Sleep is often the secret to success for Olympic athletes but for new dad Joe Clarke it's in very short supply.
His newborn, Hugo, arrived in January to add a little chaos to the Clarke household ahead of a crucial time for the 30-year-old, as he looks to nail down a place in the canoeing squad for Paris 2024.
Such is the strength of competition within the camp, Clarke competed abroad on his first Father’s Day as a dad, at a World Cup event in Ljubljana as he hopes to strengthen his Olympic case ahead of the European Games in Krakow.
Clarke is using the separation as motivation to fuel his bid for a second Olympic gold.
“It gives you a new lease of life but also it’s given me a new level of focus,” said Clarke, who roared to K1 gold at Rio 2016.
“If I’m away, I’m missing my son or wife like crazy, so I make it 100 percent worthwhile and put everything I have into that training camp.
“Before it wasn’t the same intensity, now if we’re spending any time apart then every hour has to be eating, sleeping and breathing canoeing and getting better.
“I’d be lying if I said it was easy, it’s not, but it’s the best thing I’ve ever done.
“It’s hard to put into words how amazing it is, when he was born I was just in awe.”
Clarke, is of course, not your everyday dad.
His myriad of medals says as much, as do the relentless training regimes and frequent international events which force him to spend significant chunks of time away from Hugo, wife Annabel and dog Louis.
Clarke missed out on Tokyo which has heightened his desire to grace the Games one more time but Hugo’s birth has encouraged him to view life away from home through a different lens.
“A lot of time in sport where the margins are so fine, you spend a lot of time training to chase those points of a seconds and then you go home and the bigger picture is the family,” he said.
“It’s daunting when you leave the hospital, you feel like you need a guide on how to look after them and you’re not prepared for that moment.
“You read about all these different things and you start panicking but instinct takes over. I’ve managed to keep him alive and that’s the main thing right now!
“I’d like to have a nice clean house and tidy garden but you realise that’s not important.
“I'll be away for a minimum of two to three weeks for the European Games and that will be my first big time away from him.
“The worst is yet to come, he can recognise my voice and recognise my face but he can’t talk and say he doesn’t want me to go away, so I think next year will be even tougher when he’s saying, ‘daddy I don’t want you to go.’ That will be heart-breaking.
“Hopefully he’ll understand and when he comes to watch me that will add another element.”
In Clarke’s absence, Annabel has taken on much of the responsibility around the house, with Clarke making trips home from British Canoeing's Lee Valley White home between sessions.
The saying goes that behind every successful man stands a woman and Clarke could not be more grateful for wife’s enduring support.
“She’s amazing,” he beamed. “She truly is and has supported me through the ups and downs – mind the pun.
“She’s found another level since Hugo has been born, she’s completely on board with my goal of getting to Paris and alleviating anything off my plate.
“She’s allowing me to sleep in the spare room when I’ve got tough training blocks, she’s telling me to sleep in the spare room if he’s awake in the middle of the night.
“At times I feel guilty, but she pushes me out the door and says go and do your thing. She’s wonder woman right now.”
Besides phoning home on Sunday, there will be one another person Clarke will be making a call to.
His father Shaun has always been one of his biggest supporters and now more than ever Clarke appreciates the starring role he has played in his sporting success.
“My parents have been a massive driving force behind what I do and why I am where I am,” he said.
“When I got the medal at Rio, it was a third for each of us. Without them I would have never got there.
“I’m 30 now and they are still a shoulder to cry on. Dad and I get on so well and I know he’s there any time I need him.
“Seeing him interact with Hugo is something special. The respect I have for him now that I'm a dad is even greater.”
And while Paris is firmly on Clarke’s mind for the 12 months, looking further ahead he has one clear goal in his mind – to be the best dad he can be.
“I want to instil good values into him,” he said. “I’m sure he’ll be competitive if he’s anything like me, but I want to be his friend and if anything happens, I’d be the first person he contacts – good or bad news, I’ll support him through anything.
“Everyone says he’s like my double so that’s quite nice. He can brighten the worst of training days and make everything good.”
Sportsbeat 2023