SALINAS – An interview with CNN is slated for Saturday. TMZ has also reached out to Clara Adams. Fox News in New York interviewed the North Salinas high school sprinter Wednesday. And former NFL all-pro defensive back Pac Man Jones spoke with her on Thursday.
Humbled by all the attention and support she has received since being stripped of her California Interscholastic Federation state track and field 400-meter title on Saturday, Adams said Thursday she just wants her title reinstated.
“This attention has helped me, has exposed me as an athlete,” Adams said. “But at the same time, I’d love to get my title back. If I had known a celebration with my dad would get me disqualified, I wouldn’t have done it.”
Almost immediately after winning Saturday’s race in Clovis, Adams took a fire extinguisher from her father, took off her shoes and celebrated by spraying them, the gesture indicating that she had run so fast her shoes had caught fire. Officials immediately disqualified her for unsportsmanlike conduct, taking away her title and a chance to compete in the 200, where she was one of the favorites. The story has been picked up by news outlets all over the world.
North Salinas’ Clara Adams reacts with tears after she was disqualified for “unsportsmanlike behavior” — celebrating by setting off a fire extinguisher in the infield after winning the Girls 400 Meter Dash during the CIF State Track and Field Championships on Friday at Buchanan High in Clovis on Saturday, May 31, 2025. (Photo by Terry Pierson, The Press-Enterprise/SCNG)
“A $24.99 fire extinguisher has changed her life,” said David Adams, her father. “Honestly, Clara would trade all of this for the title. She was left in a dark hole. I wish things could just go back to normal.”
It’s been far from normal for Adams since the incident, as she has received support from everyone from Speaker of the California State Assembly to former 100-meter world record holder Maurice Greene – who did the same celebration 21 years ago at the US Olympic Trials.
According to the family, during a phone conversation Thursday, PacMan Jones, a former all-pro for the Cincinnati Bengals and the host of the Poliety Raw Show, offered the 16-year-old up to $2,000 for every personal record she sets in an “NIL” deal, which refers to the use of an athlete’s name, image and likeness for commercial purposes.
“It’s opened my eyes to see how much people support me,” the younger Adams said. “It’s global now. It makes me feel better about the situation. I knew my community would have my back. I didn’t know it would blow up globally.”
While the CIF has refused to offer an explanation or return repeated calls to comment on the incident, the story continues to evolve.
David Adams has video of a female sprinter in France doing the same act two days after his daughter’s infamous celebration.
“I’m taking full responsibility for the fire extinguisher,” David Adams said. “I brought it. If you want to be mad, be mad at me. But don’t take it out on Clara. When you’re guilty, you hide. I’m not hiding. Clara isn’t hiding.”
What David Adams also wants from the CIF is answers to why an official, according to him, grabbed his daughter’s arm and yelled at her after she extinguished her shoes.
North Salinas’ Clara Adams celebrates by setting off a fire extinguisher in the infield after winning the Girls 400 Meter Dash during the CIF State Track and Field Championships on Friday at Buchanan High in Clovis on Saturday, May 31, 2025. (Photo by Terry Pierson, The Press-Enterprise/SCNG)
“An official grabbed my arm, screamed at me and eventually let go,” Clara Adams said. “That’s when my dad jumped the fence (from the grandstands). The Clovis police came and asked my dad what was going on. No one seems to know where that official went.”
“You don’t touch another person’s child,” David Adams said. “She’s a child. I asked the police officer ‘do you have a daughter?’ He backed off. There’s been no apology. We’re looking into a lawsuit.”
An assistant track coach at North Salinas, David Adams said he had a meeting with Salinas Union High School District Superintendent Zandra Jo Galvan this week, where the district put together a letter to send to the CIF.
“Dr. Galvan wanted me to see the statement before it was put out to the CIF,” Adams said. “It was supportive. I just told them I can’t let this go.”
Nearly a week after the incident, Clara Adams is still having a hard time believing her celebration warranted being stripped of her 400 title and disqualified from running the 200 later that evening – a race she can’t get back.
“Yes, it’s still hard to believe this happened,” Clara Adams said. “I worked so hard for that moment — my whole life. I have never been disrespectful to my opponents. That was never my intent. It was supposed to be a moment between my dad and I.”