The Tribune

By BRENT STUBBS

Senior Sports Reporter

bstubbs@tribunemedia.net

THERE aren’t too many second generation athletes who have gone on to excel at the international level. Quarter-miler Lanece Clarke is one of them.

As the daughter of former St Augustine’s College sprinting star and multiple CARIFTA medallist Maryann Higgs-Clarke, Clarke has slowly been making a name for herself, more so in the longer distance at the 400m.

The 27-year-old graduate of McKendree University in 2009, with a bachelor’s degree in business administration/accounting, ran a personal best of 52.43 seconds last year at the Bahamas Association of Athletic Associations’ Nationals in June. She has also done a PR of 23.48 in the 200m at the Athens Spec Towns National Team Invitational in 2013 with a wind-aided time of 23.41 last year at home. And in the 100m, Clarke has shown her versatility by clocking 11.74 in Edwardsville at the NAIA Championships in 2008.

Last year, Clarke was a member of the women’s 4 x400m relay team that competed in the International Amateur Athletic Federation’s inaugural World Relays at the Thomas A Robinson National Stadium in May. In the heat, Clarke along with Shakeitha Henfield, Christine Amertil and Miriam Byfield clocked 3:54.45 for sixth place in their heat for 12th overall and had to run in the B final where she competed with Henfield, Amertil and Byfield for second in a season’s best of 3:31.71 behind Australia (3:31.01).

“A lot of focus has been on the 4x100m, but every year, the girls are getting more united and we’re slowly getting it together for the 4x4,” she said. “I hope what we did last year will help to open some doors for more of the athletes coming up. We just want to create more windows and opportunities for the younger athletes coming up.

She’s looking forward to returning for her second appearance when the relays are staged again at the stadium May 2-3.

“The first one went pretty good, so I’m sure that the event will be bigger and better the second go around,” she said. “I’m looking forward to seeing our fans coming out and supporting us. I’m looking forward to the energy and hype from all of the fans and even the athletes in the stadium. It was really good last year, so I know we should have an even better time this year.”

On a personal note, Clarke said she was thrilled to have been afforded the opportunity to represent the Bahamas on the team and to compete in front of the home crowd on the world stage.

“I was very excited about doing it last year and I’m even more eager and excited if I get the opportunity to do it again this year,” she said.

In preparation for this year’s season, Clarke said it has been progressing very well.

“I’m just taking it one day at a time and taking it to the next level,” said Clarke, who trains with Bahamian Stephen Gardiner from Moores Island under the supervision of George Cleare. “The atmosphere has always been pretty good. It’s a small town without any distractions, so everybody comes to practice and get the job done.

Clarke opened up her outdoor season in the individual events by pulling off a double dose of victory at the Yellow Jack Invitational at the Georgia Tech University. In her specialty, Clarke completed the one-lap race in 54.44 and she got the tape in the half-lap race in 23.54.

A week ago, Clarke showed that she’s ready for the World Relays duties as she teamed up with Jamaican sensation Veronica Campbell-Brown and Americans Porshca Lucas and Tahesia Harrigan-Scott to take the women’s 4 x 400m title at the Hurricane Invitational in 3:38.01. They also clinched the crown in the 4 x 100m relay in 43.62.

“It was a very good experience, running with a calibre of a Veronica Campbell-Brown, who has such a prestigious background,” Clarke said. “It was very good. I really enjoyed it. There wasn’t any pressure. We all had fun and everybody competed, so it was good.”

This year, Clarke said her goal is to improve her time in the 400 and hopefully qualify for both the Pan Amrican Games in Toronto, Canada, in July and the IAAF World Championships in Beijing, China, in August.

“I’m pretty sure it’s the goal of every athlete to make it to these big meets, but the key is staying healthy and to take it one race at a time,” she said. “So that is my goal, to take it one race at a time, stay healthy and try to qualify for the meets before I come home for the World Relays so I can take the pressure off myself.”

From her new training location, coach Cleare said he’s honoured to work with an individual who comes from such a rich background.

“As it relates to her training I focus more on Lanece as her own individual person,” he said. “Knowing that her mother was one of the best talents in Bahamian history does not play a part in her training.”

And as far as her preparation goes, Cleare said it’s no different from the previous years he’s been coaching Clarke in her transformation from college to the professional scene.

“The focus is always to improve and get better. But we are looking to become more of an individual performer over just a relay qualifier,” said Cleare, an assistant coach at the University of Georgia. “Lanece made big progress last year competing in an individual event at the Commonwealth Games. This year the goal is doing the same thing at the World Championships.”

Clarke represented the Bahamas at the Commonwealth Games in Glasgow, Scotland, where she was 29th overall in 55.24, but it wasn’t enough to get her into the final. She also anchored the 4 x 4 team of Amertil, Henfield and Byfield to fourth in their heat in 3:31.91 as they advanced to the final with the fifth fastest time. In the final, the team of Amertil, Miller, Clarke and Byfield ran 3:34.86 for seventh place.

“This year we want to improve a lot over the shorter distances and we look forward to her making her debut on the European Athletics Circuit very soon,” coach Cleare said.

In the meantime, Clarke wants to come home and help put on a show for the Bahamian public at the IAAF World Relays in May.