PB Interview
: T N E M S S E S S A K N
Frank Clement
FRA
You have to see it, to be it
Scottish rivalries can fire dreams By Katy Barden
F
rank Clement has a theory. It’s not quite Big Bang, but its impact is significant nonetheless.
‘When you’re growing up and you’re an athlete, you’re looking at world record times and stuff like that,’ says the 1976 Olympic 1500m finalist. ‘For me it was Jim Ryun of America, then it was Kip Keino and those guys and they were miles away. But when you went to the Highland Games you could rub shoulders with Lachie Stewart and Ian McCafferty and people like that and maybe have a chat with them, and you realise they’re just normal human beings. ‘That’s so important, that realisation that if they can do that, I can maybe do that. Clement continues: ‘We had three guys. I came on, then we had John Robson and Graham Williamson. In one year (1978), the three of us were in the top ten world times. ‘If you look at New Zealand, they had John Walker, Dick Quax and Rod Dixon; and if you look at our sprinters at that time, you had Cameron Sharp, Allan Wells . . . then the women came through, Yvonne Murray and Liz McColgan. So you have these wee clusters of good athletes. ‘What’s happening now has backed up my theory.’ Clement is specifically referring to the resurgence in recent years of Scottish distance running and, in particular, the men’s 1500m where the all-time list is headed by the current crop of Jake Wightman
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(3:29.47); Chris O’Hare (3:32.11) and Josh Kerr (3:32.52). Robson (3:33.83), Williamson (3:34.01) and Clement (3:35.66) follow in fourth, fifth and sixth respectively, with Neil Gourley (3:35.79i) ranked seventh fastest. ‘It’s fantastic to see all these guys knocking the times down, creating new Scottish Records,’ he says.
Josh Kerr and Jake Wightman in action and Frank at the 197
Success breeds success, but while fast times generate a buzz across the sport, ultimately, it’s positions – and medals – that matter. The ability to race is crucial and chasing the clock, a common tactic in today’s frequently paced events, can potentially be detrimental to success.
‘He’s quite a good athlete, he’s very levelheaded, but at the minute - and I was the same at his age - it’s all about PBs, it’s all about improving your times. And that can become, arguably, a bit more important than racing the races.
‘I see it in my grandson,’ says Clement, referring to the talented Livingston AC teenager Andrew McGill who made his Scotland debut at the Run Stirling International XC in January 2020.
‘If an athlete’s in a race and they don’t think ‘I’m going to win this’ but ‘I might get a PB’ - if that becomes too dominant a feature in your mind - then there’s a wee danger that you might forget the main reason that you’re in it - to get in the 1-2-3.
