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Jet, August 14, 2000

Team Clark will be heading to the Sydney Games as the first family to capture all three U.S. spots in an Olympic track event.

The three Clark sisters, Joetta Clark Diggs, Hazel Clark and Jearl Miles-Clark, swept the women's 800 meters at the recent U.S. Olympic track and field trials in Sacramento, CA.

The family patriarch is Joe Clark, whose tight rein as principal of Eastside High School in Paterson, NJ, inspired the 1989 movie Lean On Me, starring Morgan Freeman.

Running in her first trials, 22-year-old Hazel Clark, the youngest member of the talented trio, took first place with a winning time of 1 minute, 58.97 seconds. Her sister-in-law, Jearl Miles-Clark, 33, finished second in 1:59.12

But the most dramatic finish came from Hazel's older sister, Joetta Clark Diggs. Coming from the back of the pack in the final lap, Joetta, 37, caught and just edged Meredith Rainey-Valmon for a third-place photo finish in 1:59.49, just 0.01 ahead of Rainey-Valmon.

"I didn't get started the way I wanted, but I stayed confident," said Joetta. "But I saw my chances going and I had worked too hard not to get there. I ran that last 100 like my life depended on it. I kept digging."

The three sisters are coached by J.J. Clark, Miles-Clark's husband and the brother of Hazel and Joetta. After the race, sister-in-law Jearl collapsed from exertion and was helped off the track.

"I kept saying it's not that hot, we live in Florida," Jearl said. "I didn't stay hydrated and toward the end of the race my legs were shot, depleted."

At the bell lap, Hazel still held a slight lead over Rainey-Valmon and Miles-Clark as the group began putting distance on the rest of the field. Down the stretch, Hazel Clark held off Miles-Clark, who finished fast for second.

It was left to the elder Clark to complete the day. She did, running from the extreme rear through 500 meters and just passing Rainey-Valmon in a photo finish.

"I kind of felt I outleaned her," Joetta said. "I wasn't sure if I had got her. Then I saw it on the scoreboard and knew we did it. Now I look forward to making history with my family."

Joetta has spent the past 21 years ranked among the top 10 800 runners. This was her sixth and final Olympic trials. She will retire after her fourth Olympic appearance, the same number as Jearl.

"It would have been hard if I didn't make it," Joetta said. "It was something the family really wanted to do. I would have let them down, but I did my best. This is my last race in this country, it was a great final race."

Jearl established an American record last year with a 1:56.40 and was an Olympic gold medalist in the 1,600 relay in 1996. She qualified second in this year's trials in the 400.

Hazel, the baby of the group, is a four-time NCAA champion (three indoor titles) who competed at her first trials and will make her Olympic debut.

"I wanted this real bad, I said a prayer for all of us before the race," Hazel said. "But I felt they would come through."

Discussing the successful showing by the Clark women at the Olympic trials, their father, Joe Clark, recalled the standards he set for his daughters when they began to run track:

"I never let my kids run sprints," he told USA Today. "They had to get away from the stereotypical thing that Blacks can't run distances. I've found that distance running most consistently produces disciplined people."