Rhiannon Clarke

EVENTS:  100m, 400m T38

AGE:  22 (23 Jul 2002)

COACH:  Danny Kevan

STATE: WA

AUSTRALIAN TEAM SENIOR DEBUT: 2018 Commonwealth Games

PERSONAL BESTS: 100m 12.79 (11 Aug 2024), 400m 62.36 (14 Jul 23) 

BIOGRAPHY

There’s a ‘no fear’ feeling around Rhiannon Clarke.

Behind a friendly smile lies a determined and driven athlete who has conquered every barrier that has stood before her, quicker than most.

A Commonwealth Games silver medallist at 15-years-of-age at the Gold Coast Games, Rhiannon won dual bronze at the Dubai 2019 World Para Athletics Championships in the T38 100m and T38 200m. After making her Paralympic debut in Tokyo, she was last year selected for her second Commonwealth Games team.

In Birmingham she again finished on the podium, placing third in the T38 100m in a time of 13.13 seconds.

In 2023 at her second world championships Rhiannon was brilliant competing in the full sprint treble. She just missed the podium placing fourth in the T38 100m and 200m, but in the 400m she placed second in a PB 62.36 seconds.

At her second Paralympics in Paris, she will contest the T38 100m and 400m. In the leadup to Paris she smashed her 100m PB clocking 12.79 seconds.

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Hailing from Kingsley, WA, Rhiannon discovered athletics in a ‘Come and Try Day’ for people with disabilities.

“I have been running since I was 12, but only doing the 100m since 2017,” Rhiannon says.

“I found out I was good at it. I tried it and it was fun and I enjoyed it."

Born with cerebral palsy, results flowed quickly for Rhiannon who was selected in the Australian Commonwealth Games Team on the Gold Coast in 2018.

Surging late to clock 13.17 for silver behind Paralympic champion Sophie Hahn of England in 12.46, Rhiannon was the youngest person from any country to win a medal at the Games.

A year later at the Dubai 2019 World Para Athletics Championships she ran a PB time of 12.94 for bronze – again behind Hahn in a world-record time of 12.38. The following day, Rhiannon backed up by winning a second bronze in the T38 200m in 26.79. Both times are still the current Australian & Oceania Para Records.

As the COVID-19 pandemic took hold and delayed Rhiannon’s Paralympic plans, she committed to her schooling, completing her ATAR studies with distinction before jetting off to the Games in 2021. There, she placed fifth in the 100m in a time of 13.08 and seventh in the 400m in 1:02.65 - another Australian & Oceania Para Record.

Away from the track, Rhiannon is a keen equestrian who teaches swimming when not training or studying.

A member of the UWA Athletics Club, she lists regular teammate Madison de Rozario as her role model.

Education: Currently studying Wildlife Conservation at the University of Western Australia.

In 2018 Rhiannon was presented with the Pierre de Coubertin Award by the Australian Olympic Committee. The honour is given to high school students in Australia who display strong character and ideals at the highest standard both in and outside of sport.

@ 22 July 2024 edits to david.tarbotton@athletics.org.au