Don Clary

Donald Gene Clary Jr. (born July 29, 1957) is an American former long-distance runner who competed mainly in 5000 meters and cross country running. He represented the United States at the 1984 Summer Olympics and competed three times at the IAAF World Cross Country Championships, taking a junior title in 1975 and a senior team silver medal in 1980. He was the 3000 meters silver medallist at the 1985 IAAF World Indoor Games.

Career Don Clary was born in Anchorage, Alaska, and graduated from East Anchorage High School in 1975. Clary had his first success as a junior (under-20) athlete at the 1975 IAAF World Cross Country Championships where his fifth-place finish took the American juniors to the team title, alongside Bobby Thomas, Roy Kissin, and Ralph Serna. He went on to attend the University of Oregon and ran for the Oregon Ducks collegiate team. At the 1978 NCAA Division I Men's Cross Country Championships he placed seventh and was runner-up in the team rankings alongside classmate Alberto Salazar. He ran the 3000-meter steeplechase at the 1978 USA Outdoor Track and Field Championships and reached seventh place. He won his first national title that year, however, doing so in the one hour run. He began to focus on track running more and progressed up the national rankings, taking fifth in the 5000 meters at the 1980 United States Olympic Trials then third at the 1981 USA Outdoors. A fourth-place finish at the national championships meant he missed the 1983 World Championships in Athletics, but he still gained selection for the 1983 Pan American Games, at which he came fifth. He placed high nationally in the two following seasons, taking third in 1986 and fourth in 1987 at the national championships, but never competed at a major international event after that.

International competitions