View source for Ellery Harding Clark

{{short description|American track and field athlete}}
{{use mdy dates|date=March 2022}}
{{Infobox sportsperson
| name=
| nickname=
| image=Elleryclark.jpg
| image_size=200px
| caption=Ellery Clark in 1896
| birth_date= March 13, 1874 
| birth_place= [[West Roxbury]], Massachusetts, U.S.
| death_date = July 27, 1949 (aged 75)
| death_place = near [[Hingham, Massachusetts]], U.S.
| height = 5 ft 10+1/2 in
| weight = 
| sport=Athletics
| event= [[High jump]], [[long jump]], [[triple jump]], [[hammer throw]], [[shot put]]
| club=Boston Athletic Association
| pb= HJ – 1.81 m (1896)<br>LJ – 6.60 m (1897)<br>TJ – 12.88 m (1895)<br>HT – 38.48 m (1899)<br>SP – 12.06 m (1897)<ref name=r1/><ref name=r4/> 
| alma_mater=[[Harvard University]]
| show-medals    = yes
| medaltemplates = 
{{MedalCountry|the{{USA}} }}
{{Medal|Comp|[[Athletics at the Olympic Games|Olympic Games]]}}
{{Medal|Gold | [[1896 Summer Olympics|1896 Athens]] | [[Athletics at the 1896 Summer Olympics – Men's high jump|High jump]]}}
{{Medal|Gold | [[1896 Summer Olympics|1896 Athens]] | [[Athletics at the 1896 Summer Olympics – Men's long jump|Long jump]]}}
}}

'''Ellery Harding Clark''' (March 13, 1874 – July 27, 1949) was an American [[track and field]] athlete and a writer. He was the first modern [[Olympic Games|Olympic]] champion in [[high jump]] and [[long jump]].<ref name="ReferenceA">Clark, Former Olympic Champion, Dies at 75, ''Daily Southern Independent Illinoisan'', July 27, 1949</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.olympedia.org/athletes/78231 |title=Ellery Harding Clark |work=Olympedia |access-date=20 December 2020}}</ref>

==Biography==
Clark is the only person to have won both the Olympic high jump and long jump. Clark achieved it in 1896, at the [[1896 Summer Olympics|first modern Olympics]] in [[Athens]]. A [[Harvard University|Harvard]] student, he was given a leave of absence to compete because of his high grades - in contrast to another gold medal winner from Harvard, [[James Connolly (athlete born 1868)|James Connolly]]. Clark was one of the top all-around athletes from 1893 to 1912.

In the long jump, Clark had used his hat to mark his runway. Twice the judge ([[Constantine I of Greece|King Constantine of Greece]]) had removed the hat, saying this was a practice of professionals. Only at the third attempt, and without the hat, did Clark achieve a valid jump, good enough for gold.  His final jump was of 6.35 meters.  Clark later won the high jump as well, clearing 1.81 meters.  The closest competitors were fellow Americans Connolly and [[Robert Garrett]] at 1.65 meters.  In the [[shot put]], Clark was among the bottom three of the seven-man field.<ref name=r1/>

He never won a national championship in either jump, but he was the 1897 and 1903 AAU champion in the all-around, an event similar to the [[decathlon]]. He won the 1897 American all-around championship with performances that would have won him the [[1896 Summer Olympics|1896 Olympic]] [[high jump]], [[long jump]], and [[shot put]], and probably the [[100 metres]] and the [[110 metres hurdles]] as well.

Ellery also competed in the [[1904 Summer Olympics|1904 Olympics]] in [[St. Louis, Missouri|St. Louis]], in the [[Athletics at the 1904 Summer Olympics – Men's decathlon|all-around competition]]. Although he had to abandon the contest after five events due to [[bronchitis]], he was still classed sixth. At age 32, he was still winning major meets. He competed as a [[Racewalking|walker]] until the age of 56.<ref name=r1/><ref name=r2/>

Clark's professional life was equally varied. He excelled as an author, lawyer, track coach, teacher and [[Boston]] city alderman. He wrote 19 books including one which was made into a 1952 film, ''[[Caribbean Gold|Caribbean]]''.<ref name=r1/>

In 1904 he married Mary Victoria Maddelena, a [[Swiss people|Swiss]].<ref>Are Wedded: E.H. Clark Claims His Swiss Bride, ''Boston Daily Globe'', June 17, 1904</ref> The engagement and subsequent marriage caused something of a stir in the press - Clark was a millionaire and Maddalena was from the 'South end slums'.<ref>Like a Fairy Story, ''Baltimore Sun'', May 8, 1904</ref>

In 1949, he died at the age 75 on a train en route from Boston to his home at [[Cohasset, Massachusetts|Cohasset]].<ref name="ReferenceA"/>

Clark was inducted into the USATF Hall of Fame in 1991.<ref name=r2/>

==References==
{{reflist|refs=
<ref name=r1>[https://www.sports-reference.com/olympics/athletes/cl/ellery-clark-1.html Ellery Clark] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150808051121/http://www.sports-reference.com/olympics/athletes/cl/ellery-clark-1.html |date=8 August 2015 }}. sports-reference.com</ref>
<ref name=r2>[https://web.archive.org/web/20030715015045/http://usatf.org/athletes/hof/clark.shtml Ellery Clark]. USA Track & Field Hall of Fame</ref>
<ref name=r4>[http://trackfield.brinkster.net/Profile.asp?ID=1165&Gender=M Ellery Clark]. trackfield.brinkster.net</ref>
}}

==External links==
{{Commons category-inline}}
*{{sports links}}
*[http://www.runningpast.com/olympics_1896_part1.htm The First Americans at the Olympic Games by Ellery Clark]
*{{Gutenberg author|id=37419}}

{{Footer Olympic Champions High Jump Men}}
{{Footer Olympic Champions Long Jump Men}}
{{Footer US NC All-Around Men}}
{{authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Clark, Ellery Harding}}
[[Category:1874 births]]
[[Category:1949 deaths]]
[[Category:American men decathletes]]
[[Category:American men high jumpers]]
[[Category:American men long jumpers]]
[[Category:Athletes (track and field) at the 1896 Summer Olympics]]
[[Category:Athletes (track and field) at the 1904 Summer Olympics]]
[[Category:Harvard Crimson men's track and field athletes]]
[[Category:Medalists at the 1896 Summer Olympics]]
[[Category:Olympic gold medalists for the United States in track and field]]
[[Category:Olympic men high jumpers]]
[[Category:People from West Roxbury, Boston]]
[[Category:Track and field athletes from Boston]]
[[Category:19th-century American sportsmen]]
[[Category:20th-century American sportsmen]]