The Gladiator Called Storm Survived a Torn ACL, Then Homelessness, Then Told People About It

Caption: The American Gladiators logo. Credit: via Wikimedia Commons.

August 24

Debbie Clark, who competed as Storm on American Gladiators, died on August 24 at her home in Boston. She was 61. Her family said the cause was cardiac arrest following a pacemaker failure. Her son Crayton said she died in his arms while they waited for paramedics, and her brother Steven also confirmed the death.

She Was an Elite Athlete Before Television Found Her

Clark was an All-American track athlete at the University of Nebraska and competed in the United States Olympic handball program. She held MVP honors in basketball and soccer. That is a genuinely rare athletic profile, and it is the reason she could step into a national television competition in 1991, as a replacement for an injured Gold, and immediately dominate.

Her events were Powerball and Joust, both of which reward exactly the mix of speed, contact tolerance and balance she had spent a decade building.

Two Years, Then a Knee

Her run ended in 1993 with a torn ACL sustained during a Powerball event in Hartford. The injury permanently affected her mobility. She was 28.

American Gladiators paid its competitors as performers, not as professional athletes with guaranteed contracts, and an injury that ends the work ends the income with it.

What Came Next, and Why She Talked About It

Clark later survived domestic violence and a period of homelessness. She spoke about both publicly, and became an advocate for other survivors. She also earned degrees in psychology and culinary arts.

The advocacy is the part that changes how the earlier chapters read. A national television athlete who is later homeless is a story about how fast a life can come apart. A national television athlete who is later homeless, comes back, gets two degrees and then spends years telling other survivors how she did it is a different story, and it is the one her family is describing.

The Way It Ended

She was at home with her son when her heart stopped. Her family’s account of a pacemaker failure is theirs and has not been confirmed by a medical examiner. What is not in question is who was in the room, which is what her family chose to say first.

References: ‘American Gladiators’ Star Dies at 61 | ‘American Gladiators’ Star Debbie ‘Storm’ Clark Dead at 61, Family Says Pacemaker Failed | ‘American Gladiators’ star Debbie Clark, known as Storm, dies at 61