Story by: Atma Maharaj (Athletics Fiji 02/07/2025)
Triple Pacific Games gold medalist Yeshnil Karan has used the lead-up to the 2025 Mini Games in Palau to sharpen his skills and prepare for the next phase of his athletic career. Tapping into a strong Fiji connection, Karan has just completed an intensive specialist steeplechase training block in Adelaide, South Australia, working alongside some of Oceania’s top middle-distance athletes.
He trained under the guidance of three-time Australian Champion and Olympic steeplechaser Matthew Clarke. The opportunity emerged through Clarke’s Fijian heritage, his maternal grandmother was born in Fiji, and he remains closely connected to his extended family there. “I still have a lot of family over there, including many of my mum’s cousins. It’s a place I visit regularly and where my wife and I went for our honeymoon,” said Clarke. Yeshnil was introduced to Matthew at the 2024 Oceania Championships in Fiji by retired CEO of FASANOC Lorraine Mar, a cousin of Clarke’s mother.
“Training with Matthew has been an eye-opener for me,” said Yeshnil. “I’ve made big improvements in my hurdling drills and running form, and most workouts have included running over hurdles. That’s a completely different approach for me—as before this, I had only done two hurdle sessions, each just before my only two steeplechase races.”
This opportunity to train with Matthew came out of nowhere and it was too good an opportunity to pass up,” said Karan. I am very grateful to Matthew and his wife Annie for letting me stay with them for the past three weeks and train alongside him. This training camp has really improved my approach to steeplechase training and racing and I hope to use this to improve my times, over the coming years.
Yeshnil has been training alongside a group of elite Australian and New Zealand distance runners, something that has not happened in a long time.
Karan’s trip to Adelaide focused heavily on racing technical development in the 3,000m steeplechase. Although the steeplechase will not be contested at the 2025 Pacific Mini Games in Palau due to the absence of a water jump facility at the competition venue, Karan wishes to make the 3,000m Steeplechase his pet event for future competitions.
Clarke has been impressed with what he’s seen so far.
“Yeshnil has integrated well into our high-performance squad. He is very adaptable and focused.” Clarke noted. “He has all the fundamentals of exceeding in Steeplechase. Now, it’s about surrounding himself with experience and making consistent, disciplined choices to unlock that next level.”
The training exercise has also highlighted the growing sense of regional collaboration.
“It’s been like a mini-Oceania training camp at home,” Clarke joked. “Having a Fijian and a leading New Zealand athlete staying with us has lifted the energy. It’s a healthy sign for our region, elite athletes training together, sharing knowledge and raising the athletic standard.”
For Karan, this is more than just a training block. With his wife recently giving birth to their second child and sacrifices made to be away from family, every step is focused on building a future for him, his family and distance running in the Pacific. Yeshnil will travel to Palau on Saturday and join Team Fiji’s athletics team that has established and rising stars in the sport.