Remember the name Rachel Cliff.
Cliff's name probably doesn't ring a bell for most people, but come the 2016 Summer Olympics in Rio de Janeiro, the Vancouver runner could be one of the Canadian athletes in the 1,500 metres.
Between now and then, Cliff, a York House graduate, will need seasoning and the opportunity to compete against other world-class athletes. That's why the Harry Jerome International Track Classic is so important for the development of people like Cliff.
"This meet, they do such a good job of getting so many top athletes together," the 25-year-old said during a recent news conference to promote the 30th annual Jerome meet. "There are always a few meets you identify as being a good opportunity, and this is definitely one of them."
This year's Harry Jerome International Track Classic will be held July 1 at Swangard Stadium in Burnaby. Among the high-profile Canadian Olympic athletes attending will be shot-putter Dylan Armstrong, heptathlete Jessica Zelinka and high-jumper Mike Mason.
The Jerome meet has been a labour of love for founder and organizer Doug Clement and his wife Diane. What started as an idea to give B.C. athletes a local stage to compete has grown into one of Canada's top track events. It also helped forge the National Track League, five competitions staged across the country with a total of $350,000 in prize money.
"It's a foundational part of athletics in Canada," said Gordon Orlikow, chairman of the board of directors for Athletics Canada. "Over the years, Harry Jerome has really been the track meet in Canada. It has endured.
"The National Track League would not exist without Harry Jerome and without Doug and Diane."
Doug Clement, now a professor emeritus at UBC, represented Canada at the 1952 Summer Olympics. As a coach, he helped organize various track competitions in and around Vancouver dating back to 1963.
Over the years the meet has attracted Canadian Olympians like Donovan Bailey, Ben Johnson, Angela Chalmers, Lynn Williams and David Steen. They competed against a who's who of international stars like Jackie Joyner-Kersee, Carl Lewis, Mary Decker Slaney and Kip Kimeli.
One of the attractions of the meet is it allowed young athletes to step on the track against the sport's marquee names.
"I think we've been very successful_ in producing [the environment] in which athletes can get their first taste of international competition," said Clement. "We have been very successful at continuing that."
The advent of the IAAF Diamond League, a series of track and field meets which offer huge cash prizes, has drawn some of the high-profile international athletes away from the Jerome meet. The Jerome still remains important domestically as a developmental meet and training ground for athletes who can't afford to compete on the Diamond League circuit.
Brit Townsend, a two-time Olympian in the 800-metres, competed at the Jerome meet and now coaches at Simon Fraser University. She said the meet is a valuable stepping stone for Canadian Olympians.
"I've had athletes for the last 20 years that have run personal bests here, have achieved standards for different meets, have just seen what is possible running against athletes that are better than themselves," said Townsend.
In a city obsessed with its NHL hockey team, the Harry Jerome meet is a refreshing alternative. It's an event not consumed by its own self-importance. It has adapted with time but never lost its vision.
"We're not the Olympic Games," said Clement. "We're not ever going to be the Olympics Games.
"We think we are in the right niche. We think we are doing the right thing."
Jim Morris is a veteran reporter who has covered sports for 30 years. Reach him at [email protected]
