6/17/08

Hazel Clark heads into her third Olympic Trials racing the 800 meters this month. Her sister, Joetta Clark-Diggs, and sister-in-law, Jearl Clark, were both elite 800-meter runners, and her brother, J.J. (married to Jearl), has been her coach since college. In 2000, at 21 years old, she broke out of the family shadow by winning the Olympic Trials race ahead of Jearl who took second, and Joetta who took third. This spring, Hazel Clark ran 1:59.82 in the 800 in Ponce, Puerto Rico in May and finished third at the Prefontaine Classic on June 8. Her career best in the 800 is 1:57.99. She has won three USATF 800-meter titles outdoors and two indoors. Twenty nine-year-old Hazel - nicknamed "Peachy"- attended the University of Florida but now lives and trains in Knoxville, Tennessee.