Jackson has 2012 Olympics in her sights

An exclusive interview by Heather Holt




21 year old Emma Jackson from Stoke-On-Trent, who has claimed Silver in the Junior World Games and clocked a personal best of 2.01.95 in the 800m, discusses her amazing athletic career and her dream place in the London 2012 Olympic Games.

"At the age of 9 I began running simply for enjoyment. After a while, my dad (Neil Jackson) entered me into local league races to purely see how I did. To my surprise I found myself winning them. At the age of 11 I decided to join City Of Stoke AC where I could be coached by a professional middle distance coach… that's where it all started".

Any hobby that you may be interested in requires both time and effort to be successful. Emma describes her usual training regime as being "tough but effective." "Training is pretty intense. I train too often (she laughs). On a serious note, I usually train twice a day on Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday. On Saturdays and Sunday's I train once." "My training sessions entail an hours run or a gym session in the morning. Then in the evening I will do a 4 mile tempo run or training at City of Stoke where my coach Alan will set me a session where he will time me. A typical session would be 10x 400m reps with between 60 and 90 seconds recovery."

Any athlete wishing to pursue a successful career has to ensure they have a good quality coach that understands each individual's personal needs so that training sessions are tailored to be effective. "I have a fantastic coach called Alan Morris. I have been training with him for over 10 years now and he is absolutely brilliant. He has always been extremely supportive of me and dedicates a substantial amount of time to all of his girls".

As the saying goes hard work pays off, that is certainly the case for Emma who has recorded some remarkable achievements. "I have won silver in the World European Championships for 800m. At the same time I clocked the fastest time in the world for a junior - 2.01.95, (this remains my personal best). Additionally, in the under 23 European Championships I finished 5th place in 800m." "When I was younger I also achieved a gold medal (800m) in the English Schools Athletic Championships in 2006. I have also claimed gold in the AAA's Championships three times"

Jackson then went on to explain what she felt had been her biggest achievement so far in her career. "I'd say that finishing 5th place in the U23 Europeans is probably my biggest achievement so far. At the time I hadn't a very good year if I'm honest. My training was affected through injury and after, I generally couldn't seem to produce anything special." "As a result, my confidence was on an all time low and I went into the race blind so to speak. Firstly I couldn't believe that I had made the final; to me this was an achievement in itself. When I looked at the rest of the competition I saw that I was ranked 8th and therefore didn't expect to finish anywhere near." "At the end of the race I found myself in 5th position and had clocked 2.02 which is marginally outside my personal best so I was extremely pleased with that performance".

With any sport there comes an element of pressure, whether it is from the individual themselves or an outsider that puts pressure on. With athletics this is no different as Jackson goes on to describe. "Yes, I do feel pressure like everyone else but if I'm honest I put the pressure on myself rather than anyone else putting it on me. I just want to do well in the sport and I try my hardest to fulfil that."

"I used to be sponsored by Nike and UKA athletics. However they decided to discontinue my funding, this left me very disappointed. My bad season had already left me with little confidence and by stopping my funding; it appeared that my sponsors had little faith in me too. I have overcome this setback now, and if anything it has made me more determined to become a better athlete".

Most sporting stars begin there career with an inspiration, someone that they aspire to be like. "My main inspiration has to be Dame Kelly Holmes. She has achieved so much in her career and I aim to do the same. I have met her and she is a really nice person too".

Lifestyle is a vital role in becoming successful in athletics. Finding the right balance can be tricky as Emma describes. "I have to make sure I'm eating at certain times and that I have always got a drink with me to prevent dehydration. Also I'm not allowed things such as alcohol and I have to watch what I am eating." "I still go out with my friends and socialise because it is important that I keep the right balance between my athletic career and social life, otherwise I think I'd end up hating the sport if it started to take over my life".

When you set yourself to do something there always has to be that ultimate ambition that you strive to achieve. "My absolute ambition would be to get a Great Britain Vest for the 800m in the 2012 London Olympics. This would be absolutely fantastic and would top off the start of my athletic career". 

Interview copyright of Heather Holt December 2009