Frank Clement (athlete)

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Frank Clement
Personal information
NationalityBritish
Born26 April 1952
Glasgow, Scotland
Height180 cm (5 ft 11 in)
Weight66 kg (146 lb)
Sport
Sport Athletics
Eventmiddle-distance
ClubBellahouston Harriers
Medal record
Representing Flag of the United Kingdom.svg  Great Britain
Men's athletics
Summer Universiade
Gold medal icon (G initial).svg 1973 Moscow 1500 m

Francis James Clement (born 26 April 1952) is a retired British athlete who competed primarily in the 1500 metres and participated in the 1976 Summer Olympics. [1]

Biography

Clement was a member of Bellahouston Harriers and a graduate of Strathclyde University. [2]

Clement finished second behind Rod Dixon in the 1500 metres event at the 1973 AAA Championships [3] [ page needed ] [4] [ page needed ] but by virtue of being the highest placed British athlete in the event he was considered the British 1500 metres champion. [5]

In 1973 Clement achieved success in the European Cup final which he won in a time of 3:40.8, defeating future Olympic bronze medalist Paul-Heinz Wellmann and 1974 European champion Klaus-Peter Justus. He also won the 1973 World Student Games (Universiade) 1500m in a time of 3:42.32 defeating the top American runner Tony Waldrop. Clement was a UK 1,500 metres and mile record holder in the 1970s and won the Emsley Carr Mile in 1973 and again in 1974.

Clement improved the British record for 1,500 metres in 1974 to 3:37.4. He set British mile records of 3:54.95 in 1975 and 3:54.2 in 1978. Clement recorded his fastest time for 1,500 of 3:35.66 in 1978. His other personal bests included: 800 metres – 1:45.76; 1,000 metres - 2:19.81 (1975); 2,000 metres - 5:02.8 (1978). Clement also repeated his 1973 AAA success by finishing second again but being the top British athlete in the 1500m at the 1975 AAA Championships. [6]

Clement was an Olympic 1500 m finalist coming fifth at the 1976 Games in Montreal in a time of 3:39.65. [1] He was also fourth in the 1978 Commonwealth Games in Edmonton.

After retiring from competitive athletics, Clement worked for 26 years for Glasgow City Council, where he was race director of the Glasgow Women's 10,000m. [7]

References

  1. 1 2 "Biographical Information". Olympedia. Retrieved 28 May 2025.
  2. ↑ Frank Clement Biography and Olympic Results | Olympics at Sports-Reference.com Archived 5 November 2012 at the Wayback Machine
  3. ↑ "Results" . The People. 15 July 1973. Retrieved 29 May 2025– via British Newspaper Archive.
  4. ↑ "Dave's run for the money" . Sunday Mirror. 15 July 1973. Retrieved 29 May 2025– via British Newspaper Archive.
  5. ↑ "AAA, WAAA and National Championships Medallists". National Union of Track Statisticians. Retrieved 29 May 2025.
  6. ↑ "AAA Championships (men)". GBR Athletics. Retrieved 29 May 2025.
  7. ↑ "scottishathletics -> News". Archived from the original on 28 September 2011. Retrieved 6 August 2011.
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