Milly Clark (NSW)

DOB:  Mar 1989

Age: 

Club: Sydney University Athletics Club
Coach: James Fitzgerald
Twitter: @millyjane14
Instagram: @millyjane14
Occupation: Dietitian

Originally a sprinter, Milly Clark switched to distance running after she won a scholarship in the 400m hurdles to Drake University, which she attended for three years. Clark then impressed over 10km and half marathons.

Born in Launceston, Clark was first introduced to athletics at the Youngtown Little Athletics Club.

Clark claimed a national 3000m steeplechase title in 2012 and set personal bests over distances from 800m to 5000m in 2013.

In 2014, she ran her first half marathon in Sydney, and took out the prestigious Gold Coast half marathon title the same year.

In mid-2015 she made a low-key marathon debut in the Blacktown Twin Cities marathon. Later that year, she had a breakthrough at the 2015 Amsterdam Marathon, placing third in an Olympic qualifier and the eighth best Australian all-time performance ever (2:29:07).

This performance was followed by a serious of runs where she slashed her PBs in the 5000m, 10km road and half marathon, the latter at the IAAF World Half Marathon Championships in Cardiff, placing 13th.

Selected for the Olympic Games she was the first Australian home in 18th place, running a solid time of 2:30.53. She became just the fourth Australian to place top-20 at the Olympics.

Bio interesting facts:

Milly lived overseas with her family for much of her teenage years, residing initially in Germany for two years before moving Indonesia.

Her aunt, Elizabeth Jack, was a diver at the 1976 Olympics and later an Olympic coach. Her mother, Margaret, was a Commonwealth Games and World Championships gymnast.

Clark has a tattoo of a phoenix on her back, a legend she identifies with becuase no matter how many times she gets knocked down, she always finds a way to rise up.

Clark gained her Masters in nutrition from the University of Sydney and is now completing a degree in sports science with a particular interest in human movement.