Matthew Clarke

Matthew Clarke ran as a kid, but stepped away from the sport in Year 8 at high school. However, when he was 19 the motivation returned and he has steadily worked his way to the top as a middle-distance runner.

In his early 20s, Matthew was running around 3:49 (1500m) and 8:32 (3000m), while off the track he was busy studying podiatry at La Trobe University. By 2018 he was down to 3:44 over 1500m as he placed ninth at the Gold Coast Commonwealth Games trials. Later in the year he travelled to the US as a guide for Paralympian Jaryd Clifford and had the opportunity to race, clocking a PB in the 1500m at Portland in June.

Aged 23 in 2019, things really started to happen in his career as he started competing in a new event, the steeplechase. On debut he ran 8:58 in January and a striking 8:38.68 on his second attempt in February. He placed fifth at nationals and earned selection in the Australian team for the World University Games, where he progressed to the final to place 10th. He closed the year with a major breakthrough over 10,000m, clocking 28:39.02 at Zatopek.

By 2020 Matthew was living in Adelaide and early in the year the season was shut down by COVID. Around the time he started competing in steeplechase, the event was on the rise in Australia, with athletes from Victoria, South Australia and NSW adding depth to the nation’s talent in the event. The depth was highlighted in early 2021 when Matthew ran two 8:32 PBs to finish third at the Brisbane Track Classic and fourth at nationals.

In a last-ditch effort to qualify for the Tokyo Olympics, he travelled to Queensland for a series of races in June. After running 8:43, he stunned with a time of 8:22.62 in Townsville – just 0.62 second from the Olympic standard. Then a week later he ran even faster – 8:22.13 – on the Gold Coast. It was heart-breaking stuff to come so close again to the Olympic standard. Two days later, a weary Matthew ran 8:35.10 back in Adelaide.

When the World Athletics placings for Tokyo were finalised, he remained one position outside of the rankings. But a week later, following a withdrawal by a British athlete, he was selected.

In his Olympic debut in Tokyo, Matthew managed a solid 8:42.37 as he placed 14th in his heat.

In 2022 he won his first national steeplechase title and in 2023 was selected for the world championships in Budapest, where he placed 12th in his heat, clocking 8:40.92.

In 2024, Matthew won the national title in a time of 8:41, but in May and June nailed three good performances to set himself up for potential Olympic selection. He clocked 8:24 in Los Angeles, won Oceania, then recorded a PB 8:20.06 in Spain, breaking South Australian steeplechaser Kerry O’Brien’s SA State record, set in 1970 and a world record at the time.