Rate it!

0 votes

Jo Jackson has said she will ignore public opinion and go for the double in 2010 as she targets both the Commonwealth Games and the European Championships.

While many of her British rivals have chosen to compete at just the Europeans in Budapest in August or the Commonwealths in Delhi in October - Jackson plans to hog the headlines at both.

At the Beijing Olympics in 2008, Jackson very much played second fiddle to double gold medalist Rebecca Adlington, but after a hugely successful Rome World Championships in July - the 23-year-old is now very much Britain's premier female swim star.

Jackson picked up double silver and bronze in Rome and beat Adlington - who claimed just two bronze medals - in both the 400m and 800m freestyle events.

The Stockton flyer will attempt to better that haul in 2010 but Jackson has been warned an increased workload could end in disaster. 

"Some people have said to me that I shouldn't go to both the European Championships and the Commonwealth Games but I am going to do it," said Jackson.

"I know some people will be concentrating on either the Europeans or the Commonwealths but I am confident I can do well in both.

"When it comes to big decisions I generally just sit down with my coach and we talk it through between just the two of us and then we make the decision.

"I have never done anything like this before in terms of having two major competitions quite close together so I am not sure what is going to happen and how it is going to work.

"I didn't want to be wasting any opportunities to race against the best swimmers in the world and so I want to go to both and hopefully do well at both."

Jackson - alongside Adlington - has been very much at the forefront of British swimming following her 400m freestyle Olympic bronze medal in Beijing last summer and her exploits in Rome.

While Adlington admitted her increased media schedule had affected her World Championship bid in the summer - Jackson insists she won't make the same mistake as her great friend and rival.

Instead of marketing brands and cashing in on her newfound fame - Jackson has stayed focused on her performances, competing at both the open water events at the recent World Cups in Dubai and Sharjah.

Jackson is also expected to turn out at the European Short Course Championships in December as the North East swimmer plans to up her London 2012 preparations.

"2010 is the perfect year to be trying something new because there is still plenty of time left before London," added Jackson.

"And in planning for London I didn't want to miss the chance to race against people like Federica Pellegrini who won two golds in Rome because I need to take all those opportunities.

"She is the world number one but at the European Championships it won't be just her most of the other best freestyle swimmers in the world are European so it is a great chance to go there and compete."

More than the Games / Eurosport