | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Disability class | 1.5 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Event | Women's team | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Club | Coyotes | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Medal record
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Clare Griffithsnée Strange (born 18 September 1979) is a1.5 point Britishwheelchair basketball player who represented Great Britain at the2000,2004,2008,2012 and2016 Paralympic Games.
Clare Strange was born inHigh Wycombe,Buckinghamshire, England, on 18 September 1979,[1][2] the daughter of Jeremy and Caroline Strange.[3] She played countyhockey, and represented her school in the National Indoor Championships. She also rode horses,[4] representing southern England at theMounted Games in 1996 and 1997.[2] In 1997, she broke her back in a fall from a horse, rendering herparaplegic.[5] She was introduced towheelchair basketball during rehabilitation atStoke Mandeville Hospital. A year later, she made her international debut as a1.5 point player for Team Great Britain at theWheelchair Basketball World Championship inSydney, Australia.[4]
Since then, Strange, who married Daniel Griffiths on 13 July 2013 at St Mary's Church inRadnage,[3] and is now known as Clare Griffiths, has represented Britain at the20002004,2008,2012 and2016 Paralympic Games. In London in 2012, she was co-captain of the team, along with Louise Sugden.[4] In Rio de Janeiro in 2016, although no longer captain, she was, at 36, the oldest member of the side.[6] She also earned seven bronze medals at European championships, and played professional wheelchair basketball in Italy with Sardinia Sassari, one of the first British women to do so.[4] She also earned a bachelor's degree in Sport and Exercise Science fromLoughborough University in 2003.[4]
In May 2016, she was named as part of the team for the2016 Summer Paralympics inRio de Janeiro.[7] The British team produced its best ever performance at the Paralympics, making it all the way to the semi-finals, but lost to the semi-final to the United States, and then the bronze medal match to the Netherlands.[8]
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