There was no reason for Rawle Clarke to think he wouldn’t do well at the 1976 Summer Olympic Games in Montreal, Canada.
The former head boy of Parkinson Comprehensive School played cricket, football, table tennis and road tennis in the Pinelands community. He went to Under-19 cricket trials in 1971 with the likes of West Indies fast bowling great Joel Garner, wicketkeeper David Murray, Collis King, William Bourne and Trevor Campbell but cricket was too expensive.
Clarke recalled his father, who worked for $60 to $70 a week, “trusting” cricket pads, mittens, a bat and testicle guard from an Indian salesman. The cost was over $500 and it took his father three-and-a-half years to pay for the equipment, 50 cents every Sunday, sometimes $1 when he could afford it.
When Frank Blackman saw him playing football on Parkinson field and told him he could be one of Barbados’ top sprinters because of the raw speed he saw on display, it was an easy decision for Clarke since a pair of Golda track shoes were about $37 at the time.
He followed Blackman to Harrison College and joined the United Athletic Club in 1972. His first outing for Barbados was at the McKenzie Games in British Guyana in 1973 where he won bronze medals in both the 100 and 200 metres.
That was followed by bronze and silver respectively at the 1974 Caribbean Games before Clarke set a new Barbados record of 20.5 seconds in the 200 metres in 1975 and went to the Central American and Caribbean (CAC) Games in Puerto Rico and the Pan Am Games in Venezuela.
“After 1975 we were going to the Olympics and we had some competition before the Olympic Games in Montreal. I competed at the Hampton Games. That time the Hampton Games had a large number of overseas athletes, including the Americans. I ran the 200 metres there and came third behind [Steve] Riddick and Robinson. At that time I ran 20.75,” Clarke said.
“Outside of that we were doing a lot of training in Barbados. We were having a lot of runs to keep us warm. We were just competing at home for about five months before the actual competition. At that time there was no money and we had to rely on small resources coming from the respective companies and I thought that was why we did not get more overseas meets.”
There was also no fancy track at the National Stadium, and they ran on what was famously called “Rock George”.
The Amateur Athletic Association organized several meets to keep the athletes in shape, but Clarke felt it was that lack of overseas competition which hampered their preparation.
“The other athletes who went to Montreal with me – Orlando Greene, Freida Nicholls and Lorna Forde were based overseas. I am not sure if they were having the number of meets they needed. But I can remember Greene telling me he did not get sufficient meets because he had run the fourth fastest time in the world in the 800 metres.
“I am not blaming the association. What I am saying is that they did not have the money and the resources were not there,” said the 59-year-old co-ordinator of the National Senior Games.
With several African countries and Guyana boycotting the games, there was some talk that Barbados would follow suit, but the team left one month prior for Montreal.
“During that time I felt good and Mr Blackman was saying to me ‘Rawle you can do very well here because you are still running well. Then a week before the actual competition, I picked up some virus. I don’t know what it was.
“I can remember the doctor [Norris Procope] saying ‘You’re too weak to run’ and I said ‘No, I will get over this’.”
Clarke competed in the 200 metres, placing fifth in his heat in 22.75 seconds and did not advance to the next round.
It was tough to bear.
“We trained Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays but Tuesdays and Thursdays I still did a lot of work. Then campaigning outside of Barbados and even coming back to Barbados and competing, I put in a lot of work and dedication into it.
“When I went to the Olympics, my main goal was to make Barbados proud and also the people who supported me along this whole sojourn. When I picked up this virus, I felt really down.”
Recognizing he wasn’t fully fit softened the blow. Then the 4 x 100 metres relay team of Clarke, Pearson Trotman, Hamil Grimes and Pearson Jordan set a new national record of 41.15 seconds.
“I started to feel even better then. I knew what was said about me, I could have gone further in that 200 metres.
“I enjoyed myself. If I had to do it all over again I would do it. I would say to the younger ones now, when you reach that level, or you achieve that level, you should be proud of yourself because it is not easy. You have to go up against qualifying times. Even if your times are not at their best, you are expected to go out there, perform at your best and be good ambassadors for Barbados. That is how I see it.”
