Charlotte’s own Carson Clough takes home silver from Paris Paralympics
A Charlotte native had a run to remember in Paris on Monday.
Carson Clough, the triathlete who grew up in Charlotte and turned a life-threatening moment in 2019 into an Olympic opportunity in 2024, took home a silver medal in the sport of triathlon at the 2024 Paralympics on Monday. He did so in front of 50-plus people from the U.S. — including his parents, Barry and Brenda, and many other friends and family from Charlotte.
“As soon as I crossed the finish line, I was like, ‘Get to my people, and let’s go celebrate,’” Clough told The Observer on Tuesday, about 24 hours after his achievement. “So I was excited. Very excited.”
Clough, competing in the men’s PTS4 division of the para triathlon, finished behind gold medalist Alexis Hanquinquant of France and in front of bronze medalist Nil Riudavets Victory of Spain.
He finished the 750-meter swim in 10:42, then finished a 20-kilometer bike race in 42:54, then ran the 5-kilometer run in 17:23. With transition times in the mix, that put Clough finishing his entire race at 1:00:47 — just 2:46 behind the gold medalist and less than a minute in front of those who finished P3 and P4.
Clough’s triumph comes over a field of 12 other PTS4 qualifiers. In layman’s terms, PTS4 triathletes have coordination affected in one of four ways: at a low-level on one side, at a high degree on one arm, the absence of an arm or the absence of a lower leg.
Clough, specifically, doesn’t have a right leg. The Charlotte native and UNC graduate lost his leg — and nearly lost his life — in a boating accident in August 2022 on Lake Norman. After nine days in the hospital and mere months of recovery, Clough was determined to forge forward and connected with his coach, Mark Sortino, who helped put the now-30-year-old on track to Team USA Triathlon.
Clough admits he’s not “the most emotional person.” He’d been that way all his life. Even in the immediate aftermath of his accident, his first thoughts after realizing he wouldn’t die revolved around others. His parents and close friends — particularly those on the boat with him during his accident — suffered “emotional pain,” which he deemed much more important to care for than his own physical pain. In a profile in The Observer earlier this summer, Clough said of his accident: “If Mother Nature needed someone to give a challenge to that day, I’m glad she gave it to me. I was ready for it.”
But on Monday, he was surprised with how emotional he was, he said.
“Yesterday was pretty awesome,” he said on Tuesday. “I felt all sorts of emotions. Happy. Stoked. I don’t know if that’s an emotion. Relief. ... That’s most of my emotions for you.”
Clough, who also co-founded The Giddy Goat Coffee Roasters in Plaza Midwood, entered this year’s Paralympics ranked second in the World Triathlon Qualification Ranking and third in the Para Triathlon Ranking. He said now that the Paris event is over, he is going to take a little break from triathlon racing.
That doesn’t mean he’s done with athletics, though. He already has a next adventure planned — one that takes him back to his roots, back when he and his brother, Cole, and sister, Cannon, played hockey on the floors of various hotels along family trips.
“I’m going to be making some phone calls next week and seeing if I can get my butt in a sled hockey sled,” Clough said. “I’m going to put some feelers out there. I know that there’s a team in Raleigh, and I’m going to see if there’s any local in Charlotte, and I’m just going to see if I can get out there and see how I like it.”
“I’ll be taking a little bit of a break from the running and biking and swimming,” he continued. He then nodded: “But I’ll be back at it. It won’t be that long of a break.”
This story was originally published September 2, 2024 at 9:15 AM.
