Standing at 6-feet-4 inches tall with a body like a semitruck, redshirt sophomore thrower Jordan Clarke looks to have been built to withstand a cold winter or two.
He had more than his fair share of freezing temperatures growing up in Alaska, so he took his talents to the desert and the ASU track and field team.
Clarke looks to somehow improve on last year’s All-American season with a great start as the Sun Devils open their track schedule this weekend in New Mexico.
The State Press: We’re going to start all the way back at the beginning. You were born in Anchorage, Alaska. What’s it like living in Anchorage compared to living in Tempe?
Jordan Clarke: Much, much colder. Back home it’s about 10 degrees and here it’s about 70. So, there’s quite a big difference. There’s a lot less stuff to do. So, when you’re a kid, you just have to make your fun, or go out and do random stuff. Here there is a lot more stuff to do.
SP: Did you have to ride a snowmobile to school?
JC: Actually, sled dogs. Nah, I’m just kidding. We just drove.
SP: Could you see Russia from your house?
JC: I could. As (Sarah) Palin would say, it was only about 1,000 miles from where I lived.
SP: Guys on the team call you a little bit of a jokester. You like to play around, like this last exchange. Is that Jordan?
JC: Yeah, pretty much. My dad is a bit of a jokester. So, I think that when you’re doing work, you have to have fun some of the time. You have to joke about stuff sometimes to make life a little more fun.
SP: What do you do for fun here in Tempe that you could never do back home?
JC: Be outside in January for more than 30 minutes (laughs).
SP: What were your general things for fun back home?
JC: Snowball fights — more like ice balls. That can be dangerous, but still fun.
SP: What brought you to ASU from Alaska?
JC: The biggest thing was the coaching. My throws coach is really good and he knows exactly what he’s doing. The second thing was I wanted a climate that was completely different, and with Arizona you get it. The winters here are more like early summers back home. Winters here are wonderful.
SP: Your major last year was listed as being “exploratory,” have you changed that?
JC: I changed it just about a year ago. I’m doing a [Bachelor of Applied Science] and focusing on nutrition management and exercise wellness.
SP: Do you want to be the next Richard Simmons?
JC: Totally, just without the hair (laughs).
SP: What’s the most interesting thing about you?
JC: Most interesting thing … Huh. I don’t know. It would probably be hard to explain, and probably wouldn’t be appropriate. I don’t know. If you talk to me for five minutes and hang out with me on the weekends, you’d get to know me pretty quickly. I’m easy going and down to earth.
SP: Last year, your throwing teammates had an Alaskan or Inuit nickname for you. What was that?
JC: Oh yeah, “Muktuk.”
SP: What does that mean?
JC: Well to the natives back home, it’s a cultural dish, but it’s basically disgusting. It’s eating whale or seal blubber, which is pure fat.
SP: That sounds just delicious.
JC: Absolutely (laughs).
SP: Have you ever had it?
JC: My mom has had it, and she’s one of the least picky people I know, and she could barely stomach it. So, I would not want to even just try it. I’ve seen it, and it looks disgusting.
Reach the reporter at zcavanag@asu.edu
