Jessica is one of the most successful British gymnasts of all time. Having won historic Olympic team bronze in Tokyo she was then been crowned floor World Champion and two time floor European Champion.
EARLY YEARS
Tell us about your first success in your sport?
I first tried gymnastics with my twin sister Jen to use up energy and to try new tricks. I think the early successes are about achieving goals and learning new things more so than any medals.
GRASSROOTS
What would you say to someone thinking about trying your sport?
Definitely give gymnastics a try! Its so much fun and every day you try new things and learn and develop. It also helps with lots of things like fitness, flexibility and strength and you can do some pretty amazing tricks!
What do you wish you’d known when you first started out?
To be patient, at first you want to try everything at once and sometimes you have to learn to develop certain skills over time so patience is needed.
What initiatives are happening to get people into your sport?
British Gymnastics’ Rise Gymnastics Programme is something I really like as a way to get young people into gymnastics with the focus on creativity and fun which is what gymnastics is all about.
HEROES
Which sportspeople do you admire now, and why?
I would say my teammates and of course me twin sister Jen. She has been with me right from the start and is my hero, always supporting me and sharing our journeys together is so special.
TRAINING
How often do you train?
I train normally six days a week about 3 or 4 hours a day
Describe a typical training session
Training varies depending on where we are in the season and what event we have coming up but its usually a mixture of cardio and flexibility exercises alongside training skills on the four apparatus.
What is your favourite training session/exercise/drill?
I think the warmups are lots of fun, we often create group synchronized warm up dances that we all do together to get our heartrates up before we start the gymnastics training.
Best piece of advice from your coach?
I don’t think it’s one piece of advice it’s the ongoing communication and collaboration with my coaches that means the most, knowing you have people supporting you and helping you every day is really important.
Which part of your body suffers the most in your sport?
At different points you can feel aches and pains in different places when you’re an elite athlete but we have an amazing medical and physio team around us who help us recover and manage our bodies.
