You’ve had a great 2014 outdoor season so far, what, if anything, have you done differently over the winter to produce these great results?
I made some pretty big changes over the winter! In October I changed coaches and moved from Birmingham to Cardiff.
Last year I was working with Aston Moore, and training alongside the likes of Tom Parsons and Nathan Douglas – I learned a lot from these guys in terms of how to approach training, and feel that my time in Birmingham really set me up, both physically and mentally.
I am now coached by Sharon Heveran – who herself was an Irish International High Jumper with a personal best of 1.86m. Sharon has always held the belief that I should be jumping in excess of 2.30m and has really helped improve my jumping technique. My programme is written by Gareth Lease, who has also helped improve my Olympic lifting techniques.
You jumped a personal best at the British League in Birminngham, how good did that feel and what do you feel you can achieve height-wise throughout the rest of the season now?
I was really happy to have jumped 2.28m, especially considering it was the European Championships Standard. It was a nice clearance and I had an agonisingly close attempt at 2.31m which has given me the belief that I can still jump higher. I have now jumped personal bests in quite a few competitions, so things are going pretty well at the moment. I wouldn’t want to limit myself – I’m just trying to jump as high as I can!
You achieved the European Championship standard with your 2.28m clearance, how confident do you feel now that you can become a regular feature in the senior GB team?
Achieving the European Championship standard is a massive accomplishment for me. I always knew I was capable of it, but seeing as my personal best was just 2.22m last year I didn’t think I’d get it so soon. I’ve been jumping above 2.25m consistently this year so I’m hoping I should start getting selected for GB on a more regular basis, with the goal being making the team for Rio 2016. However with Robbie Grabbarz returning from injury next year, and with the other GB guys improving, we may get to the point where just jumping the standard doesn’t guarantee a place on the team.
What are your aims for the Commonwealth Games?
I am going to Glasgow with aims of a medal.
