Having won three silver medals at last year’s Youth Olympic Games in Nanjing, City of Manchester swimmer Jessica Fullalove will start her 2015 season as part of the GB team at the Flanders Cup in Antwerp this weekend.
What are your targets for this season?
My targets are to get personal bests this season and hopefully get under the minute mark for the 100m Backstroke. Training is going really well at the moment but it is very hard, and I am definitely looking forward to taper!
How much are you looking forward to competing with a big GB team at the Flanders Cup?
I’m really excited, it's always fun to go and represent GB at international meets. Everyone gets on and its good to see friends you don’t see everyday at training.
Flanders cup is a meet where you have the chance to win money and two years ago I managed to win some Euros and finish third overall in the three backstroke events.
Which events will you be competing in Flanders and what are your aims for the meet?
50, 100 and 200m Backstroke. My aims are to race tough as I’m going through a hard block of training at the moment, and make sure I get the skills I’ve been working on over the winter nailed on and transferred into my race.
What is it like competing on the same team as the top GB swimmers such as Adam Peaty and Jazz Carlin?
It is really good. I’ve known Adam for a few years now and he’s such a lovely and genuine person along with Jazz.
They are always willing to help anyone that needs help and advice and mostly to just chat with and have a laugh.
Did you enjoy your Commonwealth debut at Glasgow 2014 last year?
Competing at the Commonwealth Games was such an amazing experience although I didn't swim as fast as i was hoping to do.
But it was such a good experience being in the ‘lion's den’ with all the other England athletes from different sports not just swimming.
Did you have much time off before going to Nanjing for the Youth Olympics?
I had two days off after the Commonwealth Games before getting back in the pool to train for the Youth Olympics.
Did you feel more confident going into the Youth Olympics because of your experience in Glasgow?
Yes, definitely. The Youth Olympics was another multi-games environment, and it meant I could use the skills and experience I gained in Glasgow when I went to China.
How pleased were you with the results and medals?
I was happy to come away with three silver medals, although it would of been nice if they were three golds!
I knew it was always going to be tough at the end of such a long season and it was nice to end on a high and get some medals and a pb in the 50!