Perkins grad Clark places top-10 twice at short course worlds

Perkins High School graduate Charlie Clark took his distance swimming prowess to the other side of the world last week. Clark competed for Team USA at the short course (25m) World Championships in Melbourne, Australia. He finished in the top-10 in the two longest races of the competition, 1500 meters and 800 meters. The finals of the 1500 took place on Dec. 12, and Clark placed seventh. He swam 14:33.93. He was the highest-placing American, just ahead of David Johnston in eighth. The 800m final took place Dec. 16, and Clark came in eighth with a time of 7:37.54. Johnston beat Clark in the 800, coming in fifth. This marked the second world championship event Clark represented the United States in this year. He had already raced in the 2022 FINA World Championships in Budapest, Hungary in the summer, which were swum in Olympic length pools (50m). Clark is currently a junior at Ohio State. He has twice earned All-American honors already as an eighth-place finisher in the 1650-yard freestyle at the NCAA Championships. The Buckeyes hosted a fall invitational in late November in which Clark won the 1650 free. Their first scheduled meet of the winter competition season comes after the semester break in Tuscaloosa, Alabama.