Australia's fastest man moved to Canberra because he needed a change, but Josh Clarke's shattered Olympic Games dream has not derailed his sub 10-second mission.
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Clarke has joined the Matt Beckenham stable of athletes and will work with Australia's fastest woman, Melissa Breen, to rediscover his sprint mojo.
The 22-year-old is living at the AIS and training in the capital as he sets his sights on a Commonwealth Games debut next year and reviving his Olympic hopes in 2020.
But his No. 1 motivation is becoming just the second Australian to break the 10-second barrier and the first since Patrick Johnson's 9.93 seconds in 2003.
"I don't want to sound arrogant or cocky, but every guy wants to break 10 [seconds] and I'm no different," Clarke said.
"That's the goal and that's not going to change. Someone else is going to do it one day, so hopefully it will be me."
Clarke was part of a Commonwealth Games planning session at the AIS earlier this week and has settled into his new Canberra base to relaunch his lightning career.
Beckenham, who is helping nurture a new generation of athletics stars, has no doubt Clarke is on the rise after hamstring problems derailed his Olympic plans.
Clarke was set to race in Rio and become Australia's first runner in the Olympic 100 metre event since 2004 after clocking a blistering time of 10.15 seconds to quality for the Games.
But he ruled himself out of the Olympics weeks before the start as he battled hamstring problems.
"I think he can get sub 10 seconds. I've seen guys who have run 10 seconds, he's just as talented, if not more. It's just a matter of when, things need to align, but we're giving it every possible chance," Beckenham said.
"He just wanted an environment where everything is close by and on tap, that's what he can get in Canberra.
"There's no doubting the talent of Josh Clarke, it's just about getting a consistent routine, getting him in a happy place and just letting him run fast. I'm really excited about what he can do in the next 12 months."
Clarke, the fifth fastest sprinter in Australian history, was previously based in Sydney and worked with veteran coach Nancy Atherton, but he said the Rio heartbreak prompted the need for something different.
"I felt like I needed a change ... just some new motivation to freshen things up," Clarke said.
"My body probably let me down a little bit, I just haven't been able to stay on the track. I was pretty much training by myself in Sydney.
"So to come to Canberra with [Melissa Breen and Lauren Wells], I've actually learnt a lot just by being around them all of the time. Hopefully being down here with Matty can take me to the next level where I want to be."
