Q&A WITH JANIEVE RUSSELL

Country: Jamaica

Profession: Athlete – 400mH

Career highlights:

  • 2018 Commonwealth Games gold medallist – 400mH and 4x400m relay
  • 2018 Continental Cup gold medallist – 400m
  • 2016 Olympic finalist
  • 2014 Commonwealth Games- 400mH bronze medallist and 4x400m gold medallist
  • 2012 World Junior champion – 400m
  • 2011 heptathlon national champion

Congratulations on qualifying for #Tokyo2020! What did you find most challenging last year, and how did you manage to keep motivated? 

The thing I found most challenging was not getting in a lot of training and competition because of protocols set by my country with lockdowns and curfews. But what kept me going was that the Olympics were pushed back so I wasn’t losing any ground. I used the opportunity of an off year of no major championships to work on my weak points step by step. So, coming into this year, having set the foundations, I can focus more on mastering these skills. I have a better understanding now of what can be fixed without overthinking it.

You seem to have firmly settled on the 400m and 400mH after starting as a heptathlete. What motivated the switch of events? 

I believe that being a medallist at the 2012 World Junior Games helped me with choosing just one event because I think it’s what suits me best.

Can you describe what goes through your mind in the last 80m of the 400mH when it starts to hurt! 

I am just trying my best to not clip those hurdles, clearing them as clean as I can reach that finish line on top.!

What have you found to be the most challenging aspect of being a professional athlete? 

Trying my best to maintain a balanced life. I perform my best when I’m happy in life, and so I have to try my best to manage what happens outside of my professional career that it doesn’t affect how I train and compete.

What inspired you to start the Everything Jellyfish YouTube channel? 

I wanted people to know the ins and outs of professional athletes how they balance their lives with track and field. Especially with a pandemic going on, I wanted to show how track athletes are trying their best to be at their best to ensure they are always in the mix for competition.

Who is your favourite YouTuber and why? 

My local YouTubers would definitely be Quite Perry and Tanaania because they are real. They tell you as it is and are not afraid to show their flaws – they have no filter in their everyday life. I think they do a great job of showing you what young adults go through. And, of course, they are funny!

My international YouTuber is JazaéNicole because I love everything lifestyle, fashion, food, travel makeup, skin care, hair and her YouTube channel has it all.

What sparked your interest in Astrology and horoscopes?

It all started when I joined Twitter and I saw my followers tweeting their horoscopes.  I decided to click the link and read my own, and it really sounded like me and reflected what had happened to me in the day. So, I decided I would continue reading it from then on.

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