Birthday: October 9, 1967 Hometown: Trenton, NJ College: Duke University (1990) Sponsors: New York AC PRs 20 km - 1:23:34 50 km - 3:48:04

Next Clausen set his sites for the World Championships. His plan from the start was to beat Robert Korzeniowski, who apparently had made a derogatory comment to Clausen’s coach Bulakowski at a previous race. Clausen matched Korzeniowski stride for stride until the unexpected happened: Korzeniowski DQ’d at 37.5K. Without a game plan, Clausen ground it down, making sure no one caught him. Walking a 3:50:50 in 106-degree heat, Clausen crossed the line fourth, feeling “the most dead” he had ever been. Justly, he was eventually awarded the bronze medal when another top finisher failed a drug test.

Clausen also qualified for the 2000 Olympics. Unfortunately, after mid-July knee surgery, he couldn’t walk a step until eight weeks before his race. Needless to say, he was not happy with his results. He finished 22 nd: an improvement over 1996, but not where he wanted to be.

In 2001 Clausen returned to the World Championships, finishing 7th. After his return to top-ten status internationally, his next two years proved disappointing, with a series of setbacks hampering his progress. Bronchitis just before the World Cup, a disqualification at the World Championships, and a controversial disqualification 48K into the Pan Am Cup have kept Clausen hungry.

Now, in 2004, Clausen has his sight set on one last attempt at an Olympic medal. The Olympics will be back in Greece, where he has competed more than once. He looks to the heat and a tough course as an advantage: the equalizer, as he puts it.

Clausen has already hit the first milestone on his 2004 quest for Olympic glory. In the 50K Trials race, he battled early stomach problems and stiff competition. The elder statesman of our sport overcame it all, walked negative splits, and qualified for the Olympic Games with a time of 3:58:24.