The middle-distance track star has won six national titles and two U.S. Olympic trials, Hazel is setting her sights on her fourth Summer Games in 2012. Upholding her family's legacy and longevity in her sport is no small feat: Her sister, Joetta Clark-Diggs is a heavily decorated four-time Olympian who competed until she was 40 and their sister-in-law, Jearl Miles-Clark, is now training for her sixth Summer Games. All three women made the U.S. 800m team at the 2000 Olympiad in Sydney.
Rock-solid legs and lightning-fast talent aren't the only things that run in Hazel Clark's family, she is not only the younger sister to fellow Olympian Joetta Clark-Diggs, but also renowned University of Tennessee track coach J.J. Clark.
Hazel inherited her unyielding grit, determination and an uncanny ability to stay upbeat and focused in the face of adversity from famed Paterson, New Jersey public school principal Joe Louis Clark, whose nontraditional, no-nonsense disciplinary ways inspired Morgan Freeman's acclaimed portrayal the hit 1989 movie Lean on Me and landed the administrator on the cover of Time magazine?
Her coach is brother J.J., who does double duty as the University of Tennessee's Director of Track and Field. J.J. brought discipline to Hazel's life while training her during her college years at the University of Florida, where she was undefeated in S.E.C competition and won five NCAA titles.
In a sport that's always looking for its next 20-year-old sensation to replace its veteran stars, Hazel remains determined to call her own shots and retire when she's ready. If her family forerunners are any indication, Hazel will be leading the pack for years to come.
Her husband and Agent, Charisma Sports CEO/Founder, Wenston Riley, proposed in the mixed zone after the 2004 Olympic Trials 800m final…she accepted and they got married in October 2007...family and friends call her “Peachy”...Her toy poodle, Pluto, accompanies her to most competitions. |
|
