Paralympian Jaryd Clifford to Attempt World First 4-Minute Mile at Maurie Plant Meet

Jaryd Clifford is looking to become the first visually impaired athlete in the world and first ambulant Australian Paralympian to break the four-minute mile at this Thursday’s Maurie Plant Meet – Melbourne, a World Athletics Continental Tour Gold level meet.

Taking on the John Landy Mile alongside a star-studded list of athletes, the three-time Paralympic medallist is ready to replicate the event’s namesake and break new barriers for para athletes around the world.

“While there is no official record, it’s an extremely verifiable fact that no visually impaired athlete has ever run a sub-four-minute mile. Plus, it would be pretty cool to do it in the John Landy Mile given he was the pioneer. It would be great to etch the result in Paralympic and Australian middle distance history.” Clifford said.

Fresh off running in the ambulant race at the World Athletics Cross Country Championships in Bathurst, the dual World Para Athletics Champion is ready to shake things up and return to the track with a world defining run.

“I am feeling good and the body has pulled up really well. It was great to have a para race at the World Cross Country Championships and race the same course as the World’s best senior cross country runners,” Clifford said.

“Ever since Tokyo, particular last year, I’ve struggled with the ebbs and flows of being motivated. I came out of Tokyo and have had some time out of the sport. Because of that I am a lot more refreshed and am prioritising enjoying running without trying to hit qualifier after qualifier. So I am just enjoying running more than I ever have.”

The holy grail of athletics achievement, the four-minute mile for years was thought to be impossible. For Clifford, while breaking the four-minute mile is an important milestone for the para athletics community and record books, it is also about the goals he set with his late grandfather.

“Every athletics fan knows how historic the four-minute mile barrier is. My grandfather passed away just before Tokyo, and two things we always talked about was wining gold at the Paralympics and breaking the four-minute mile. I haven’t’ done either yet, so to do the four-minute mile would be massive,” Clifford said.

Recognising the part Landy’s competitors played in his inaugural four-minute mile, especially UK’s Roger Bannister, Clifford will have an equally impressive crop of athletes to help push him on. Clifford will join 2016 Rio Olympic 1500m Champion Matthew Centrowitz Jnr, Australian Mile Record Holder Olli Hoare and New Zealand star Sam Tanner on the start line on Thursday night.

“I saw the start list for the mile and its one of the best I’ll have ever raced against. The last time I raced with Centrowitz I took three seconds off my 1500m world record. Those sorts of things come when you race the best in the world. Plus, it’s not often you have an Olympic and Paralympic medallist running in the same event,” Clifford said.

When it comes to his preparation for the mile, Clifford has been working hard on how he’ll approach the start given the Victorian’s last mile race was back in 2018 when he set a time of 4:09.41.

“In recent weeks it’s been about fine tuning some speed work and being able to keep up with those guys. Also, a lot of the work has been going into the start, especially given I’m visually impaired and the nature of a mile start being on a curve means I’ve spent a lot of time visualising it,” Clifford said.

While the record books have plenty on Landy and Bannister’s success, Clifford isn’t shy about promoting what will hopefully be the next page in the four-minute mile story.

“One of the things I’ve found as an advocate in the para space is that for these types of barriers, you need to take them seriously. Sometimes people don’t feel comfortable promoting their own achievements, but because I guess not a lot of people know the history of Paralympics, it falls on us to promote those things,” Clifford said.

With the World Para Athletics Championships on the books in July, Clifford is adamant that while the mile won’t be on offer in Paris, it is an important race for his preparations given the quality field.

“The mile is generally pretty similar to the 1500m so it’s another opportunity to put yourself in an uncomfortable situation and push yourself. The one thing I learnt in Tokyo, which goes without saying, but winning gold isn’t easy. Being put under pressure and racing against fast runners is what you need,” Clifford said.

A champion promoter and advocate for para-athletics, Clifford sees the Maurie Plant Meet – Melbourne, a World Athletics Continental Tour Gold level meet, as an exciting opportunity for Australian athletics fans not to miss given the stacked line up set to race in the Ambulant Men’s 100m.

“I think it’s a great opportunity for para sport in Australia that the best 100m runners get to strut their stuff in front of a huge crowd. It allows people who follow athletes like Chad [Perris] the chance to see them as they work towards gold in Paris. The event is being put on because people want to see the best para runners in action, its exciting and hopefully this is just the beginning,” Clifford said.

The Maurie Plant Meet, a World Athletics Continental Tour Gold level meet, is a part of the Chemist Warehouse Australian Summer of Athletics and is supported by the Victorian Government and World Athletics.

What: Maurie Plant Meet – Melbourne
Where: Lakeside Stadium, Melbourne
Who: The fastest man in the world, 100m world champion Fred Kerley (USA), Rio 1500m Olympic champion Matthew Centrowitz (USA), more global stars from over 10 nations, along with our Aussie Olympic and Paralympic stars including Rohan Browning, Nicola Olyslagers and Stewart McSweyn.
Why: The world’s best athletes visiting, training and competing in the sporting capital of the world, Victoria, is good for the sport, sports fans and our Australian athletes. World Athletics Continental Tour Gold meet offers significant prize money plus higher World Ranking points, which assists qualification for World Championships and Olympic Games
How: Tickets are available via Ticketek - https://premier.ticketek.com.au/shows/show.aspx?sh=MAURIE23

By David Smith, Athletics Australia
Posted: 22/2/2022