‘She Should Have Known’: Paralympians Break Their Silence After Missing Sister’s Wedding

Some sacrifices come with chasing dreams on the biggest stage. For Scottish para-swimming brothers James and Stephen Clegg, that meant missing their sister’s wedding to compete at a home Commonwealth Games. Libby Clegg, herself a decorated Paralympic sprinter, had booked her wedding for the same week as the Glasgow Games, not realizing the clash until it was already set.

“She’s actually getting married. Me and James couldn’t go,” Stephen said on June 25 during an interview. “She didn’t realize that Commies were on this week when she booked it, so it wasn’t a great forward planning for her.”

James took the ribbing in stride when the interviewer pointed out that, given Libby’s own sporting background, she really should have known better.

“She should have known, she set the date, so unfortunately we had to be here,” James said. “We’re wishing her a very happy marriage.”

That kind of closeness isn’t new for this family. The Cleggs have built a rare story in British para sport, with all three siblings reaching the Paralympic stage. Their most memorable shared moment came at London 2012, when James won bronze in the S12 100m butterfly, finishing third in his heat before touching in 1:00.00 in the final. Libby competed at those same Games as a sprinter, and hearing about her brother’s medal before her own race gave her extra motivation heading into her own event.

James still remembers the advice she gave him before he raced.

“She said, ‘Listen to the crowd and they will carry you,'” James recalled. “I was planning to just put headphones on to come out, but she said no. It is brilliant to be competing at the same Games as my sister.”

Stephen has since built the most decorated career of the three. He won silver in the 100m backstroke S12 and bronze in both the 100m freestyle and 100m butterfly at Tokyo 2020, setting a British record along the way. At Paris 2024, he won two golds, the 100m backstroke S12 and 100m butterfly S12, the backstroke coming with a world record, and was appointed MBE the following year for his contribution to the sport.

That family history is exactly what made missing Libby’s wedding weigh on both brothers, even as it set up their own shared moment at these Games.

Brothers turn wedding absence into Commonwealth success

James and Stephen were both in Glasgow competing for Team Scotland in para swimming, a home Commonwealth Games neither wanted to miss. For Stephen, 30, it was his second straight Games after winning 50m freestyle S13 silver at Birmingham 2022, competing up a classification from his usual S12. For James, 32, it marked his Commonwealth Games debut, his first international selection in 13 years since that London 2012 bronze.

Both brothers lined up in the same 100m freestyle S13 final, an event that had moved up from 50m at the previous Games. Stephen carried the top seed into the final after clocking 56.57 in the semifinal, though James actually posted the fastest opening 50m split in the field at 27.13, ahead of both his brother and the eventual gold medalist.

Stephen came through with silver in the final, touching in 55.16 behind South Africa’s Nathan Hendricks, who won gold in 54.54 to claim his country’s first medal of the Games in his Commonwealth Games debut. England’s Matthew Redfern took bronze in 56.86. James finished fourth, a strong showing in his first appearance at this level.

Both brothers are still racing in Glasgow, with Scotland’s swimming program running through July 29 at Tollcross International Swimming Centre, giving James and Stephen more chances to add to what they already built for their sister to hear about once she’s back from her honeymoon.

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