Posted: August 15, 2004

Athletics: Olympic Q&A: Jearl Miles-Clark and J.J. Clark

Olympic Trials 800m champion and American record holder Jearl Miles-Clark (37, Knoxville, Tenn) is on the i sl and of Crete for Team USA training camp as she prepares to compete at the 2004 Olympic Games. A five-time Olympian, the 37-year-old Miles-Clark is the 1993 world champion at 400 meters and owns two Olympic gold medals in the 4x400m relay. She is joined on Crete by her coach and husband, J.J. Clark, and her fellow 800m runner and sister-in-law Hazel Clark. Miles-Clark and J.J. Clark spoke to the media recently. Below are excerpts of the conversation. For a full bio of Miles-Clark and all Team USA track & field athletes, visit http://www.usatf.org/events/2004/OlympicGames/roster_alpha.asp

Q: How did you two meet?

JEARL: He says he saw me in '88 [at the Olympics], but I don't remember seeing him.

J.J.: She wouldn't talk to me. [laughter]

JEARL: Then we found out later that J.J.'s mom and my mom were rooming together at the '88 Games. We met in '89 at George Mason University, at an indoor meet the week after Millrose. Joetta [Clark, J.J.'s sister and 800-meter runner] was expecting to have a single room, but they put her with me. J.J. and his cousin were coming to stay with Joetta, so they spent the night on the floor.

J.J.: She thought I looked like Bobby Kersee.

Q: This is Jearl's fifth Olympics, and your fourth together. Has each Olympics been different?

J.J.: To me, they're different. In '92, she didn't listen, so that was a learning experience. In '93 [at the World Outdoor Championships], she listened and won the world championship. In '96, things were going well. That was special, that was home. She was 5th in the 400. Then the transformation [from 400m runner to 800m runner] took place. In Sydney, she was in good shape but had a really bad cold. With this Olympics possibly being the last one, it has a different meaning to me.

JEARL: J.J. and my mom got on me in '92. I wasn't listening in '92. I learned a lot from that. I didn't make the final. Natasha Kaiser and I, we were all over the Village. There were free movies ... we were running around and not taking care of ourselves.

Q: Do you think about this possibly being your final Olympics?

JEARL: I think about it sometimes, but I don't dwell on it being my 5th Olympic Games. I just take each one, one at a time. The fact this may be my last one, I try to savor the moment.

Q: Who's in the 800m field to challenge for that gold medal?

JEARL: I always say anybody who makes the final. There's always the chance for anyone to pop a good one.

J.J.: Mutola has the dominant factor since the early 90s. If you think about someone to beat, if you look at anyone, Mutola is definitely there, undefeated last year. We tend not to look at people. You can't control what they can do, you can control what you can do. You've got to be ready to run fast and kick.

Q: What's it like to have your husband as your coach?

JEARL: When we're at home, we try to separate that. But it's what he does for a living, what I do for a living. Of course it's going to cross over into home.

J.J.: Jearl's very smart. She doesn't like to have to repeat a workout, she doesn't be yelled at, so she tends to do things right. That alleviates things.

Q: Does it seem strange not having Joetta here? [Joetta, Jearl and Hazel all ran the 800m together at the 2000 Olympics, and all were coached by J.J.]

JEARL: Every time I get on my email, who's there? Joetta. 'Don't forget my t-shirts. Get me some pins.' She'll always be here in my heart. She just sent me pictures of her daughter making her first painting.

J.J.: For me, that whole 2000 experience, you don't realize what's happened. I was in a park in Raleigh, on a park bench, and I met a kid who told me how amazing he thought the Clark sisters were. He said that when it happened he was crying. I didn't tell him I was their coach. I thought, 'why were you crying?' I just coach, and we try to be the best we can in the world.

Q: When you first started running the 800, you didn't like it. Do you now consider yourself an 800-meter runner, or in your heart are you still a 400m runner?

JEARL: I'm now an 800 meter runner who can run a really good 400. I'm enjoying it [the 800] a lot more now. Before, I just ran as fast and as hard as I could, following different individuals on the track. Now I can get out there and run fast by myself. I'm learning how to position myself in different races. I'm learning the event and starting to enjoy it.

Q: How have you had such a long career?

JEARL: I love the sport. I love running. The fact I take care of my body helps. A lot of kids will train hard for one year, then they don't want to do it the next year. I train hard, I sleep well, I don't put junk stuff in my body, I don't do drugs, I don't drink, I get to bed on time.

Q: With your experience, do you feel better equipped to handle the rounds?

JEARL: I do feel I'm very equipped to run the rounds, to know where I'm at and to put one down in the finals.

Q: What stands out as the highlight of your outstanding career?

JEARL: I'd have to pick two of them. The world championships in 1993 are always going to be at the top of my list. It was our first [championship with J.J] together, and it was my first gold medal. Then, it would have to be the relay in 1996. It was in our home country, and the crowd was crazy. I got the stick, and the girl from Nigeria had beaten me all year by a second and a half ... and there's about where I got the stick. I went out really fast. That last 80 meters, it took everything I had and the crowd cheering me on. I was tired, but I left everything on the track.

Q: Does the doping issue make you angry?

JEARL: My coach has always told me I'm good enough to compete with anybody. All you have to do is work hard. I'm really tired of hearing abut drugs. We're here as athletes to compete. I'm really tired of hearing about politics. We're here in Greece, we're here at the Olympic Games. This is the story, right here.

Q: How does this set-up at Team Training Camp, at Pilot Beach Resort, compare with other pre-Olympic camps you've been to?

JEARL: This is way out there. This is extraordinary. I'm here, I'm training. I get good rest and I get good food. That's all I need. I don't want any hustle and bustle. Once we leave, I will stay at the Village, and my coach will be at a hotel.