South Shore Swimming Club coach Shannon Doody, Bull Creek swimmer Jeremy McClure with his dog Nina and club member Ellie Fry.
Camera IconSouth Shore Swimming Club coach Shannon Doody, Bull Creek swimmer Jeremy McClure with his dog Nina and club member Ellie Fry. Credit: Supplied/Supplied

Bull Creek: Paralympian strikes gold at the Pan Pacific Para Swimming Championships

Aaron CorlettMelville Gazette

FOUR-TIME Paralympian Jeremy McClure has tuned up for two potential big meets with a gold medal at the 2018 Pan Pacific Para Swimming Championships.

The Bull Creek resident and South Shore Swimming Club member, who is legally blind, claimed gold in the S11 classification, 100m backstroke at the championships in Cairns during August.

McClure is now targeting the World Championships in Malaysia next year and the Tokyo Paralympics.

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“Physically and mentally I was feeling confident heading into the championships and I just wanted to improve,” he said.

“I wasn’t sure who I was going to compete against because I didn’t have the list but it turned out to be one other guy.

“In the medium term my next goal is the World Championships in Malaysia and then looking at qualification for the Paralympics.”

McClure said he was more excited than anxious at the thought of competing at a fifth Paralympics.

“I know I can’t cheat myself and I need to prepare right,” he said.

“In the meantime I’ll fine tune things and I particularly want to work on my underwater work.

McClure was able to attend the championships thanks to the fundraising efforts of South Shore Swimming Club member and Presbyterian Ladies’ College student Ellie Fry, who organised a swimathon at her school.

Ellie raised $1500 for Jeremy and $1210 for the swimming club.

“The swimathon was as part of a personal project; Jeremy is an amazing swimmer and I wanted to help him,” she said.

“It was a nice feeling to help Jeremy and to see him win a gold medal, everything paid off.”

McClure said he was appreciative of Ellie’s efforts and the support of his coaches, the club and his wife Heidi for their support.