Benton City wheelchair track athlete McClammer takes silver at Rio Paralympics

Wheelchair track athlete Chelsea McClammer of Benton City earned her first Paralympic medal Sunday in Rio de Janeiro.

The 2012 Richland High School graduate took silver in the women’s 400 meters-T53 final with a personal-best time of 55.13 seconds.

Hongzhuan Zhou of China won in a world-record time of 54.43. Angela Ballard of Australia grabbed the bronze in 55.28.

McClammer, 22, was second in her semifinal Saturday with a time of 55.42.

The University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign student still has the 800, 1,500, 5,000, 4x400 relay and marathon.

In tennis, David Wagner, a 1993 Walla Walla High School graduate, and Nick Taylor will play Tuesday for their fourth consecutive Paralympic quad doubles gold.

Wagner and Taylor beat Israel’s Itai Erenlib and Shraga Weinberg 6-4, 6-2 in Sunday’s semifinals. The Americans will face Australia’s Dylan Alcott and Heath Davidson in the final.

Wagner, 42, will play Andy Lapthorne of Britain in Monday’s quad singles semifinals. Wagner beat Erenlib 6-4, 6-4 in the first round Friday, then defeated Mitsuteru Moroishi of Japan 6-2, 6-2 on Saturday.

Wagner claimed Paralympic silver in quad singles in 2004 and 2012, and bronze in 2008.

This story was originally published September 11, 2016 at 2:29 PM with the headline "Benton City wheelchair track athlete McClammer takes silver at Rio Paralympics."