Meet former swim champion and coach Claire McDaniel

A Note from Clear Comfort: Claire, a new addition to Clear Comfort’s blog, comes to us with a great deal of experience in the swimming world. She was a Division I National Champion, five-time All-American, and Team USA Co-Captain at the World University Games in 2007. In addition, she has coached swimming for the University of Denver, The University of North Carolina at Asheville, Athens Bulldog Swim Club, Asheville Masters, Morgan Hill California Splash and even for a club team in Switzerland. Claire is also a Registered Dietitian Nutritionist and has worked as a Dietitian at Stanford University, the University of Denver, UNC-Asheville and with many other clients. She brings both experience and expertise in swimming and health. Welcome Claire!

Hi, I’m Claire! When I learned that a true alternative to sanitizing pools with chlorine existed I thought, “No way! It’s a dream come true.”

Since I retired from swimming, chlorine has kept me from diving back in the pool the way I used to. I hated how my skin was always so dry and scaly, my hair was always dead, my skin would reek of chlorine and (as I found out in my master’s nutrition studies) that chlorine slowed my thyroid and affected my body internally.

Despite this, my passion for the sport kept me near the pool deck — as a coach — however, I quickly realized that standing on a pool deck was just as bad as swimming in the water because the chloramines would burn my eyes and my throat.

I have seen the effects of chlorine throughout my own swimming career and also in the swimmers I have coached. I also work with many retired swimmers, master’s swimmers and triathletes who struggle with weight loss due to the chlorine slowing down their thyroid.

This new technology bridges a gap in my life! I love swimming and I can go on and on about the benefits of the exercise … however, I can also speak very passionately about how bad chlorine is for our bodies and for the environment. Unless you live somewhere that is always warm with clean fresh water nearby (lakes, rivers), you must swim in a chlorinated pool in order to go for a swim. I often battle over which is better for my body: To swim in a chlorinated pool or to not swim and, therefore, not be exposed to such a harmful chemical. To know that a technology now exists to eliminate that decision is liberating!