Australian athletes Michael Roeger (left) and Jaryd Clifford after the medal presentations for the marathon at the Tokyo 2020 (2021) Paralympics. Roeger finished 6th in the T46 class and Clifford finished second in the T12 class.Australian vision impaired athletes Sam Harding (left) and Jaryd Clifford after their 1500m race at the Tokyo 2020 (2021) Paralympic Games
Clifford is classified as aT12 athlete. In 2014, Clifford came 4th in the 3000m at the Australian All Schools Championships. He competed at the2015 IPC Athletics World Championships inDoha and came 7th in the T12/13 3000m. In January 2016, his time of 3min 59.6s in the 1500m qualified him for the2016 Rio Paralympics and he took 10 seconds off the Australian record for T12 athletes. The record had lasted for more than 30 years.[7]
At the2016 Rio Paralympics, he finished seventh in both the Men's 1500m T13 and Men's 5000m T13 events.[8]
At the2017 World Para Athletics Championships inLondon,England, Clifford won the bronze medal in the Men's 1500m T13 in a time of 3:53.31. Clifford credited his altitude training and European racing with assisting him in winning a medal.[9]
At the Sydney Grand Prix on 18 March 2018, Clifford broke the Men's 1500m T12 world record with a time of 3:45.18. He lowered the previous world record of 3:48.31 set by Tunisia'sAbderrahim Zhiou at the2012 London Paralympics.[10]
At the2019 World Para Athletics Championships inDubai, Clifford set a world record time of 3:47.78 in winning the gold medal in the Men's 1500m T13.[11] Clifford with his two guides Tim Logan and Philo Saunders won the Men's 5000m T13. Clifford stated he needs guides for the 5000m due to his deteriorating eyesight making the event dangerous for him.[12]
In 2018, Clifford is a member of the Diamond Valley Athletic Club andVictorian Institute of Sport scholarship holder.[13] In 2020, Jaryd made a permanent move to Canberra.
In his first marathon on 25 April 2021, Clifford ran 2:19:08 to break the existing world record of 2:21:33.[14]
His guides at the2024 Paris Paralympics were Tim Logan andMatthew Clarke. He finished fourth in the Men's 1500 T13 with a season's best 3:44.95. In the Men's 5000 T13, he crossed the line in third place but was disqualified after dropping the tether to Matthew Clarke just near the finish line.[18][19] At the2025 World Para Athletics Championships in New Delhi, he won the bronze medal in Men's 1500m T13 and finished fifth in the Men's 5000M T13.[20]
His philosophy is "Not everything that is faced can be changed, but nothing can be changed until it is faced".[13]
