CAR CRASH THREATENS JACKSON'S SEASON
Double Commonwealth silver medallist Jo Jackson has had her
season thrown into doubt after she was involved in a car accident
while already recovering from a back injury.
The 19-year-old Durham Aquatics swimmer was forced to pull
out of last month's Mare Nostrum tour with a back complaint
and then injured herself when her car was in collision with
another vehicle.
"I had a swollen disc at the base of my back which was
catching on a nerve," explained Jackson. "It forced
me to pull out of the Mare Nostrum as I needed to rest until
it healed.
"I'd only been back in the water a week, things were
going well and then I had a pretty major car crash which left
me with a damaged sternum, ribs and clavicle. That was 10
days ago and I'm trying to get fit again now."
The teenager, who won silver in the 400m Freestyle and 4x200m
Freetyle in Melbourne, has remained positive throughout the
traumas of the past month and still has hopes of making it
to the European Championships at the end of July.
"I have to think how lucky I am if I'm honest,"
said Jackson. "There's no doubt it could have been a
lot worse, the pain caused by the injuries wasn't as bad as
I expected but it has held back my swimming."
Jackson is now back in the water but has less than a month
to go before her major meet of the long course season.
"All in all I've missed a month's worth of vital preparation
in the run-up to this month's European Championships in Budapest,"
said Jackson.
"I've been working hard with my coach Dave McNulty and
I'm trying to remain upbeat about it all. We're just going
to have to see what happens, I'll always give it my best no
matter how I'm feeling."
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