After winning the UK indoor title in Birmingham, the 26-year-old credits his fiancée Molly Caudery with helping to keep him in the sport.
Only three years ago Joel Clarke-Khan seemingly had the world at his feet. He equalled his PB of 2.27m at the London Diamond League and was looking forward to competing at his first Olympics in Paris the following year.
But the disappointment of not making the Paris Games led to him nearly quitting the sport. In fact if it wasn’t for the encouragement of his fiancée, pole vaulter Molly Caudery, he says he might simply have given up.
After taking a break from competition in 2025 – largely enforced by injury – he returned this month to win the UK indoor title. His mark of 2.19m took gold, although his best this season is 2.22m and he hopes to return to 2.27m shape, or better, this summer.
“It was a bit nerve wracking at the start,” he says. “I know I’m in good shape but I was nervous to be here and be back. I tried to make each jump a little better and when it came together it did so with the jump that won me the gold medal.
“So process wise I’m quite happy with my resilience and ability to keep building throughout. It wasn’t perfect but we got the job done.”
Clarke-Khan competed in all three major championships in 2022 – the World Championships in Eugene, Europeans in Munich and Commonwealths in Birmingham, placing fifth in the latter.
But he says in 2024 he lost his love for high jump and even took up long jump briefly, before breaking a bone in his foot long jumping, an incident that partly led to him returning to high jump.
“After missing out in Paris, mentally I wasn’t right,” the 26-year-old explains. “There was no love between high jump and myself. But I wanted to keep training so I actually started training for long jump in 2025 and doing similar training to high jump but with more of a speed focus.
“In May I actually fractured my foot doing long jump on the take-off foot and after that I thought ‘if I’m going to continue, let’s get this fixed’. I got a screw in it in August and transferred back to my old high jump coach (Deidre Elmhurst) and the process back has been so smooth. I didn’t even think I’d be doing indoors let alone winning titles like this.”
He adds: “I ruptured my patella tendon in 2018 so I’ve had my fair share of injuries. Molly has had a few injuries too but we’re in a household where we’re both athletes, supporting each other and keeping the belief alive.
“I’m happy I haven’t given up. Finally for the first time in a few years I feel like I’ve seen light at the end of the tunnel and I can go on and be better than I thought I could ever be.”
Has it been tough watching from the sidelines as Caudery, the 2024 world indoor champion, has consistently been vaulting at the highest level?
“In 2025 it was easier to follow her around the circuit because I was out of the sport myself,” he says. “But it was tough in 2024 because I was trying to make it myself whereas she was breaking the British record. But we’re all on different paths and she was so supportive and I have a feeling if I wasn’t with her I might have left the sport.”
Clarke-Khan is also back with his old coach, Deidre Elmhurst, who travels up to train with him a few times each week at his base in Loughborough.
“I think we’ve just clicked,” he added. “Everything we knew about each other before, the chemistry, it’s just working so well.
“Everything is a bonus right now and I’m so grateful,” he says. “I love my lifestyle and routine and people around me. Hopefully I can keep building and get myself back on to teams – that’s my ultimate goal.
“If I can get that call to be on a team – I don’t care where or when – it would mean so much to me to wear that kit again. It’’s been so long. I really want that and I believe I can do it.”