Imagine stepping away from competition for 25 years–only to win in your first race back. Four-time Olympian Joetta Clark Diggs, mother of professional Adidas sprinter and world champion Talitha Diggs, made a remarkable comeback at the USATF Masters Indoor Championships in Gainesville, Fla., over the weekend, racing for the first time in a quarter of a century. The 62-year-old clocked 28.62s over 200m, smashing the American record for the 60-64 age category.
FIRST RACE IN 25 YEARS 🥹🙌
4x Olympian Joetta Clark Diggs 🇺🇸 laced up her spikes for the first time in over two decades at the USATF Masters Indoor Championships this past weekend, clocking a 200m American record of 28.62s in the 60-64 age category!!!
Her daughter Talitha was… pic.twitter.com/KgMmVL9Ou9
— Owen (@_OwenM_) February 24, 2025
Clark Diggs claimed the national title by a 0.16-second margin; the silver and bronze medallists also snuck under the former record of 28.88 seconds. The former 800m runner, previously known as Joetta Clark, hadn’t competed since the Sydney Olympic Games in 2000, where she was named captain of the U.S. Olympic Track & Field team.
Diggs ran to embrace her mother after the performance, and later shared a heartfelt post on Instagram. “My mom is amazing and is your new 200m American Masters Record Holder,” she wrote. “She ran 28.62 in the 200m at 62 years old, and this was her first race in 25 years. Plus, this was my first time watching her compete–and it was incredible. I am so so so so proud of my momma Jo.” The 22-year-old is a two-time 400m NCAA champion for the University of Florida and earned gold at the 2022 World Championships in Oregon in the 4x400m relay.
An incredible career
The 800m specialist, a two-time world indoor championships bronze medallist, boasts a personal best of 1:57.84, and achieved her highest Olympic finish at the 1992 Games in Barcelona, where she placed seventh. Greatness clearly runs in the family; at her final Games, Clark Diggs competed alongside her sister Hazel Clark and sister-in-law Jearl Miles-Clark, who once held the American record of 1:56.40. Clark Diggs retired from competition at 37.
