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Jade Johnson – The FULL interview online
By slhaf | November 5, 2009
The Olympic long jump athlete, 29, talks about swapping the sand pit for sequins on Strictly Come Dancing’s stage, and how it’s affecting her body and fitness
Has your beauty regime stepped up a gear since joining Strictly?
‘Oh my God… it’s a nightmare! I do like to make an effort when I’m competing, but I’ve just finished a seven-hour dance training session, and I’ve now got to get my hair done because my extensions are coming loose. All I really want to do is go to sleep!’
What about the costumes? You’re probably wearing more than when you’re on the Track!
‘Oh well, yes, in terms of coverage! For my first ballroom dance, I felt really overwhelmed in the gown – all big and fluffy. I was really uncomfortable. It was so not me … the hair and the make up and the costume. But that’s the great thing about Strictly. You see yourself in a new light and you don’t have to make any decisions in what you do – someone else does that. They just push you out there! So you get used to being changed and trying out new things, which is a good experience. Sometimes it’s very scary, especially when you look in the mirror and think, ‘There’s no way I can wear that!’ or have my hair and make up looking so over the top, but I think by the end of it, I’ll be going, ‘I want more! Give me more!’’
Jodie Kidd said that she got addicted to fake tanning after her stint in Strictly…
‘Funny you say that, I’ve had my ever first spray tan because of the show. Everyone’s asked me why I had one – because I don’t exactly need the colour – but I just wanted to get into the whole ballroom dancing routine…if you’re going to do it, do it! There’s not a ballroom or Latin dancer I know who doesn’t regularly get a fake tan. There’s a machine backstage on the show so I thought I’d have a go! If you see streaks on me when I’m dancing, that’s why.’
Do you normally have extensions? Are you more of a natural girl?
‘Extensions are new to me and I am a natural girl, except for the fact that I can’t go on the track or leave the house without gloss. But the only things in my make up bag are gloss, blusher, mascara and an eyebrow pencil. As long as I’ve got those four things, I’m good to go.’
You look amazing in your Latin dances…
‘Thanks! I’m half Jamaican and I’ve grown up with that sexy, flirty, sassy feel, you get in Latin dances, so that was never going to be a problem. But I never ever thought I could be a ballroom dancer so I had to think really long and hard when deciding to do the show, because the last thing I wanted to do was go out and make myself look like an idiot. I was terrified I wouldn’t be able to do it.’
Were you afraid you wouldn’t be graceful enough for waltzing?
‘Exactly! I’ve always been a tomboy. And even though I’m a female athlete, sport in general is very masculine and boisterous. It’s not feminine unless you’re doing something like gymnastics. I basically run down a runway and hurl myself into sand as far as I can go. There’s no real grace to it – well sometimes there is, some people make it look beautiful – but I’m more of a power athlete. I’m not a graceful, floating athlete. That’s why Latin is more my kind of thing – it’s more fiery and explosive. I’m designed to go fast. My feet are so not made to “extend” and lightly glide around.’’
What is it like facing the judges?
‘It’s not too bad, you know. You have to realise my whole career is about being told what you are doing wrong so you can improve and get better. So I’m used to constructive criticism. But what I’m not used to is that some of the comments are just funny rather than hurtful. When Bruno [Tonioli] said my thighs looked like they could crack walnuts, I was like, “Oh, okay?!”’
Well they are incredible – I’m a girl and I couldn’t take my eyes off of them!
Are you hoping to compete at the 2012 Olympics?
‘I am, yes.’
Did you not worry that you could pick up an injury doing Strictly that could affect your sporting career? So many people have suffered injuries in the past…
‘Well, at the end of the day I don’t think I can be anymore injured than I am when I’m jumping in the Long Jump. I did have a bit of a scare with one of my feet during dance training but it’s one of those things you have to deal with.’
You must be a really strong person mentally, because you have had to deal with a lot of injuries in the past, which some people think has affected you getting to the top of your game…
‘It definitely has. My career has been stop, start, and stop, start. It’s mentally and physically draining. I had a spell of quite a few injuries during 2005 and 2006 and I didn’t make the GB team in 2007, but I fought back and did everything I possibly could to make the Olympics in 2008. But I was so exhausted mentally from making it that I decided to take a year out because I know how hectic it’s going to be leading up to the 2012 Olympics. I felt like I needed to have a break to refresh and rejuvenate…and somehow I’ve ended up doing Strictly!’
Is Strictly stressful?
‘It is but I don’t think anything can compare to the pressure of trying to prepare for an Olympic games. The first night of Strictly was terrible in terms of my nerves, but realistically, it’s not my career or my life or what I’m trying to do. Athletics means everything to me so when things don’t go well it affects me really badly. I really don’t want to get voted off of Strictly because I’m having so much fun and I’m loving learning all the routines, but if I did get voted off, I’d probably be upset for a week and then I’d move on. But when I don’t make an Olympic team or a World Championship squad, it affects me for months and months, so I’m trying to keep things in perspective for Strictly.’
When will you start training for the Olympics?
‘I don’t think people realise but when you prepare for the Olympics, you do it as a four-year cycle. You have to plan everything to gear up to the games – even all the events that happen in between. The 2012 games mean a lot to me at the moment as, you know, I’ve been to two European’s, I’ve been to two Commonwealth games, and I’ve been to two World Championships and two Olympics. So for me now, it’s not about simply attending, it’s about going out and being a success.’
Do you think you’re putting more pressure on yourself because the next Olympics are at home in London?
‘Absolutely. But I think it will weigh itself out. You’ll feel the most ridiculous, overwhelming pressure you can imagine, but then you’ll also probably never have an experience so delightful. I can only imagine what it will be like… perhaps similar to when I was in Manchester for the Commonwealth games – which was my first major senior championships – and there were about 60,000 people in the stadium. That’s nothing compared to the size of an Olympic crowd, but when you stand there and you hear an entire crowd clapping for you, there’s nothing quite like it – it’s amazing!’
Is it true you’re allergic to sand?
‘I am allergic to sand, yes. I didn’t find out until I started competing, as my family didn’t really go on beach holidays when I was younger. I started jumping at 13 and found out quite quickly that sand doesn’t agree with me. I usually come up in a red, blotchy rash all over my legs. It normally depends on what type of sand is used at the track as everywhere is different – some of it creates a really risen, sore and itchy rash.’
So how do you train for your sport?
‘I focus on my speed, power and control. Speed has always been my biggest strength for long jumping but that has fallen off a bit now I’m working so much on technique. You have to work on lots of different aspects and try and put them all together. I’ve been working with my coach now for 10 years and we know each other inside out. Normally, we don’t even say much to each other – he just gives me a look and I know what he wants me to do. We’re very in tune with each other. I also have a strength coach and a conditioning coach.’
Is nutrition an important area for you?
‘I have seen a nutritionist in my time, but I’ve been in the game long enough now to know exactly what to eat and when to eat it. My body is extremely conditioned to let me know what it needs, which I love. When it wants something, it tells me what it wants. I can go for the longest time and not even think about chocolate, and then around two times a year, my body will crave it. So I’ll eat it and then go months without eating it again. I go through cravings of wanting just salads, like feta and olive salad with cucumbers, tomatoes and onions. And sometimes I go through a phase of not really wanting to eat much at all so I reduce the size of my portions. I think it just depends on where I am in my training.’
Is your appetite changing with Strictly? You must be doing much longer days than you are used to…
‘I haven’t been doing any normal long jump training but if I do train at this point in my career, it’s only for three hours a day, six days a week, and I find I need a lot of food. But with Strictly, I’m doing seven hours of training a day and don’t really have an appetite. I think because I’m not exhausting myself. The more muscle you have, the more calories you burn, and my muscle is so much less than it normally is because I haven’t been in the weights room. Also, there’s no real power used in the dancing. My muscles are used to high intensity work but dancing is more endurance based, so I think that’s why I don’t need so much food. I’m a lot slimmer than I usually am.’
Is your body looking differently to how it would look on the athletics track?
‘Definitely. I’m slimmer but fatter, if that makes sense? When I’m competing, I’m much leaner with hardly any body fat. Like, I can actually grab fat on my thighs at the moment, which I’ve never been able to do before, but that’s fine because I’ve jot more jiggle! I usually never have any boobs but now I do. That’s the first place I put weight on and they are a bit bigger than usual. The costume department puts a bit of padding down there too…they’re not all mine!’
How have you found the group dances?
‘For me, it’s very different because I’ve never ever worked in a group. I’m always on my own so I was a bit worried about working in a team but it’s actually been really good. You just have to hope that everyone gets it right on the night. I get on soooo well with Ian and I couldn’t have asked for a better partner. It’s not just that he’s 6’ 4”. He’s also got so much attitude. He said to me the other day, ‘Listen darling, the problem is, out of all my partners, you’re the hardest one to tame.’
Do you feel responsible to him to not let him down?
‘Yes. After my very first dance, I saw it in Ian’s face that he was disappointed – I didn’t miss any steps but I was quite messy. It’s exactly the same when I don’t do well competing and my coach is disappointed, because he knows what I’m capable of. It’s one of those things I guess.’
It must be a completely new thing to you. You’ve gone from living in trainers to living in high heels…
‘It’s soooo hard. Heels are not good! No, they’re getting better, and my blisters have now formed thick, hard disgusting skin that I could cut someone with. If they weren’t bad enough from athletics, they are now. I don’t think I’ll ever be able to wear a pair of Jimmy Choos ever again!’
Sportsmen and sportswomen have gone far in previous series’ of Strictly. Are you hoping to have the same success?
‘I hope so, but you never can tell. Martina went out very early which was shocking because she was so lovely. But I think what a lot of people didn’t know about Martina – other than the sports side of her – was that she was so, so, so ill the weekend she went out. She got food poisoning on the Friday and I’m telling you, she was literally throwing up her guts backstage – just endlessly being sick. But she didn’t let the public know, and I wouldn’t have said anything either, because we’re sportswomen. If you’re going out to compete, you have to battle through, no matter what. At last year’s Olympics I got food poisoning and had a severe bowel infection and I still went out there and competed and never told anyone at the time or in interviews afterwards because you sound like you are making excuses for your performance. If you are well enough to compete, then you are well enough to deal with the consequences of competing. At the end of the day, it’s just life, and there are a lot worse things going on in the world, so just go out there, do your best and see what happens. Martina wouldn’t admit it, but I feel bad for her because people should know how ill she was. But never mind. It’s only entertainment!’
Follow Jade’s progress at www.jadejohnson.co.uk
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Topics: Fitness, Home | 1 Comment »
January 20th, 2010 at 2:44 pm
music is the best way to workout. A workout’s not a workout unless you have decent tunes to do it to!