\n<\/p>\n
With this year “pretty much a write off” due to another major injury, Zoey Clark admits her chances of competing at Glasgow 2026 are slim but is not ready to give up on a home Commonwealth Games.<\/b><\/p>\n
The 30-year-old relay specialist from Aberdeen had been working her way back from a prolapsed disc sustained at the start of 2023 only to suffer an anterior cruciate ligament tear while training.<\/p>\n
“I am not going to lie, it is a big setback for me,” said Clark, who has 4x400m medals at World, European and Commonwealth level.<\/p>\n
“My recovery was still slow progress but I was going in the right direction so I had full confidence that I would at least be at a level to contend for Commonwealth Games spots next year.<\/p>\n
“I don’t want to completely discount it but I definitely don’t want to put that as the main goal that I must achieve because I know it’s unlikely, so I just need to see how I get on between now and the qualification period closing.<\/p>\n
“This season is pretty much a write off for me. I just need to maybe make my goals a bit smaller and just think about getting myself functional and not put too much performance goal pressure on it.”<\/p>\n
Clark, who ran at the delayed 2020 Olympics, has been advised she can do without knee surgery, making her “really fortunate”.<\/p>\n
She added: “If I was in another sport , like football, where there is a lot of changing direction, I think I would be doomed potentially, but I am feeling quite optimistic about the recovery approach we are taking.”<\/p>\n
If Glasgow 2026 proves out of reach, Clark can look to the next Olympics as a source of motivation.<\/p>\n
“I am not quite ready to give up and I certainly don’t want to go out on these sort of terms,” she said. “[Retirement] has come into my head but not seriously because I am not finished with the sport.<\/p>\n
“LA in 2028, I had my eyes on that. I definitely had full intensions to stay within the sport up until that year at least.<\/p>\n
“I don’t know what this recovery path is going to look like, everything is up in the air, but that was definitely my long-term aspiration before this setback.”<\/p>\n<\/div>\n