Running on about her

SACRAMENTO -- Regardless of what meetings Olympian Jearl Miles-Clark attends at next month's Athens Games, there is one she can afford to miss: orientation. Surely there are protocol matters she should know about, but Miles-Clark, who is running the 800 meters, has been to the last three Olympics. Her time might be better spent preparing for possible questions about competing at such a high level at her age.

Miles-Clark is 37, and will turn 38 in September. In most sports that's not over the hill -- it's down by the river.

Yet age is not a worry for Miles-Clark, who reportedly bristled at the suggestion that perhaps she's too old to be competing in the Olympics shortly after she qualified by winning the 800 meters at the US Olympic Trials in 1:59.06, leaving in her wake a group of mostly twentysomethings.

The American record-holder in the 800, Miles-Clark said whatever aches she experiences in training are similar to those she experienced when she was younger.

"Actually [training for this year's trials] was easier. My body gets in shape quicker," said Miles-Clark, who grew up in Gainesville, Fla., but currently lives in Knoxville, Tenn., with husband and coach J.J. Clark, who is the women's track coach at the University of Tennessee.

Miles-Clark said although age was not a factor in making it to her fourth Olympics, minor setbacks were another story.

"At the beginning of June, I strained a hamstring and I didn't even know if I would be [in Sacramento]," she said. "I got better, and about three weeks later I began sprinting again and I did the same thing. I just thank God that I'm here and was able to run and make the team."

In addition to the aches and injuries, Clark nearly lost her balance on the first lap of the 800 final. She regrouped, took command of the race, and sprinted to the finish with runner-up Nicole Teter in pursuit. Hazel Clark, Miles-Clark's sister-in-law, finished third and qualified for her second Olympics.

Miles-Clark's performance after the shaky start impressed even the other competitors.

"That [was] the bumpiest race I've ever been a part of," said Teter. "I'm glad I pulled off second place. I didn't know it would hurt this much, and I was surprised by how much Jearl had left."

"I was a little tingled on that first lap," said Miles-Clark. "I got clipped and I stumbled. But I recovered. I was thinking, `I'm going down. No, this can't happen.' Thank God I recovered."

Now she is among several athletes on the US team that have held their own at a time when the sport seems in the midst of a youth movement.

Gail Devers, 37, qualified for her fifth Olympics by winning the 100-meter hurdles. She hopes to snap a string of Olympic appearances without a medal in the hurdles. Stacy Dragila, 33, set an US Olympic Trials record in the pole vault en route to qualifying; she won gold in the event in 2000. Allen Johnson, 33, who won gold in the 1996 Olympics, earned a return trip by finishing third in the 110-meter hurdles.

Miles-Clark's performance marks her first victory in the trials. In 1988, she finished seventh in the 400.

"It was just about making sure you come in in the top three, but at the same time I was trying to win," said Miles-Clark. "I feel honored when I think about [winning the 800]. I'm just overwhelmed."

Miles-Clark won Olympic gold medals in 1996 and 2000 in the 4x400 relay and a silver in the same event in 1992. She anchored the winning relay team in '96 and ran the first leg in 2000. This will mark only the second time, however, that she will compete in an individual Olympic event. In 2000, she finished in fifth in the 800-meters semifinal.

For a sense of how long Miles-Clark has been competing, consider this: Her fourth trip to the Olympics comes 20 years after she won the Florida state high school title in the 400 meters.

At Alabama A&M, Miles-Clark won the NCAA Division 2 long jump title as a freshman and junior and captured the Division 2 400-meter title as a junior and senior. Alabama A&M never placed lower than third at the NCAA Division 2 nationals with Miles-Clark competing.

Yet after college she gave up the long jump and focused on the 400 and 800 meters. In the process she began a career during which she appeared in Track and Field News's rankings a record 11 times.

Early on, she focused more on the 400 meters and won the US outdoor championship four times, and the world indoor championship in 1997. Then she began to excel at 800 meters, winning the US outdoor title three times.

She captured the American record (1:56.40) in 1999. Her third US 800-meter title, last year, was won in 1:58.84, which at the time was the fastest of the year. This year, she captured the 500-yard run at the Millrose Games.

Miles-Clark finished second in the 400 and 800 at the 2000 trials but decided not to run in the 400. Her sub-par 800 performance because of the flu capped a year in which she won the 400 semifinal at the US Indoors but did not compete in the final because of injury.

"I'm looking forward to going to Athens and representing the United States," said Miles-Clark. "I want to better my performance of 2000."

Regardless of how she fares, Miles-Clark already has earned the respect of her Olympic teammates. Said Hazel Clark: "She brings dignity to the sport, she is always consistent, and is a great role model."