Ian McClure (bowls)

Ian McClure

Personal information
Nationality	Northern Irish
Born	(1973-08-23) 23 August 1973 (age 51) Coleraine, Northern Ireland
Sport
Club	Portrush BC
Achievements and titles
Highest world ranking	12 (June 2024)[1]
Medal record Representing Ireland combined World Outdoor Championships 2000 Johannesburg fours 2012 Adelaide fours 2016 Christchurch pairs 2016 Christchurch fours 2023 Gold Coast triples 2023 Gold Coast fours Atlantic Bowls Championships 2011 Paphos pairs 2011 Paphos fours 2015 Paphos pairs 2015 Paphos fours British Isles Championships 1994 triples 2013 singles 2023 triples Representing  Northern Ireland Irish Nationals 1993, 2003 pairs 1993, 2022 triples 2008, 2012 singles Commonwealth Games 1998 Kuala Lumpur fours 2022 Birmingham fours 1994 Victoria fours World Indoor Championships 2004 Yarmouth pairs

Ian McClure (born 23 August 1973) is an indoor and lawn bowler.

Profile

Ian McClure is from Coleraine and began playing bowls in 1988 after being introduced to the sport by his father and the ex-international Willie Murray.^[2]

Career

Commonwealth Games

McClure was part of the fours team that secured the gold medal for Northern Ireland at the 1998 Commonwealth Games in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, the other members were Gary McCloy, Martin McHugh and Neil Booth. Previously he had won a fours bronze in the 1994 Commonwealth Games. McClure was selected as part of the Northern Ireland team for the 2018 Commonwealth Games on the Gold Coast in Queensland.^[3]

In 2022, he competed in the men's triples and the men's fours at the 2022 Commonwealth Games.^[4] In the fours the team of McClure, Sam Barkley, Adam McKeown, Ian McClure and Martin McHugh won the gold medal defeating India in the final.^[5]

World Championships

McClure has won four medals at the World Championships; a triples bronze in the 2000 World Outdoor Bowls Championship and a fours bronze in the 2012 World Outdoor Bowls Championship. He won a silver medal for the combined Irish team with bowls pairs partner Gary Kelly in the pairs at the 2016 World Outdoor Bowls Championship and a fours bronze medal with Martin McHugh, Simon Martin and Neil Mulholland.^[6] In 2020, he was selected for the 2020 World Outdoor Bowls Championship in Australia but the event was cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic.^[7]

In 2023, he won the triples title, with Derek Smith & Gary McCloy at the British Isles Bowls Championships, held in Ayr. It was his third British Isles crown and second triples, which he last won 29 years previously.^[8] Later in 2023, he was selected as part of the team to represent Ireland at the 2023 World Outdoor Bowls Championship.^[9] He participated in the men's triples and the men's fours events.^[10][11] In the triples with Stuart Bennett and Martin McHugh, he won the bronze medal. He then won a second bronze medal in the fours event (partnering McHugh, Bennett and Adam McKeown) after winning their group but losing to Australia in the semi final.

National

McClure is a two time singles winner of the Irish National Bowls Championships (2008 & 2012)^[12] and subsequently won the singles at the British Isles Bowls Championships in 2013.^[13][14] In 2022, just one month after winning Commonwealth Games gold he won his sixth national title when winning the triples at the Irish National Bowls Championships.^[15]

Other

In 2011, he won the pairs and fours silver medals at the Atlantic Bowls Championships^[16] and in 2015 he won the pairs gold medal and the fours bronze medal at the Atlantic Bowls Championships.^[17] In 2018, he won the pairs with Aaron Tennant at the Hong Kong International Bowls Classic.^[18]

References

1. "Male rankings". World Bowls Series. Retrieved 28 June 2024.
2. "Glasgow 2014 - Ian McClure Profile". Commonwealth Games Federation.
3. "Commonwealth Games 2018: Northern Ireland name 88-strong squad". BBC Sport.
4. "Official Games profile". 2022 Commonwealth Games. Retrieved 2 August 2022.
5. "Commonwealth Games: NI's men's fours win gold with thumping final win in Birmingham". BBC Sport. Retrieved 6 August 2022.
6. "2016 World Bowls Championship Finals". Burnside Bowling Club.
7. "Ireland Team for World Bowls 2020". Irish Bowling Association.
8. "ENGLAND WINNERS TRIUMPH AT BRITISH ISLES CHAMPIONSHIPS". Bowls England. Retrieved 1 July 2023.
9. "COMPETITORS CONFIRMED: WORLD BOWLS OUTDOOR CHAMPIONSHIPS 2023". Bowls International. 5 June 2023. Retrieved 2 September 2023.
10. "Events and Results, World Championships 2023 Gold Coast, Australia". World Bowls. Archived from the original on 19 May 2023. Retrieved 2 September 2023.
11. "SCHEDULE & DRAWS". Bowls Australia. Retrieved 2 September 2023.
12. "IBA Singles winners". Irish Bowls Association.
13. "Previous Winners". British Isles Bowls Council. 30 July 2013.
14. "Bowls star Ian McClure wins singles title". Coleraine Times. Archived from the original on 12 April 2015. Retrieved 9 April 2015.
15. "2022 IBA Championships". Irish Bowls Association. Retrieved 17 September 2022.
16. "2011 Atlantic Championships". World Bowls Ltd. Archived from the original on 31 October 2011. Retrieved 19 May 2021.
17. "2015 Atlantic Championships". World Bowls. Retrieved 15 May 2021.
18. "Ireland will give everything in bid for Hong Kong Classic joy: Mark Wilson". The Belfast Telegraph. Retrieved 12 September 2024.

External links

• Ian McClure at the Commonwealth Games Federation (archived)
• Ian McClure at the Glasgow 2014 Commonwealth Games (archived)
• Ian McClure at the Gold Coast 2018 Commonwealth Games (archived)
• Ian McClure at the Birmingham 2022 Commonwealth Games