Emma Jackson is at 23 yo one of the most talented runner of the ITU field and a Key Athlete for the Australian Team. She claimed the U23 World Title in 2010 and and ranked 8th at London Olympics, she also had 2 podiums on the WTS in 2014.
After a late and hesitant start of the season, she is currently running after her qualification to her second Olympics. Rio Test Event next week is for her the perfect occasion to show her competitors she is back on the game.
For us, she comes back on her performance in Hamburg last week, on her view to the WTS women races dynamic and on her objectives for the future.
Emma, what do you think about your individual performance last Saturday in Hamburg? Can you tell us how you lived the race from the inside?
I was pretty disappointed with my performance in the individual race last week in Hamburg. I made a lot of mistakes during the race and didn’t execute it as well as I hoped I would. I had a very average swim that meant I was in the chase pack during the bike leg. Unfortunately I didn’t ride too well in the pack, especially around the corners, which saw me sprinting a lot out of every corner, and this is something I have been working on in training yet struggling to do well in races. My run was ok and I was able to catch some girls from the lead pack to finish 19th.
Last year you were on the podium, you must be a bit disappointed?
Yes last year I had a great race in Hamburg so it was disappointing not to repeat it this year. I would of loved to have been back on the podium but with the slow start to the year due to injury I am just happy to be back out there racing at the moment.
You also claimed the podium in the team mixed relay with the Aussie Team (Gillian Backhouse, Aaron Royle and Ryan Baillie). You were already Bronze Medalist in Glasgow at the team mixed relay. Is it kind of races you particulary like? Was this race a proper objective for you and you teammates? What is essential to you to succeed in the team relay? Do you think strategy is a big part of it ?
The team relay is always a fun event and last year I was lucky enough to race in the relay in Hamburg and at Glasgow. We finished 4th in Hamburg last year, just missing the podium so it was great to finish 3rd in Glasgow the following week and become a Commonwealth Games medalist. I do enjoy the relay format a lot as it is very short and fast which makes it exciting, plus triathlon is more of an individual sport so it is always nice to race with fellow team mates and all try and aim towards the podium together.
Going into the relay this year we were aiming to finish on the podium as we thought our team was good enough to do that, and luckily we were right. Strategy does come into play in the relay I think as sometimes it all comes down to what order you put the athletes in. If teams get the order wrong then they can be behind and not in the race for podium positions after the first or second athlete. My team mates did a great job in Hamburg to be up the front in the first two legs so I didn’t have to chase from behind.
You have been injured this winter, which happens to many high performance athlete. How did you manage to go over it? Where do you situate your performing level today?
Unfortunately I sustained a stress fracture in January which meant no running for 3 months. This wasn’t the best timing as I was hoping to begin the season in Abu Dhabi early March however I wasn’t even running by then, let alone ready to race. This was my first major injury since 2008 so it was a bit new to me and I didn’t know how my body would react coming back to running and back to racing. While I was injured I kept up whatever training I was allowed to do at the time and also worked on other areas like gym which I sometimes don’t get to do when I have a full training load. Once I was allowed to begin back running the season had already began so I didn’t get too much run training done before my first races back in Yokohama and London WTS. Not racing for nearly 7 months meant it was a bit of a shock to the system and I was nowhere near where I needed to be but it was good to get the first couple of races completed so I knew what it was like to do a triathlon again! Lately I have been able to get back to full run load so I hope my performances will reflect this in my upcoming races.
Australia is one of the nation with USA and Great Britain where the women field has a really high density of athlete racing on the ITU with and willing to qualify for Rio (Emma Moffat, Ashleigh Gentle, Erin Densham, Charlotte McShane, Gillian Backhouse, Natalie Van Coevorden…).
Can you remember us what are the criteria defined by the Australian Federation to get the Olympic spot? How do you handle with the competition with your teammate? Do you think this density is a good thing?
Australia has always had a good depth in triathlon, especially on the women’s side. To be one of the best in Australia you have to be one of the best in the world so I think having this depth pushes us as athletes and is a good thing. However it does make it quite difficult to make the Olympic and Commonwealth Games teams for example as only a maximum of three athletes can be picked. For the Rio Olympics the first automatic position is up for grabs at the Rio Test Event. The first Australian athlete across the line and within the top 10 overall will secure a position on the team for next years Olympics. This is not going to be easy as the quality of field is so high but making the Olympics is such a special thing so this is why it is so hard.
With 11th WTS victory in a row, Gwen Jorgensen is just flying over the field. Do you feel the way of approaching the races changed, with the girls trying to fight for the other two podium places?
Some people say, you are one of the only girl able to beat her one day on the run leg, what do you think?
Sometimes it does feel like you are racing for second when you get off the bike with Gwen and have to come up against her amazing run leg. What she has been able to achieve of late has been absolutely amazing and something that will be very hard to equal by another athlete in the future. She not only has the fastest run leg at the moment but is always one of the first to exit the water and riding well too so she is always at the front of the race and this is what makes it so hard for anyone to beat her at the moment. It is nice to know people believe I am capable of beating her one day but I think that is a while down the track and I have to do a lot of improving to be able to compete with her. But I will give it my best shot!
We have seen you racing on the French Grand Prix since 2010, getting many podiums with your team TCG 36 (the last one was your 2nd place in Dunkerque 1month ago). What is the point for you to take part in this races? What do you like in it? Did you see any evolution on the FGP since you re racing it (positive or negative)?
I have been with Team TCG since my first French Grand Prix in 2010 and love racing in these events. There is always a high quality field at the events which makes it great practice and a good way to test out how your training has been going. I was very pleased with my last performance in Dunkerque where I finished 2nd behind Gwen and it really gave me confidence that my run form is coming back. If anything I think the FGP circuit is only getting bigger and better as more athletes are aware of it and competing.
Many foreign athlete ITU and Long Distance are flying to Australia (Noosa, Wollongong) during the European winter to enjoy better training conditions. As a Native, why do you think Australia is so attractive for triathlete?
Australia is a great place to train, especially in our summer. I think what attracts many athletes to come down under is the great weather we have, the many facilities that are on offer and also the large number of athletes that do train in Australia which only improves the training environment and enables people to push each other. Training is so much easier when the weather is nice and the scenery is equally as good.
In the opposite, during the European season you stay 5 months in France with your Coach and Squad, is it something you enjoy? Why in France? How do your organize your journey and training when you are here?
France to me is my ‘second home’, yet I still can speak very little French! The language is definitely a work in progress for me!! But I have been to France every summer since 2010 and I couldn’t think of a better place to live and train while the circuit is in Europe. The reason I first came to France was because this was where all the Australian athletes were training and had been for the previous 10 or more years. Triathlon Australia had set up a great base in Aix Les Bains and everything we needed for training was pretty much at our door step. The surrounding area is stunning and the weather is normally pretty good too. This is why my squad and I keep coming back as training just seems to easy to do and we love the relaxed atmosphere of the town.
What will your next races be? What are your main objectives for this season?
My next race will be the Rio Test Event on August 2nd where the main objective will be trying to gain automatic selection into the Australian Olympic Team. From there I will race the remainder of the World Triathlon Series before heading home to Australia after the Grand Final in Chicago.
Thank you heaps and Good Luck!
Credit photo > Joanna Carman, ITU et La Noubelle République