The ‘Claire’ winners – council officers earn Paralympian visit

Paralympian swimmer and motivational speaker Claire Cashmore visited Number One Riverside on Thursday 25 September to talk about her many achievements against the odds and prove that disability is not a barrier to success.

The visit was thanks to the success of a group of Rochdale Borough Council officers who walked, pedalled and rowed their way to first place in the GreaterSport Workplace Challenge.

The team beat off stiff competition from rivals across the region including GreaterSport, Wigan Leisure & Culture Trust and Link4Life to take first place with an average of 7,670 points and earn what was a truly inspiring visit.

Claire, a great ambassador for disability sport, spoke to staff about her career, what drives her and gave everyone a few tips on achieving their goals, quietening the doubters and keeping motivated.

She said: “I was honoured to be invited to attend Rochdale Borough Council and meet some of their staff on the back of their success in the Greater Manchester Workplace Challenge.  I enjoyed sharing my experiences with them but also hearing about their sporting experiences too.”

Linda Fisher, Acting Chief Executive, said: “I was so pleased and incredibly proud to hear that our team had taken gold in this challenge. Teams from across the region took part and to come first is just fantastic.

“I hope that their success not only motivates them all to continue exercising and improving their health, but also to encourage others both in the workplace and at home to get healthy too.”

Claire, 26, was born without a left forearm but entered the world stage of competitive swimming at the age of 16. She won two bronze medals at the Athens Olympics, a further bronze in Beijing in 2008 and at London 2012 she won silver in the 100m breaststroke, bronze in the 4 x 100m freestyle relay and another silver medal in the 4 x 100m medley relay. She recently won her first individual gold medal in the 100m breaststroke and a second gold in the medley relay in the European Championships in August.

Yvonne Harrison, Chief Executive of GreaterSport commented;

“I am delighted to see our local authorities promoting physical activity within the workplace with Rochdale Borough Council leading the way in this year’s Greater Manchester Workplace Challenge by getting the highest number of employees taking part. I hope Claire’s visit today inspired even more of the team to take part in the future.”