As Wendy Clarke, she first came to prominence at the age of 17 in 1975, when she won two medals at the European Junior Championships in Athens.

In 1976, she competed in the sprint relay at the Montreal Olympics, running the first leg for the British quartet that finished eighth in the final.

[3] At the European Championships in Athens she reached the 100 m final, placing eighth, then won a silver medal as part of the British 4 × 100 m relay quartet, along with Kathy Smallwood, Bev Callender and Shirley Thomas.

At the Commonwealth Games in Brisbane, representing England, she finished fifth in the 100 m final and won a gold medal in the relay, along with Smallwood, Callender and Sonia Lannaman.

She is married to Les Hoyte, also a leading sprinter (brother of Trevor Hoyte, 1978 Commonwealth 200 m finalist), and is the mother of footballers Justin, a former England U21 and Trinidad & Tobago international, and Gavin, who plays for Maidstone United and was an England U19 international.