Clement was born in
Port of Spain,
Trinidad and Tobago. His family moved to the United States in 1998, where he became a successful high school athlete at
La Porte High School in
La Porte,
Texas. He won both 110 and
400-meter hurdles at the
USATF Youth Athletics Championships. He also won the (high school) National Scholastic Championship in the 110-meter high hurdles in 2002, and finished fifth in that same event his senior year in 2003. He won the 400-meter hurdles at the 2003 National Scholastic meet.[6]
Clement accepted an athletic scholarship to attend the
University of Florida in Gainesville, Florida, where he ran for coach
Mike Holloway's
Florida Gators track and field team in
National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) competition in 2004 and 2005.[7] At the end of his freshman year in 2004, he won the NCAA outdoor championships in the 400-meter hurdles (a feat he would repeat in 2005). Clement became a U.S. citizen in June 2004 and was eligible to compete for a spot on the U.S. Olympic team, but instead opted to skip the Olympic Trials in favor of competing at the
2004 World Junior Championships in Athletics. At the World Junior Championships in July, he won the gold medal in the 400-meter hurdles in a championship record time of 48.51 seconds.[5] Clement also ran a leg for the American
4x400-meter relay team and set a
world junior record of 3:01.09.
On March 12, 2005, representing the University of Florida, he broke the indoor world record for the 400-meter sprint at the NCAA indoor championships in
Randal Tyson Track Center in
Fayetteville, Arkansas with a time of 44.57 seconds. His split at 200-meter was 21.08 seconds. The record was held for ten years previously by
Michael Johnson at 44.63 seconds. Afterwards, Clement anchored Florida's 4x400-meter indoor relay to a time of 3:03.51.[8]
Clement set a personal best and 2005 world leading performance in the 400-meter hurdles with a 47.24 seconds, winning the
2005 USA Outdoor Track and Field Championships title at
Carson, California. This was the fastest time posted for the 400-meter hurdles in seven years. He opted to turn professional in the summer of 2005 and, while he no longer represented the University of Florida he continued to live and train in Gainesville. Clement faded during the
2005 World Championships in Athletics in
Helsinki, Finland and missed out on the medals, finishing fourth. He represented the United States at the
2006 IAAF World Cup and won the hurdles title ahead of
South AfricanL. J. van Zyl.
Clement earned a gold medal in the 400-meter hurdles at the
2007 World Championship in
Osaka. His time of 47.61 seconds was a season's best, and he was ranked the number 1 400-meter hurdler in the world.[9] In the fall of 2007, he decided to leave Gainesville, and moved to California to train under legendary track coach
Bob Kersee to prepare for the 2008 Olympics in Beijing.[9]
Clement qualified in the 400-meter hurdles for the 2008 Summer Olympics on June 29, 2008, at the Olympic Trials in Eugene, Oregon.[10] Clement advanced to the final where he was a slight favourite over compatriot
Angelo Taylor, but Taylor ran a personal best time to win the gold medal. Clement came second for silver, and later won a gold medal in the 4x400-meter relay despite not racing in the final. He closed the year on the top of the podium with a gold medal at the
2008 IAAF World Athletics Final.
In 2011 he started off the outdoor season well, running a 48.74 on May 7, but he failed to improve on that time the rest of the year. As the two-time defending champion, Clement received an automatic entry to the 13th IAAF World Championships in Daegu, South Korea, but his time of 52.11 on 30 August was not good enough to advance to the finals.
All information from IAAF profile. Last updated October 15, 2008
Personal life
On October 11, 2019, during the annual
National Coming Out Day (USA), Clement
came out as gay during a
Nike event, saying "It's who I am and it's what made me become the athlete I am today."[13][14][15] He had struggled with his sexuality since his teens and decided it was time "to be free."[16][17]