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Running up to Rio 2016,
Joe Clarke was preparing to make his Olympic
debut in the Slalom K1, which was without a
doubt the biggest race of his career to date.
At just 23-years-old, Joe had fond memories of
the crowds at London 2012, and couldn’t wait
to be in front of an Olympic crowd himself at Rio
2016. His aim was simply just to put in the best
performance he could and see the end result.
His best performance resulted in the K1 Olympic
gold medal, something he knew he could achieve
during the run up to the Olympic Games.
“I really wanted to make the final, because in the
men’s K1 it is anybody’s game in the final and
I knew I could put myself in the mix alongside
the top boats. I just went out there to put in
the best performance I could possibly do.
“On that day it resulted in an Olympic gold medal,
so I am obviously very happy with that.”
Having never raced in an Olympic Games
before, Joe could be forgiven for not expecting
to be an Olympic Champion so soon.
“90 minutes later it was my time to perform again,
so I pulled out all the stops on the final run and it
all came together with a couple of seconds faster.”
It was a fairy-tale ending, as the gold
medal and Olympic Champion became
a reality for Joe after he posted a
time of 88.53 seconds, 0.17 seconds
ahead of Slovenia’s Peter Kauzer.
Ten months on, and it is something that the Stoke-on-
Trent born canoeist struggles to grasp and put into
words, but he will forever cherish his achievements.
Joe continued: “The gold is the pinnacle. The
Olympics is the pinnacle event of the sport. It is
something I cherish. It is a massive achievement
and I still struggle to put it into words.
“I even have moments now where I wake up
in the morning, open my bedside table and
check that it is still there and it wasn’t just a
dream, but it was a fairy-tale ending to achieve
something that you have worked so hard for.”
With the 2017 season underway, it is the
start of another four year cycle for the Slalom
athletes. Despite 2020 seeming a long time
away, Joe still can’t wait to get started again
and build on what he achieved just last year.
What Joe ranks as his highest accolade since Rio was
without a doubt his MBE in the New Year’s Honours
List for services to canoeing, something that never
crossed his mind after receiving his gold medal. “I am really motivated, looking
forward to getting my teeth
into the 2017 season which is
underway. Really looking forward
to getting involved and starting
the 2020 campaign off strong.
“The last year has been a massive
whirlwind, I have taken part in the
Strictly Come Dancing for Children
In Need, and I received my MBE.
“They are all absolutely amazing opportunities but
the MBE probably has to rank the highest. It is such
an honour to have received it for my services to
canoeing. It is something you never think you’ll do,
you go out there to do the best that you can that day.
He concluded: “This year coming up, I want to try and
win a few medals, contend in the finals this season.
I feel like it is a building block season, I had a bit
of time off after the Olympic Games, but I am just
looking forward to getting stuck in and try out some
of the different methods I have been using as well.”
“When I won that Olympic gold, it certainly
wasn’t a thought that I will be getting an MBE
so it just adds to the amazing experience
that I have had during the Games.
“I am trying to take it all in my stride. There are times
when it goes a bit wild and the people that you meet.
They kind of idolise you which is quite funny, because
at the end of the day for me it is just canoeing, it is
what I do but they just do what they do like acting.
“It is interesting how there are different
takes are on it. It is really exciting to
say I am an Olympic Champion.”
During his semi-final run, he only finished third
fastest, but was very confident he could put
in a challenging performance just 90 minutes
later to blow the competition out the water.
“There were a few sweeps and things that I could
have taken on a bit more which would have made
me faster, so I knew I had that in the bag.
Gold hasn’t just changed Joe Clarke’s life on the
course, it has also opened up a whole world of
opportunities off it too. He briefly swapped the
water for the dancefloor with an appearance on
Strictly Come Dancing for Children In Need.
Joe recalled: “I knew that training
was going really well, probably the
best I have ever been. That raised
my expectations slightly than
they probably were beforehand.
Joe said: “I knew in the semi-finals I was
holding back a little bit. I just wanted to
progress through to the finals so I held back
a bit and kept a bit of energy in the tank.