Owner of a cafe in Plaza Midwood travels to the Paris Paralympics after an accident that changes his ‘life on two feet’

CHARLOTTE, NC (QUEEN CITY NEWS) — At lunchtime, Carson Clough brews his second coffee of the day at Giddy Goat Coffee Roasters.

Just five years ago, he and a family friend were in the process of branding their cafe and securing a building in the heart of Plaza Midwood when something happened that would change his life forever.

“I had a boating accident when we were just getting everything up,” Clough told Queen City News, “and that’s what gave me my one-legged life.”

Clough was a guy who played every sport imaginable in his youth, but never asked himself the question “Why me?”

“Fortunately, I was born with a few loose screws and bolts,” he says, “and so I knew right after the accident that I would have at least one leg missing.”

The doctors were able to save his other leg – just barely. Clough jokes that his home remedies didn’t help with the other leg.

“It happened. I put a little Miracle Grow on it,” he jokes. “It didn’t grow back, so I moved on to the next thing.”

The next thing he did was swim in a charity event in Tampa, Florida, where someone noticed his tenacity and talent.

“I got an email the following week saying, ‘Send us your swim and run times,'” Clough recalled, “and I had never run in my one-legged life. I had more of a jog around.”

That group eventually flew him to the Olympic Training Center in Colorado Springs, Colorado, where he met the head coach of the U.S. Paralympics, who asked him to consider triathlon.

“I’m in,” he said, according to his own statement. “This door would never have opened on two legs in my life.”

Today he runs a mile in almost five minutes, securing him a place at the 2024 Paralympics in Paris.

The triathlon consists of 700 meters of swimming (half a mile), 20 kilometers of cycling (12.5 miles) and 5 kilometers of running (3.1 miles).
Clough currently fluctuates between second and third place in the world rankings. His daily routine consists of training and fundraising, with food being his biggest expense.

“I find it kind of disgusting how much I eat every day now,” he said. “I mean, it’s probably over 5,000 or 6,000 calories.”

Several dozen family members and friends have already bought tickets to Paris. This continued support over the years is his greatest motivation.

“I don’t even know if I can call it a dream,” he said, “because I never thought this would be the path I would take. But it’s really amazing how many doors have opened.”

Clough will compete in two international races before heading to Park City, Utah for altitude training. Then he’ll head to France for a month before the big race in Paris on September 1.

If you would like to donate, sponsor or simply follow Clough’s journey to Paris, visit his page here.