‘You can be one of the big three now’
Greatest Jamaican 400m hurdler of all time backs Clarke to lead the world
ROSHAWN CLARKE can become one of the big three in the men’s 400-metre hurdles. That’s the view of none other than Winthrop Graham, the most successful Jamaican 400 hurdler in history. Graham said he was overjoyed when Clarke broke his long-standing national record last year, and he believes the youngster will go far.
After matching the world under-20 record of 47.85 seconds to become the second Jamaican, after Graham, to break 48 seconds, Clarke zoomed a 47.34 seconds to better Graham’s 1993 mark of 47.60 as he qualified for the 2023 World Championships. He would go on to finish fourth in that final.
Speaking on the weekend at the STETHS Invitational, Graham beamed, “I’m one of the happiest guys for Roshawn. I’m probably one of the first who texted him and said, ‘It’s about time, congratulations.’ You know, he’s a very personable young man and I think he’ll go far with the event from here on.”
The 1991 and 1993 World Championships medal winner added, “For me, it was a disappointment that no one had taken the baton and taken the event forward after I retired.”
Graham, the first Jamaican to beat 49 seconds, sees the tall 19-year-old Clarke going all the way up.
“He has all the talent in the world; and even yesterday when we had a little breakfast together, I told him the same thing. I told him, ‘You have all the talent in the world. It’s about how you harness it and what you do with it,’ and it’s all in his hands now,” the overjoyed Graham recounted.
“I told him, ‘You can be one of the big three now in the event, and you guys can take the event to another level.’”
The current big three has taken the event to new levels.
Karsten Warholm of Norway moved the world record to 45.94 seconds at the 2021 Olympics, with Rai Benjamin of the US the runner-up at 46.17. The following year, Brazilian Alison dos Santos zoomed 46.29 to win the World Championships gold in 2022.
“It is scary. I couldn’t even envision. If I had even gotten close to 46 when I was competing, that would be like a little miracle in itself. These guys have taken it into a really other state, but it’s good to see. They bring out our excitement and attention to the event,” said the 1992 Olympic silver medal winner admiringly.
Clarke, Graham and 2004 Olympic runner-up Danny McFarlane are the three fastest Jamaicans of all time, with McFarlane’s benchmark– 48.00 seconds – done in the 2004 semi-finals. World finalist in 2022 and current Pan-Am champion Jaheel Hyde is next on the national all-time performance list at 48.03 seconds.