Jo Jackson Exclusive Interview

Jo Jackson is an Olympic bronze medalist, picking up her medal in the 400m freestyle in Beijing back in 2008.

And while the Olympics may be eleven months away she admits that she is already excited at the prospect of swimming in front of a home crowd.

I caught up with her to talk about the new Get Active campaign that she is backing, this summer's world championships as well as looking ahead to 2012.

- You are working with Boots and the Get Active campaign so can you tell me a little bit about it?

Basically it’s to raise money for McMillan nurses and the cancer trust and I think it’s a great thing to be involved with because I have had friends who have lost family in the past - they had people working with them like the McMillan nurses.

Until I spoke to them I didn’t realise how they actually do and it is such a great cause and I am proud to be a part of it.

It’s also to get people more active, top athletes obviously do a lot of exercise but when you go out into the general public a lot of people don’t do exercise because they think it’s a bit boring and they don’t have time.

But if you sit down and speak to people they realise that they do have time to do it, even if it’s just walking to work of biking to work, and they understand how important it is and that it can affect your lifestyle is you are not fit and healthy.

Especially with Olympic coming up we want to get people active and get into sport and then they can hopefully get into the Olympics a bit more next year.

- You are very active yourself so what sort of advice would you give to someone who wants to get active but is not sure how or has limited time?

One of the main things is trying to do it with friends because a lot of people say that it is boring and they get bored while they are doing it - it could be as easy as going out for walk with friends if you have a free evening or a bike ride on a nice day.

There are so many classes out there that you can do and you just have to take it one step at a time as it’s not something that you get into straight away - you are not going to run twenty miles a day as soon as you do it you have to take it slow. Just start off by going out walking with friends and then progress to walking and jogging and then walking again before building up to more running or swimming.

Swimming is a great sport to do and it’s great for you as well, especially if you are a bit older as it’s not as hard on your muscles and your bones.

- So how did you get into the sport?

I got into sport because where I was from originally, I was from a really small town, there was nothing to do but there was a swimming pool and it’s one of the things that my mum and dad wanted me to do so I wasn’t afraid of water when I got older.

I just got into and carried, my sister was a swimmer as well so I kind of got for her; as the younger sister I wanted to be like her, and it took off from there really.

- And there will be plenty of youngsters who will be inspired by the swimming at next year’s Olympics so what advice would you give to them to get them into the sport?

Just enjoy it! When I use to look up to my idols and go on swim clinics as a young child and all the top athletes would say that you have just got to enjoy it at a young age and you don’t want to get to seriously into because by the time you get to 15/16 you have had enough of it.

So just go to the pool with some of you friends or join a club and go a couple of times of a week. But if you don’t enjoy swimming there are other sports that you can do like netball and athletics.

But with the Olympics coming next year it is a great time to get into sport and I really hope that Olympic will really inspire young people to try and go for the Games after or 2020, that’s nine years away so younger athletes can start now and be there in nine years time. 

- 2011 has been a struggle for yourself as you have battled with asthma so how would you sum up this year?

It has been a massive improvement for me, although it didn’t start off great and 2010 wasn’t that great for me. But I went to the worlds not swimming my main event, it’s not an event that I swim that often, but it was the quickest that I had been in it since 2009 so that was a massive stone for me.

I have changed lots of things and it has been a struggle but I think that a lot of athletes go through illness and injury but it is just so frustrating because we are quite stubborn and we want to train at our best and compete.

Next year is obviously the big one and I have defiantly improved so hopefully next year I can be back at my best and looking forward to the Olympic Games.

- As you say the worlds were a positive championships for you so how do you intend to build on that for next year?

I got a lot of confidence from the worlds and I didn’t have any problems with my asthma, which is the main one; when I was competing before I was having asthma attacks. Going to the worlds and finishing the event and not having an asthma attack was a massive step forward for me - and to go the quickest that I have been for a few years was fantastic for me.

You have just got to build on that; I have changed coaches since March so things have definitely picked up since I have been with my new coach.  Hopefully he can build on that as well and hopefully by next year we can have achieved a lot in the pool and be at my best for the Olympic trials and the Olympic Games.

- The 2012 Olympics are now less than 12 months away so how excited are you at the prospect of a home Games?

It is just fantastic, it’s just so exciting - we try not to think about it too much because I think that we all get a little bit too excited. It’s one of those things that never really happens to a lot of people and I think that we are just like ‘oh my god this might happen to us and we might the chance to experience it.

I am just going to enjoy every minute of it and it’s going to be fantastic for the sports people but also people who aren’t interested in spot - hopefully, because it is so big, it’s going to get people interested and more people watching us and it can be such a great thing for Great Britain.

- The world championships did see the British squad pick up some medals so how strong is the squad a year away from the Olympics?

I think we are just going from strength to strength we had great worlds this time and in 2008, the last Olympics, we all did really well and it’s a massive step forward for us and a massive positive. I think being a home Olympics it just brings so many positives it encourages us to get there and put on a show for the crowd.

 I think that we are going from strength to strength and we have a great team, the women always seem to do really well and hopefully we can improve on that as well.

There are plenty of youngsters coming up and there’s a lot of new people on the team this year and I think that they could make massive improvements as well.

- You swim 200m, 400m and 800m so have you thought yet at the events that you are going to specialise in next year?

I still haven’t decided yet, I would love to do the 400m because that is what I got my medal in last time and it’s my favourite event. I can definitely start upping my training now and that will definitely be good for the 400m.

I would love be a part of the 400m and the relay as well, the 4x200, I have been on that every year and it’s such a good event to do; I love standing behind the blocks with three other people to race with. So probably the 200m, 400m and the 4x200m I would love to do - but I would never say not the 800m.

- In Beijing you won a bronze in the 400m freestyle so what are your personal aims for 2012 Olympic Games?

Obviously I want to make the team first that… to us is the biggest thing to make the team once we are there we can think ‘oh my god we are here we can just swim our best now.

So the main thing to us is to make the team and once I get to the Olympics I would love to improve on what I did last time - I would never go into it saying that I want to win a gold a silver or a bronze; I always want to get personal bests with my times and if that gets me a medal then fantastic.

But I can’t control what people do, obviously I always aim to go there to get a medal but I always go to get personal best times as well. 

- And how would you sum up your Beijing Olympic experience when you look back on it now - and what can you take from that as you prepare for and compete in London?

It was absolutely fantastic! It was a great Games and it was great to get a medal but also to stand on the podium with Becky (Addling ton) it was such a fantastic moment because we go back such a long way.

We were both very proud of each other because I don’t think that we both expected it so it was just amazing.

You can take a lot from your last Olympic Games such as knowing what it’s going to be like and the experience - that is what I tend to do because I was at the Olympics in 2004 and I took a lot of experience into 2008 and that definitely helped. So hopefully I can do that next year and build on the experience and enjoy it.

- Have you been down to see the pool yet?

Not yet, but we are going in about a months time. I can’t wait I am just so excited, British Swimming are taking us down for a week’s training camp.

- Finally what's next for you?

We are just busy training at the moment and we have a couple of training camps abroad, which we are all looking forward to. Then we will be concentrating on the Olympic trials, which are in March, so we will have a few competitions before that - I think we are going to do a couple of World Cups in Europe. So it’s pretty much head down and get training for Olympic Trials.

FemaleFirst Helen Earnshaw