She has been a Skeleton athlete for less than nine years however, Hallie Clarke of Brighton appears to be a quick learner.
Clarke was announced last week as one of Bobsleigh Canada Skeleton and the Canadian Olympic Committee’s members for next month’s Olympic games in Italy.
On Friday, Clarke spoke to Quinte News about her quick transition to the sport, beginning at age 14.
“You know I say there’s a fine line between brave and stupidity and at 14, it comes forward. I loved it honest. My first run down the actual track I crashed, so it wasn’t exactly a love at first slide, but I definitely did love that adrenaline rush.”
She says the push to high level athletics did not come by fluke.
“My mom was a national level figure skater in Canada, and my dad was a hockey player, who played NCAA Division 1. He was drafted to the Leafs (Toronto).”
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Canada’s skeleton team is announced for the Olympics in Calgary on January 21, 2026. Hallie Clarke of Brighton (r) greets two fans. (Photo: Dave Holland/COC)
The support system was in place at an early age and Clarke says it makes a major difference.
“First and fore most my parents. I wouldn’t have still been able to be in this sport at all. Initially there’s really not a lot of funding, so they put a lot on hold and sacrificed a lot for me to be able to chase this dream.”
She says her family, friends, teammates, and coaches are all part of that system as well.
Clarke left Brighton at an early age and trained in Alberta, going to high school directly across the road from the skeleton track.
“I’m trying not to put too much pressure or expectation on myself. I’m really going to be relying on the experience from world championships a few years ago. There was so much noise, especially after the first day, because we have two days of racing for major events, so I do think I am going to rely a lot on that experience. I’ve been talking to my teammate who has a lot more experience with this, going into her third Olympics. She has been helping me prepare. All of our coaches and support staff, sports psychologists, we’ve been working really hard on my mental game. I think it’s putting all of that together and trying my best not to get pulled into too much outside noise. ”
Although eight years is a lot of training, what goes by even more quickly is the short time during the games spent on the track.
“When you think about it like that, of how much time, how many years have been put into it, just to go down a track for less than a minute. The first two heats are on February 13th and then the third and fourth heats are on February 14th.”
She says it is a tight field.
“It truly is anyone’s game. The women’s field is one of the most competitive we’ve seen in a really long time. Almost every race there’s new people on the podium and top tens and it really does shuffle around quite a bit.”
The track has been built brand new for the Olympics.
She says a few hundredths of a second could be what decide places on the podium.
