 www.islandstats.com will be running a feature on the athletes selected to represent Bermuda during the upcoming Youth Commonwealth Games, today we continue with Swimmer Jesse Washington.
Name: Jesse Washington
Date of Birth: May 8,1999
Sport: Swimming
Q. What is something many people don’t know about you?
A. Not many people know that I wear contact lenses.
Q. How did you first get involved in your Sport?
A. I started out doing the Whites Island Swim camp during the summer and then I decided to represent Purvis Primary in the Primary Interschool Swimming competition and that's when Mrs. Smith (one of the Sharks Swim Club coaches) recognized me and suggested that I sign up for the club.
Q. Did you have a particular Sports idol?
A. My sports idol is Roy Allen-Burch. I idolize Roy Allen because he has shown Bermudian athletes and many others around the world that anything is possible with commitment, hard work and dedication. Through applying those three components, Roy Allen managed to swim an Olympic selection time only months after receiving a major injury to both legs that would have put most athletes out of their sport forever. Even now that Roy Allen has retired from the sport, he still continues to live a healthy and active lifestyle.
Q. When did you realize that you wanted Compete Internationally?
A. While watching the 2008 Beijing Olympics I thought about how cool it would be to travel around the world and compete… two years later I traveled to Florida for a swim meet and that’s when I realized that I definitely wanted to continue traveling and competing against others.
Q. What do you feel needs the most improvement?
A. I feel that my endurance for the back half of my races could be improved the most. It is common for most swimmers to “die” in the final 20 meters of a 100 meter race, so if I can boost my endurance to sustain my speed in the final meters of the race than I will have an edge on the competition. I also feel that my start, underwater kick and breakout could be most improved. In a race like the 100-meter freestyle, it is important to do everything perfectly to go as fast as possible.
Q. Which do you feel needs the least improvement?
A. I do not feel that there is one single thing that needs least improving. Every aspect of my swimming could be improved.
Q. What one moment in your Sport to date are you most proud of?
A. One moment that I am most proud of is when I won the 200-meter freestyle at the 2015 Canadian Age Group Championships. I am proud of this moment because I dropped two seconds off of my personal best time which was very surprising.
Q. What are your goals for the rest of Year?
A. Now that I am approaching the end of the season, my goals are to swim personal best times at the Youth Commonwealth Games and at the Junior World Championships. After Junior Worlds I’ll have a short break and then jump back into the new season.
Q. Can you give an insight into an average week of training for you?
A. On Monday and Wednesday, I do land training from 4:15-5:15pm and swim from 5:15 to 7:15pm.
On Tuesday and Thursday morning, I swim from 6:00-7:30am.
On Tuesday and Thursday afternoon, I am in the gym from 4:00-5:30pm.
On Friday afternoons I swim from 4:15-6:15pm.
On Saturday mornings I finish the week with a swim session from 6:00-8:00am followed by a gym session from 9:00-10:00am
Q. Is this your first Youth Commonwealth Games?
A. Yes
Q. What do you do when you’re not taking part in your Sport?
A. I am either in school, relaxing, or hanging out with friends.
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