OLYMPIC gold medallist Joe Clarke has revealed he could have been blinded in both eyes at the age of 15.
The GB kayaker fell seriously ill and was diagnosed with an abscess behind his eye and secondary meningitis.
But Clarke, who won GB’s second gold of the games in Rio in the men’s K1 canoe slalom, retained his sight thanks to the quickfire vision of doctors.
Clarke, 23, said: “In 2008 I was in good form and looking to push on with my canoeing. But I started getting headaches and they only got worse. I went to see the doctor and I was given tablets and told I would be fine. But the headaches didn’t settle down.
“I went to hospital and I was told I needed an operation. I was lying there and the doctor said he needed to get me into theatre as soon as possible.
“If there had been any further delay I could have been blinded in one if not both of my eyes.
“As an athlete I have quite a high pain threshold and the pain went on longer than it should have. I was being naive.
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“I have to thank the doctors. They are the unsung heroes. They just get on with their jobs to help people and don’t get enough praise for it. They did a fantastic job for me. I was distraught at the time but it put it all into perspective. There’s more to life than sport. I still have 20/20 vision and things have worked out in the end. You obviously need your sight for canoeing. Things happen for a reason and maybe it was fate.”
Clarke made a full recovery and ended top of the podium in Brazil last month which has changed his lifestyle into a celebrity.
Half of the 16,000 population of Stone turned out to honour the paddler on his return to Staffordshire, he received personal messages from Sirs Steve Redgrave and Matthew Pinsent and got an invite to attend the prestigious GQ Awards in London on Tuesday night.
But Clarke is excited about Stoke’s offer to visit his boyhood club, meet the players and go on the pitch at the home game against West Brom on September 24.
Clarke added: “It should be a great day and it’s a really nice touch from the club. They are my home club and I’ve supported them since I was a kid.
“I’m looking forward to meeting the players. Jack Butland is a really nice guy. He tweeted me after I won gold and said ‘Well done’.
“Then fans were onto Stoke saying ‘Get him on the pitch’ and within minutes they messaged me asking about my availability. Tony Pulis will be back at the club too so hopefully I get a better reception than him!
“I’ve been getting the gist of being an Olympic champion and it is strange getting noticed in the street. People come up and say, ‘Are you that canoeist?’ which is nice. Canoeing is a niche sport but that’s what the Olympics is all about. It has been mind blowing.”
After some down time, Clarke has his sights on defending his title in Tokyo in 2020 and even returned to the gym last week!
Clarke said; “I was aching but I couldn’t resist going to the gym. I love training - it’s what I live for. I have to enjoy the medal because it is so hard to come by and I’ll prob be training casually until November but my motivation is even higher now.
“I don’t do it for the money or fame - I do it for the love of the sport. Rio was the best month of my entire life. It was amazing and I need that in my life again. Four years is a long time away but I want gold again. Definitely.”
You can watch Joe Clarke’s latest film ‘Into the Wild’ at RedBull.com
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