Sussex athlete wins gold in paratriathlon (From The Argus)

Sussex athlete wins gold in paratriathlon

3:00pm Saturday 10th September 2011 in News By Ruth Lumley

Sussex athlete Faye McClelland was yesterday named the best in the world after storming to a gold medal for the second year in a row.

Faye, 31, completed the paratriathlon at the World Championships in Beijing, which combines swimming, cycling and running, in one hour, 16 minutes and 21 seconds.

She finished a massive eight minutes and 39 seconds in front of her nearest competitor, fellow Brit Clare Cunningham.

Faye, who lives in Eastbourne, was invited to join the GB paratriathlete team in January 2010 and since then has gone on to win a string of medals.

Her parents, Sheila and Barry, logged onto the internet to check their daughter's result and happened to find a livestream which showed her crossing the finish line.

Mr McClelland said: “My wife shouted to me and then all of a sudden we saw Faye coming across the finish line.

“I said, 'That's Faye'. It was quite emotional and we were obviously very pleased for her.”

He said his daughter had trained extremely hard and had spent time in a heat chamber allowing her to acclimatise for the humidity in Beijing, China, where the triathlon took place.

Former personal trainer Faye, who was born without a left hand, took up triathlons as a hobby to get fit when she returned home after a year of travelling.

She started competing on behalf of the Brighton Phoenix Triathlon Club and now fits her training in around her University of Brighton course where she is studying to become a physiotherapist.

Mrs McClelland said: “I was very emotional and was completely overwhelmed at seeing my daughter win. I'm so proud of her.

“To hear it being announced over the internet was an amazing surprise. She works very hard and she deserves this. It's given us a real boost.

“She's got loads of well-wishers and she knows we were rooting for her at home.”

For more information or to see videos of Faye competing visit britishtriathlonmedia.org/profiles/detail/faye-mcclelland.