Hilton Clarke

As an overweight child Hilton Clarke was told by doctors to get exercise either by swimming or cycling. Not a fan of being in the water, Clarke began riding his bike, eventually going on to win more than a dozen national titles on the track. He started racing competitively in 1963 when he was 17-years-old, and immediately showed potential. After training hard for a few years, Clarke was selected to represent Australia at the British Empire and Commonwealth Games in Kingston, Jamaica, where he won silver in the 10 mile scratch race.

Two years later Clarke was part of the Australian cycling team that competed at the 1968 Mexico City Olympics. During a training session for the 1,000 metres time trial Clarke broke his wrist when he hit a cyclist who had walked onto the track. Despite this, he still managed to compete in the event, with his hand taped to his handlebars, finishing 14th overall. Three days later he rode with Gordon Johnson in the tandem sprint, with the pair placing 10th.

Clarke had an impressive record at the Australian national track championships, winning 17 titles. He won his first titles in 1966 as an amateur with victories in both the 1,000 metres time trial and the 4 km team pursuit. He retained both titles in 1967 and 1968, in addition to becoming the 10 miles scratch champion in 1967. In 1969 Clarke turned professional, winning further titles in the 4 km team pursuit (1969, 1975–76), 1-mile scratch (1970), 5-mile scratch (1970–72), 1,000 metres time trial (1974), Madison (1974), and 10 km scratch race (1976).

In the early 1980s Clarke turned to coaching at the Carnegie Cycling Club, working with future Olympian Max Rainsford. His coaching career spanned more than 40 years, with Shane Perkins, Mark French, and Simon Clarke being just some of his many students.