Lightning Jackson
Emma Jackson is aiming to make the most of her chances at the World Championships in Daegu.
By Nicola Bamford
Last Updated: 29/08/11 11:17am
Having spent much of the summer trying to crack the magical two-minute barrier, 800m runner Emma Jackson recently got her wish as well as a spot in the World Championships to boot.
The 23-year-old is enjoying a stellar outdoor campaign in which she has improved on her 2010 2:00.46 best on three occasions, culminating in her breakthrough 1:59.9 clocking in London earlier this month.
There, at the Aviva British Grand Prix and Diamond League event, Jackson finished a fine fifth in a world-class field and subsequently leapt to third on the British rankings for the season - all pointing towards a promising global debut in a fortnight's time.
Jackson explained: "I'm over the moon with my season so far - it's my first year as a full-time athlete and I'm amazed how much difference it has made already.
"I amazed myself in my first race of the season at the end of May (in Holland) when I ran a PB of just over two-minutes.
"Since then I've just been trying to find good races to get me under that barrier so I had to have a month of training and try and stay patient!
"When the races did come back around in July, I was still left frustrated because I was running really well but in slow, tactical races or I wasn't quite getting the pacing right.
"However, I know that there is even more to come from Crystal Palace - the first lap was still faster than I would have liked!"
Specialist
The 2007 European junior silver-medallist has additionally sped to 55.3 and 4:12.42 400m and 1500m lifetime bests this summer - the latter an improvement of almost three seconds.
Following UK silver behind 2009 World bronze-medallist Jenny Meadows in the World trials in Birmingham last month, Jackson is enjoying a substantial amount more luck than in her 2010 campaign.
Then, the two-lap specialist missed the championship podium on no less than four occasions - coming fourth each time including at the European Team Championships and the Commonwealth Games in India last October.
Jackson is determined to continue her run a good form in Daegu at the World Championships.
She said: "It's my first senior (international championship) competition so I'm really looking forward to seeing how the top athletes prepare themselves for a major games and I'll have to see if I can pick up any tips!
"My aim for Daegu is to try and get to the semi-finals at the very least - as long as I run well and do myself justice, then I know I'll be happy.
Important
"It keeps dawning on me that it's the World Champs, it doesn't get any harder than this! It's quite scary but in a really good way.
"I can't wait to see what I can do against the very best - I'm hoping to go even further under two-minutes out there but I don't want to focus on the time too much, it's more important that I race the races sensibly - the time will come if it's a good race."
In a hugely competitive event for British women, Jackson is aware of how such strong domestic rivalry could push her to a memorable performance ahead of her bigger goal, the Olympic Games in London next summer.
"In reality, I probably wouldn't even be going to Daegu if all of our girls were at their best but you have to take the chances you are given and I'm hoping that I can use the Worlds to gain invaluable experience for the future," she explained.
"2012 is still a massive aim for me - I still need to keep improving if I want to go.
"I think I can get even better with another strong winter under my belt and in the long-term, I hope to make more of an impact at the 1500m - I really hope to make lots of championship finals and be going for medals as I get older."
