Darren Edward Clark (born 6 September 1965 in s) is an Australian retired sprinter who specialised in the

400 metres The 400 metres, or 400-meter dash, is a sprint event in track and field competitions. It has been featured in the athletics programme at the Summer Olympics since 1896 for men and since 1964 for women. On a standard outdoor running track, it is ...

. He competed at the

1984 Summer Olympics The 1984 Summer Olympics (officially the Games of the XXIII Olympiad and commonly known as Los Angeles 1984) were an international multi-sport event held from July 28 to August 12, 1984, in Los Angeles, California, United States. It marked the ...

and the

1988 Summer Olympics The 1988 Summer Olympics (), officially the Games of the XXIV Olympiad () and officially branded as Seoul 1988 (), were an international multi-sport event held from 17 September to 2 October 1988 in Seoul, South Korea. 159 nations were represe ...

Biography

His personal best time of 44.38 seconds, achieved at the 1988 Seoul Olympics, is the current Oceanian record. This time would have placed Clark in second place in the

2008 Beijing Olympics The 2008 Summer Olympics (), officially the Games of the XXIX Olympiad () and officially branded as Beijing 2008 (), were an international multisport event held from 8 to 24 August 2008, in Beijing, China. A total of 10,942 athletes fro ...

400 m final. Clark also co-holds the Oceanian record in 4 x 400 metres relay with 2:59.70 minutes, established with teammates

Bruce Frayne Bruce Frayne (born 24 January 1958) is a retired Australian sprinter who specialized in the 200 and 400 metres. He was Australian Champion in the 200 metres 1980, 81, and 1983. He also won the 400 metres in 1984. In 1981 he won Gold in the 4 × 4 ...

Gary Minihan Gary Minihan (born 24 January 1962) is an Australian retired sprinter who specialized in the 400 metres. At the 1982 Commonwealth Games he won a bronze medal in 400 metres and a silver medal in 4 × 400 metres relay. He finished fourth with the ...

and

Rick Mitchell Richard Charles Mitchell OAM (24 March 1955 – 30 May 2021) was an Australian sprinter and triple Olympian who competed in the 400 metres and 4 × 400 metres relay. Mitchell won a silver medal at the 1980 Summer Olympics, and also won one gold, ...

at the

1984 Los Angeles Olympics The 1984 Summer Olympics (officially the Games of the XXIII Olympiad and commonly known as Los Angeles 1984) were an international multi-sport event held from July 28 to August 12, 1984, in Los Angeles, California, United States. It marked the ...

. Clark won the British

AAA Championships The AAA Championships was an annual track and field competition organised by the Amateur Athletic Association of England. It was the foremost domestic athletics event in the United Kingdom during its lifetime, despite the existence of the offi ...

title in the 400 metres event for four consecutive years, in

1983 1983 saw both the official beginning of the Internet and the first mobile cellular telephone call. Events January * January 1 – The migration of the ARPANET to TCP/IP is officially completed (this is considered to be the beginning of the ...

1984 Events January * January 1 – The Bornean Sultanate of Brunei gains full independence from the United Kingdom, having become a British protectorate in 1888. * January 7 – Brunei becomes the sixth member of the Association of Southeas ...

1985 The year 1985 was designated as the International Youth Year by the United Nations. Events January * January 1 ** The Internet's Domain Name System is created. ** Greenland withdraws from the European Economic Community as a result of a n ...

and

1986 The year 1986 was designated as the International Year of Peace by the United Nations. Events January * January 1 ** Aruba gains increased autonomy from the Netherlands by separating from the Netherlands Antilles. ** Spain and Portugal en ...

. Clark took a break from the track in 1991, playing a season in the

New South Wales Rugby League The New South Wales Rugby League Ltd (NSWRL) is an Australian rugby league football competition operator in rugby league in New South Wales, New South Wales and the Australian Capital Territory and is a member of the Australian Rugby League Co ...

for the

Balmain Tigers The Balmain Tigers (also known as the Sydney Tigers from 1995 to 1996) are a rugby league club based in the inner-western Sydney suburb of Balmain, New South Wales, Balmain. They were a founding member of the New South Wales Rugby League and on ...

. Playing mostly in reserve grade, he played on the , scoring 11 tries, and also competed in the pre-season World Sevens Tournament. While playing for the Tigers, Clark was billed as the "Fastest white man alive". He returned to the track in 1992 and was selected for the Barcelona Olympic team, but was forced to withdraw due to an Achilles tendon injury. Clark was inducted into the

Sport Australia Hall of Fame The Sport Australia Hall of Fame was established on 10 December 1985 to recognise the achievements of Australian sportsmen and sportswomen. The inaugural induction included 120 members with Don Bradman, Sir Don Bradman as the first inductee and ...

in 2000 and the

Athletics Australia Australian Athletics is the national sporting organisation (NSO) recognised by Australian Sports Commission for the sport of athletics in Australia. Founded in 1897, the organisation is responsible for administering a sport with over 16,000 reg ...

Hall of Fame in 2014.

International competitions

References

External links

* * * * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Clark, Darren 1965 births Living people Athletes from Sydney Australian male sprinters Olympic athletes for Australia Athletes (track and field) at the 1984 Summer Olympics Athletes (track and field) at the 1988 Summer Olympics Commonwealth Games gold medallists for Australia Commonwealth Games silver medallists for Australia Athletes (track and field) at the 1986 Commonwealth Games Athletes (track and field) at the 1990 Commonwealth Games World Athletics Championships athletes for Australia Sport Australia Hall of Fame inductees Rugby league wingers World Athletics Indoor Championships medalists Medallists at the 1986 Commonwealth Games Medallists at the 1990 Commonwealth Games Australian Athletics Championships winners 20th-century Australian sportsmen Commonwealth Games gold medallists in athletics Commonwealth Games silver medallists in athletics