FOR the upcoming Olympic Games, super-heavyweight stalwart Frazer Clarke is the GB boxing team captain. The likeable big man from Burton has been at the heart of the squad for over 10 years. This is his third Olympic cycle and Tokyo will be his first Games.
After confirming his place at the qualifier in Paris last month, he will lead a quality team of 11 boxers to the delayed Tokyo Games. Joining Frazer are Cheavon Clarke (91kgs), Ben Whittaker (81kgs), Lauren Price (75kgs), Pat McCormack (69kgs), Luke McCormack (63kgs), Caroline Dubois (60kgs), Peter McGrail (57kgs), Karriss Artingstall (57kgs), Galal Yafai (52kgs) and Charley Davison (51kgs).
โFrazer has been a big part of the GB Boxing squad for more than a decade and was the outstanding candidate when it came to appointing a captain.ย He is always the loudest voice in the crowd supporting his teammates at tournaments and is liked and respected by all of his colleagues.ย He is a great ambassador for GB Boxing and embodies the ethos of the organisation which aims to develop and support the boxers, not just as athletes, but also as people,โ said GB Boxing performance director Rob McCracken.
He’s had so many tournaments for GB over the years but this will his last. โI want to do well for me, I want to do well for my country and my family and my town. The super-heavyweight division, it is a great division, everyone likes the big lads. Iโm going to go out there with a smile on my face. Iโm already living the dream representing Great Britain. Iโm already in an elite group being an Olympian but I want to be in the elite-elite group with that medal. My picture on the wall in Sheffield,โ he reflected. โWithout sounding too cheesy I hope my performances can lift the nation. Weโve had a terrible time recently, I think sportโs the way to put a smile back on peopleโs faces. If weโre doing well and Iโm doing it with a smile on my face, people can see where Iโve come from. Hopefully it can inspire people.โ
The whole squad contains veteran medal winners. โI want more for me, I want more for the rest of my team as well,โ Clarke said. โWhen I sit back and look at what Iโve done, itโs a recipe for success. I donโt see how anything else is possible. I think definitely believing in myself, knowing Iโve done the work and ultimately just knowing that youโre here for a reason. Youโre here because you deserve to be here, thatโs going to do a lot for me.
โMy legacy is someone that will never give up, definitely. Worked hard and did it all with a smile on his face. With good will in my heart. I want to be known as the guy that worked hard and got success but also passed on good feeling to my team mates. I want my team mates to do well. I want them to go on and excel. As much as itโs an individual sport, we are a team, weโre one team. Just like the whole of GB. I want us as a nation to do well. If I can help anyone even one percent then I will be there.โ
This is a squad of tremendous potential. โIโve seen two Olympic squads, Iโve seen the way people peak, the way people train and I think weโre in a great position,โ Frazer said. โThese are people to be reckoned with, a force in amateur boxing right now.
โI think we are in the best position of the two squads that Iโve seen [before] personally.โ
Bear in mind those squads included Olympic luminaries such as Anthony Joshua, Nicola Adams and Luke Campbell, among others, that is saying something.
Team GB Chef de Mission for the Tokyo Olympic Games, Mark England said, โThere is huge amount of strength and talent among the boxers selected to Team GB for the Tokyo Olympic Games and their impressive performances in Paris demonstrate how deserving they all are of their selection.
โAs a sport that has delivered so many exciting, medal winning performances at the Olympic Games, there is no doubt that Tokyo will be a very special opportunity for these athletes to write their own piece of Team GB history.โ
The boxing tournament at the Tokyo Olympics begins on Saturday. Read the full preview in Boxing News this week