Clark family a big part of US national
championships
Bert Rosenthal - AP Track Writer
Atlanta (AP) _ As the USA Indoor Track and Field Championships
began Friday in the Georgia Dome, members of the Clark family
were in evidence everywhere. There was Joetta Clark, competing in
the meet for the 19th time and seeking her fifth title in the
women's 800 meters. There was her sister-in-law, Jearl
Miles-Clark, chasing her third women's 400 title. And there was
the specter of J.J. Clark, the brother of Joetta, the wife of
Jearl _ and the coach of both women. ``This group is the first
family of track and field,'' USATF executive director Craig
Masback said, noting that there is another Clark sister who is a
runner: Hazel. Hazel is missing the meet because she is competing
in the 800 and relays for Florida in the Southeastern Conference
Championships at Baton Rouge, Louisiana, this weekend. J.J. also
is absent because he is an assistant at Florida and has to attend
the SEC meet. The others were expected to represent the family
well.
Joetta, 35, is the two-time defending champion in the 800: she
also won in 1989 and 1990. Jearl, 31, has won two of the last
three 400s. And J.J., a former miler and 1,500-meter runner, has
them both in top shape.
J.J. has to treat each of his pupils differently, because of
their varying personalities. ``With Joetta, you have to stay away
... give her some space,'' he said. ``Jearl likes to be around
friends, like Natasha Kaiser-Brown (another 400 runner), to `high
five' and embrace them. Hazel needs you for a little while, then
she doesn't want to talk to you. She's a runner of few words.''
Joetta, J.J. and Hazel are all children of Joe Clark, the
controversial, bat-wielding principal of Eastside High School in
Paterson, New Jersey, whose strong-willed, disciplinarian tactics
were featured in the movie ``Lean on Me,'' starring Morgan
Freeman. Joetta and Hazel admit their running styles emulate
their father's personality. ``Dad taught us to do the best we can
in anything we attempted and to always be prepared,'' Joetta
said. ``That upbringing enabled us to be successful as athletes
and people. ``He taught me to set goals and be able to achieve
them. Sometimes, I'm so organized and disciplined that I drive
other people crazy. My brother has to slow me down.''
Hazel said, ``My dad has changed a lot over the years, but I
still have that discipline ingrained in me.'' J.J. also has
followed his father's teachings. ``With my father being such a
disciplinarian, everything is very positive,'' he said. ``I have
a very organized lifestyle, and that allows me to keep this group
disciplined.'' But not always together. While Jearl and Hazel
have been training in Gainesville, Florida, this winter, Joetta's
many business ventures have kept her in Somerset, New Jersey. She
is one of nine commissioners of the New Jersey Sports and
Exposition Authority and owns her own business, Joetta Sports and
Beyond, a management consulting firm. Joetta, who has been
competing as an elite runner since 1978, attributes her
remarkable running longevity to a desire to excel as a runner.
``But at this point in my career, I look at everything as a state
of emergency,'' the three-time Olympian said. ``My goals are to
get the American record indoors and outdoors, to leave that
legacy for the younger generation. That's the galvanizing force
that keeps me going.''
Ironically, Jearl, who has dabbled in the 800 in the past couple
of years - at Joetta's insistence - holds the U.S. outdoor
record. Joetta, Jearl and Hazel insist that when all three are in
the same 800 race, family ties are forgotten. ``We race as hard
as we can,'' Joetta said. ``We encourage each other. I never say
I can beat Jearl in the 800, because we have too much respect for
each other.'' ``They're something special, really special,''
Masback said about the entire Clark family. Friday's meet program
included finals in the men's triple jump, women's pole vault and
pentathlon, and men's and women's distance medley relay, plus
trials in the men's and women's 200, 400 and 800. The remaining
29 finals will be Saturday.