Grace Clough

Grace Clough
MBE
Personal information
National teamGreat Britain
Born (1991-06-21) 21 June 1991 (age 33)
Sheffield, England
Height173 cm (5 ft 8 in)
Sport
CountryGreat Britain
SportAdaptive rowing
PositionBow
DisabilityErb's palsy
Disability classPR3
Medal record
Adaptive rowing
Representing  Great Britain
Paralympic Games
Gold medal – first place 2016 Rio de Janeiro Mixed coxed four
World Championships
Gold medal – first place 2014 Amsterdam Mixed coxed four
Gold medal – first place 2015 Aiguebelette-le-Lac Mixed coxed four
Gold medal – first place 2017 Sarasota Mixed coxed four
Gold medal – first place 2018 Plovdiv Mixed coxed four

Grace Elizabeth Sorrel Clough MBE (born 21 June 1991) is a former British Paralympic rower who competed in the mixed coxed four event. She won multiple gold medals at the World Rowing Championships and World Rowing Cup alongside a gold at the 2016 Summer Paralympics. Clough was inducted into the Sheffield Legends Walk of Fame in 2016 and named a Member of the Order of the British Empire in 2017.

Early life and education

Clough was born on 21 June 1991 in Sheffield, England.[1] She was born with Erb's palsy and had multiple operations to repair nerve damage in her shoulders shortly after birth. While at school, Clough began playing sports as a basketball player and captain in Yorkshire. She also played on a football team at the University of Leeds while completing a degree in sociology.[2] She continued her rowing career while studying at Kellogg College, Oxford.[3]

Career

In 2013, Clough began rowing as a member of the Nottingham Rowing Club after being classified as a PR3 rower and completing training in Banyoles, Spain.[4] As a competitor for Great Britain, Clough won a gold medal in the mixed coxed four at the 2014 World Rowing Championships and 2015 World Rowing Championships.[2] Similarly, Clough won gold in the mixed coxed four events at the 2014 World Rowing Cup in Aiguebelette-le-Lac, France and the 2015 World Rowing Cup in Varese, Italy.[5]

In the following years, Clough won an additional gold medal in mixed coxed four at the 2016 Summer Paralympics and the 2017 World Rowing Championships.[6] In 2018, Clough won gold at the 2018 World Rowing Championships in the mixed coxed four event.[7] After the event, Clough took a year off to heal from a pelvic injury.[8] In 2020, Clough planned to become a physical education teacher following her post-secondary studies. With her transition to teaching, Clough ended her rowing career.[9]

Awards and honours

In 2016, Clough was inducted into the Sheffield Legends Walk of Fame.[10] In 2017, she was named a Member of the Order of the British Empire at the 2017 New Year Honours.[11]

References

  1. ^ "Grace Clough MBE". British Rowing. Retrieved 27 January 2018.
  2. ^ a b Hudson, Elizabeth (1 April 2016). "Get Inspired: From rowing novice to Paralympic hopeful". BBC. Retrieved 27 January 2018.
  3. ^ "Grace wins Gold at the Rowing World Championships". Kellogg College. 30 September 2017. Retrieved 25 June 2019.
  4. ^ O'Malley, Katie (7 September 2016). "Grace Clough: The Paralympian Who Went From Novice To Professional Rower". ElleUK. Retrieved 27 January 2018.
  5. ^ "Grace Clough – Rio 2016". British Paralympic Association. Retrieved 28 January 2018.
  6. ^ "Para rowing: 5 things learned in 2017". International Paralympic Committee. 8 January 2018. Retrieved 28 January 2018.
  7. ^ "World Rowing Championships: Great Britain win PR3 mixed coxed gold". BBC. 15 September 2018. Retrieved 16 September 2018.
  8. ^ "Clough doubles down on Tokyo return". ParalympicsGB. 3 September 2019. Retrieved 1 February 2020.
  9. ^ "Paralympic rowing champion Grace Clough announces retirement". BBC Sport. 11 September 2020. Retrieved 28 January 2022.
  10. ^ "Sheffield's golden girl Grace is new Sheffield legend". Sheffield News Room. 22 December 2016. Retrieved 28 January 2018.
  11. ^ "Paralympians recognised with New Year's honours". International Paralympic Committee. 31 December 2016. Retrieved 28 January 2018.

Grace Clough at World Rowing