Q&A WITH… JESPER HELLSTRÖM

Country: Sweden

Profession: Athlete – Triple Jump

Career highlights:

  • 6x National champion
  • 2021 European Indoor Championships – finalist (6th)

Can you tell us what is the last thought that goes through your mind before you begin your run up?

This has changed a lot through the years, battling different struggles along the way. Most recently I’ve been telling myself: Let’s go, it’s easy, I can do this, let it happen and don’t force anything.

If there was such a thing as the perfect jump, what would it be for you?

The perfect jump for me is in those jumps when the balance through the air never fails, the legs and feet just put themself down perfectly and all the thrust goes straight ahead in all three steps.

What is one of your favourite training sessions?

Easy relaxed bounding sessions are often my favourite ones, not trying to jump far but rather focusing on jumping clean and getting that great feeling of the rhythm of the jump.

What is the WORST advice anyone has given you?

Hmmm…probably to ignore pain in muscles or joints ”because it’s a part of training”. There are so many possible ways to train, why choose the one that puts your health at risk…

We see you went diving with Great White sharks in South Africa – wow, what was that experience like? 

It was absolutely surreal! Stepping down into the cage tied to the boat in the middle of the ocean, preparing to see some sharks is not something that my brain felt was logical  – haha! A true “what am I doing?” moment. But it was so worth it!!

Where are we mostly likely to find you when you are not training or competing?

I will be with friends, outdoors, playing some games on the PC, fishing, disc golfing. But soon I will be studying again during that time.

What secret talent do you have?

Hmm haha….. I have a pretty good throwing arm and my PB in javelin is 40m+ without any specific training which is alright I guess. As the second “hidden talent” I would choose my ice skating from earlier years as a bandy player.

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