Jackie Edwards a five time Olympian represented the Bahamas in the long jump in the 1992 (Barcelona), 1996 (Atlanta), 2000 (Sydney), 2004 (Athens) and 2008 (Beijing) Olympic Games. In 2003, Edwards was ranked 5th in the world in the long jump. Other athletic accolades include her induction into Stanford University’s Athletic Hall of Fame in 2008. Twenty years after her graduation she still ranks as the school’s indoor and outdoor record holder. Edwards retired from professional competition in 2009 due to an achilles tendon tear. In her post competitive career she is enjoying being a partner in Urban Safari Design.
Edwards shares insights that enabled her career longevity which includes an inner motivation to push herself to improve as an athlete, good health, and a Master’s Degree in Sport Psychology. This is part three of the three part interview.
SZ: Once you arrived in Sydney did you continue utilizing the visualization exercises?
JE: Absolutely. One of the things that used to affect my performances was nerves. I would feel like my legs couldn’t move. Through visualization I learned how to block out all the distractions. During a field event doing the long jump it takes a long time, especially in the qualifying rounds to get your jumps in. At the Olympics there can be fifty jumpers. There are two runways, twenty-five athletes assigned to each runway. In a normal long jump competition there are typically twelve jumpers qualifying. When there are twenty-five jumpers to a runway it can take up to an hour between jumps.
There is a lot going on in your brain in that hour. While you are waiting other Olympic field events are going on around you. A jumper only has three tries in the qualifying round to make the finals. It’s really easy to start watching other events going on around you. I remember watching the 100 meters, and I wanted to watch it, but then I knew I still needed to take jumps.
SZ: The challenge of staying focused when there is a break in momentum.
JE: The stadium in Sydney seated 110,000 people. The bottom row of seats was at track level, right in the line of sight. The runways were on the outside of the track circle not on the inside. We were very close, like 10 feet away from the spectators. The spectators were saying things, yelling and when I got up to take my jump I could see myself on the giant stadium video screen. My instinct was to look up and watch myself but I couldn’t do that and run at the same time.
SZ: In your peripheral vision you saw your body moving on the screen.
JE: Yes, so I needed to avoid looking up. I also remember the announcer saying, “Now on the runway competing,” and he said, “Jackie Edwards from Jamaica.” Which I was like, “Oh my gosh he said the wrong country,” and I was jumping at the same time. (Jackie was born in Jamaica but is a citizen of the Bahamas). So all this stuff is going on. Other distractions were I would be running down the runway and a starter gun goes off to begin a race. You can’t turn to look at what is happening around you.
SZ: Those are huge. Did you have a routine?
JE: Yes, absolutely. I had a very set routine. I would visualize the movements, I would practice the breaths, I would visualize what position I would start my run up in, exhale a few times, it was quite precise. I would duplicate this over and over again no matter what else was going on.
SZ:Was the climate a factor?
JE: Luckily it wasn’t that much of a factor. People were worried about it because the Olympics were late in September that year. The weather was kind of cool it wasn’t a factor. I’ve had to deal with that at some World Championships in Helsinki (Finland) where it was pouring rain. Track meets are not stopped unless there is lightening. But weather wasn’t an issue in Sydney. When I finished sixth that year having begun with an injured knee in April and thinking I was not going to qualify - to making the mark on my last jump in the last meet to qualify - then being in the Olympics and getting sick after the qualifying event - and ending by finishing in the top eight, which in the sport of track if you make the top eight you’ve done an outstanding job. I wouldn’t have guessed in all the years I competed to accomplish this was because there were definitely years when I was more physically fit.
SZ: Do you think having a routine put you in a more focused state or confident state?
JE: Yes, because during the time I was injured it forced me to use these skills. When I was healthy I just relied on my brawn and I thought, “I’m fit, I can jump out of the pit.” So I didn’t do the mental work that I should have done to accompany my fit body. That year I was forced to rely much more heavily on mental skills and it proved to me that I probably did myself a disservice over the years to not focus as much as I needed on the mental aspect. I would kind of go in and out of using these skills. But that year I didn’t have a choice.
SZ: That’s a strong statement in terms of what mental practice brought to your performance.
JE: I would tell any athlete coming up - I think any performance based skill, musician or surgeon etc., I think it’s critical to implement that part of the performance.
SZ: How much time did you practice visualization each day?
JE: I had to develop it. In the beginning I couldn’t keep my mind on it for five minutes. I also needed to learn how to visualize seeing through my own eyes because my instinct was to see myself outside like watching a movie. It was far more effective to experience the visualization through my own eyes like I was performing it. I struggled with learning how to visualize properly. I built up from five to fifteen minutes. I think the longest I achieved was thirty minutes.
SZ: Did it become an enjoyable exercise?
JE: Yes, I didn’t like it at first. I was like, “Do I really want to do this again?”
SZ: Did you learn to visualize through the classes you were taking?
JE: I didn’t go into the graduate program expecting this. I was taking classes at JFK and working on my Master’s in Sport Psychology because I had an interest. I wasn’t expecting some great impact on my own career.
SZ: You are a partner in Urban Safari Design, an interior design company. How did you become involved in this work?
JE: My business partner and I had always had a passion for interior design and we always kind of did it for family and friends. My business partner was a design major at Stanford, not interior design but product design. She later went on to design school and we began the company seven years ago.
SZ: In the next few years do you envision staying involved in track and field as a coach or spokesperson?
JE: It’s something I’ve thought about but I’m not sure. I still love track and field. I am not as immersed as when I was competing. I’ve been invited to participate in a track camp in the British Virgin Islands next month, for sure I will participate in this. Whenever I give a motivational speech it relates to my involvement in track and how it correlates to the real world. I am looking into being involved in Michelle Obama’s Let’s Move program.
SZ: Would you go for being a trainer on The Biggest Loser?
JE: I like The Biggest Loser. I watch it every week.
SZ: Is it because of the coaching or the human interest side?
JE: Mostly the human interest. I couldn’t yell at those people like they do. I think it’s great the trainers can do that I can’t.
SZ: Do you have any favorite quotes that have guided you on your professional path as an athlete?
JE: My long time coach Brooks Johnson had a saying that was very simple. He would say, “What got you here will keep you here.” Basically it meant in order to maintain the level of results and intensity you accomplish you can’t relax and be like, “Now that I’m here I don’t need to do all this training anymore.” The fact is you have to do just as much if not more to maintain that level. Brook’s philosophy was whether on or off the track you can’t rest on your laurels, because the competition gets tougher. Your competitors are equally hungry and you have to stay one step ahead. I keep the quote in my head all the time. You have to do all the little things. My tips for longevity is to take care of yourself. It seems a simple thing to do but you have to go to sleep at night. Your body has to be rested, you’ve got to stretch, hydrate, avoid living a hard life of up early in the morning and out all hours of the night.
SZ: Respecting the process.
JE: Yes, and it’s really been a process. If you don’t appreciate the fact that this is a process from a to z and you skip lots of steps it’s never going to happen. You also need the support of the people around you. This sport builds character. You have to be able to ride through so many ups and down. There are no world record holders that didn’t have some horrible results or phase of something. You have to be able to rise above it. It’s easy to fade away and say, “I can’t take this anymore.” But to come back and say, “Yes I had a poor result this week but I am coming back next week to compete.” That sets you up for your life.
SZ: Jackie thank you for taking the time to share a part of your amazing athletic journey.
*Featured guests are not former nor current clients of Susan Zaro
*This article can also be read @ www.examiner.com
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