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BIOGRAPHYIn 2019 Matthew Clarke had transitioned from a 1500m athlete to a steeplechaser. But as he progressed over the last few years, so did the depth in Australia. In early 2021 he ran two 8:32 PBs placing third at the Brisbane Track Classic, then fourth at nationals. In a last ditch effort to qualify for the Tokyo Olympics he travelled to Queensland for a series of races in June 2021. After running 8:43, he stunned with a time of 8:22.62 in Townsville – just 0.62 second from the Olympic standard. Then a week later he ran even faster 8:22.13 on the Gold Coast. It was absolutely heart breaking stuff to come so close again to the Olympic standard. Two days later a weary Clarke ran 8:35.10 back in Adelaide. When the World Athletics placings for Tokyo were finalised, he remained one position outside of the rankings. But a week later, following a withdrawal from a British athlete, he was selected. In his Olympic debut in Tokyo Matthew managed a solid 8:42.37 as he placed 14th in his heat. In 2022 he won his first National steeplechase title and ran a season's best of 8:28, but missed selection in any Australian teams. However in 2023, after placing second at Nationals and clocking two 8:26 runs, he earned sufficient World Athletics ranking points to earn selection for the Budapest World Championships. In Budapest, Matthew placed 12th in his heat clocking 8:40.92. + + + + + Matthew Clarke ran as a kid, but stepped away from the sport in year 8, but aged 19 he found the motivation to return and he has steady found his way to the top of the sport. In his early 20s he was running around 3:49 (1500m) and 8:32 (3000m), while off the track he was busy studying Podiatry at La Trobe University. By 2018 he was down to 3:44 over 1500m as he placed nineth at the Gold Coast Commonwealth Games trials. Later in the year he travelled to the US as a guide for Paralympian Jaryd Clifford and had the opportunity to race, clocking a PB in the 1500m at Portland in June. Aged 23 in 2019, things really started to happen in his career as he started competing in a new event, the steeplechase. On debut he ran 8:58 in January and a striking 8:38.68 on his second attempt in February. He placed fifth at nationals and earned selection in the Australian team for the 2019 World University Games, where he progressed to the final to place 10th. He closed the year with a major breakthrough over 10,000m clocking 28:39.02 at Zatopek. By 2020 he was living in Adelaide and in 2021 went on his barnstorming progression in the steeplechase where he lowered his PB from 8:43 to 8:22 and earned a late invitation to make his Olympic debut in Tokyo. @ October 2023 david.tarbotton@athletics.org.au World Athletics Profile https://worldathletics.org/athletes/australia/matthew-clarke-14685305
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