Zoey Clark’s busy start to the season – which has seen her race five times in under three weeks – has left her feeling confident that her decision to revamp her coaching set-up is paying dividends.
Topping off an intense month of competitions, Clark has gained five wins in as many races, whilst also dipping under the Commonwealth Games qualifying time for the 400m to boost her chances of selection.
Clark’s most recent victory came in Birmingham Diamond League on Saturday, when she surged ahead of her domestic rivals to clock 51.88sec. Clark is now within 0.1sec of her fastest time last year, when she ran 51.79sec.
It is not as if these performances have come without a change, however. After the Olympic Games last summer, Clark decided to part with her long-term coach Eddie McKenna, opting instead to work with Ryan Oswald. With a new approach, Clark feels she can take on the 2022 season with renewed vigour.
She said: “I’ve just done things generally a little bit differently this year. I’ve changed coach and moved groups, so we’ve had a slightly different approach to training which I think has just freshened it up a little bit.
“Mentally, I think I’ve been in quite a good position going into the season, so I think that’s just all hopefully going to get the best out of me.”
She added: “Last year was very stressful for me.
“Tensions were high because of the Olympic year and Covid (disruption). I wasn’t necessarily in the best mental state. That was one of the reasons I needed a hard reset. I needed to come at it from a different approach.”
Clark is yet to race against a field of international calibre, however, and June will see her go head-to-head with some of Europe’s best when she races in Geneva and Bern, in Switzerland.
First, however, she will return to some training after a spate of early races which have tested her resolve and recovery. Clark works full-time as an engineer at Wood Group, and with free weekends now at a premium, the months ahead will be nothing if not full-on.
“It is challenging (working full-time and training)”, she said.
“Over winter, it works really well because I’m mostly based in Aberdeen, and I don’t have to travel so much. But it has been a little more challenging since competitions started – obviously my weekends are now busier, and usually over winter I rely quite heavily on them for recovery purposes.
“It’s a bit of a learning experience for me, but hopefully I will get something that works for me as the year progresses.”
The 2022 athletics season has a unique feel to it, with three international Championships squeezed into the space of five weeks. Such is Clark’s competitive nature, she hopes to be involved in each and every one of them if she can maintain her form.
Zoey Clark wins the pre-DL 400m at @Birmingham_DL with 51.88 🏴
Ama Pipi second in 52.57 and Yemi Mary John third in 53.04. pic.twitter.com/ZQmoRF0Sks
— AW (@AthleticsWeekly) May 21, 2022
“As an athlete, you don’t really want to pick and choose,” she said. “If there’s a major competition, you want to be there. Deep down I definitely want to be at all three.
“The Worlds is first, which I definitely want to be at just as much as I do at the Commonwealth Games afterwards. I think those two outweigh Europeans a little bit, but it’s just a case of suck it and see. If I’m able to continue and do the Euros, then I certainly will.
“It’s just about seeing how the season unfolds I think.”
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