Not even broken leg could stop McClements making second Paralympics

He was bang on course for his second Paralympics when disaster struck last September.

Wed, 05 Jun, 2024 - 07:16

Cliona Foley

IRELAND WILL have six swimmers, including established superstars Ellen Keane, Roisin Ni Riain and Nicole Turner, at this summer’s Paralympic Games but Barry McClements’ qualification is arguably the most admirable.

Anyone who wears an artificial limb learns to put all their trust in it.

McClements was born with fibular hemimelia (where part of the fibula is missing) and had his right leg amputated when he was just an infant so he has always worn a prosthetic leg and competed as a para swimmer, finishing seventh as a teenager in the S9 100m backstroke in Tokyo in the last Paralympics in Tokyo.

He won a Commonwealth bronze in the same discipline in 2022 and was bang on course for his second Paralympics when disaster struck last September.

His artificial leg suddenly came off while he was walking down a steep hill and he fractured the right femur to which it was attached.

The 22-year-old from Newtownards who trains with Ards SC in Co Down was, luckily, with two friends at the time but the original prognosis was bad; surgery, screws and a very long layoff from training.

“It’s not supposed to come off, it just wasn’t fitted properly,” he explains.

“The doctors hadn’t experienced anything like that before with a stump. Some of them were saying you might not be back until April and I was crying but it healed way faster than they expected and didn’t need any surgery.”

That’s only half the story. Medics advised him to stick to dry land until Christmas but with the 2024 Paralympics just a year away McClements had other ideas.

“I never really stayed out of the pool. I was only doing 15 minutes though, (with) just my arms really, trying not to move my legs. That was up to the end of November. It wasn’t until the end of December that I could start (really) building up.”

Despite the painful accident and missing over three months of proper training he got back in time for the European para swimming championships in Portugal in late April where he won bronze in the 100m butterfly.

Even getting back into his prosthesis proved problematic.

“I had to get re-cast after the break. The shape of my stump hadn’t changed but it was because I wasn’t training and had put on some weight. I checked the problem and it was still there so I asked could they change it and this is a totally new one,” he says, showing his new leg with its stylish purple flowered cuff.

It is not the only change since McClements made his Paralympics debut three years ago, aged just 19. Winning two major medals since, in two different events, has given him confidence and a focus he previously lacked.

“When I was younger I was more stressed about the goals rather than enjoying it but at this age you can enjoy it while going through the process and whatever comes with that is a bonus.

“I knew if I PB-ed at the Europeans I was in with a good chance of a medal. I was only 0.05 off my PB and I did it from an outside lane so even in the race I was a bit of an underdog and I don't think any of my competitors expected it either.”

McClements has also noticeably got inked since Tokyo in 2021 and some of his seven tattoos mark his swimming successes, though none yet to celebrate that European bronze “because you need two weeks out of the pool to get one".

But if things go well in Paris he hopes to extend the detailed Koi Carp design covering most of his right forearm to a full sleeve.

“The story of the Koi fish in Japanese culture is that it gets rewarded (and turned) into a golden dragon when it jumps up a waterfall so it’s a story of perseverance and never giving up. The plan after Paris is to get the dragon,” explains a swimmer who has definitely earned it.