Lara Jackson had moved on. The former University of Arizona star, U.S. national teamer and American record-holder had transitioned smoothly into retirement after the 2012 U.S. Olympic Trials, feeling ready for the next stage of her life. Jackson, a longtime lover of horses, left Tuscon, Arizona, where she’d been training for the better part of a decade, for Horse Country, USA – also known as Lexington, Kentucky.
Jackson, an Animal Science major at Zona, began working on a thoroughbred horse farm, following what had long been her major out-of-the-pool passion. But after awhile, working with yearling colts had an added side affect Jackson might not have expected.
“I was working with horses that were bred to race,” Jackson said. “Being near racing like that in its really raw form – something about that inspired me. They’re racers, I’m a racer.”
It was that connection to racing that rekindled the spark for Lara Jackson. The former Pan-Am gold medalist decided in mid-2013 to come out of retirement and return to the love of the race that had seemingly followed her across the country, undiminished by a lengthy hiatus.
Then again, in some ways, Jackson never really left the sport. Though she’s now been out of competition for nearly a year and a half and spent plenty of time away from pool workouts, the 27-year-old still says she never stopped training.
“It’s one of those things that’s hard to give up,” Jackson said, noting that she did a lot of working out on land during her retirement before officially returning to the pool around October. It’s no secret that the chlorine can be addicting, especially for swimmers at the highest level, and Jackson echoed that sentiment.
“Once you start, you can’t just stop,” she said with a laugh.
Jackson works out (and does a little posing) with current and future training partner Elvis Burrows. (Photo courtesy of Elvis Burrows)
So far, Jackson’s return has stayed relatively under the radar. She’s been training in Kentucky with Bahamas Olympian Elvis Burrows to shake off the rust, not that there appears to be much rust to deal with.
“I haven’t competed yet, so it’s hard to gauge, but it’s going well,” Jackson said. “I’ve been beating some of my previous records in the weight room and also in practice repeats, so that’s a good sign.”
Things will start to heat up as early as this month, though, as Jackson makes a bold step in fully re-committing to the sport. The sprinter will move from Kentucky to Miami, Florida at the end of February to join the newly-forming professional group under former Miami assistant Aaron Ciarla.
“After Trials in 2012 I went on a training trip with Aaron, and I really enjoyed his energy,” Jackson said of her new coach. This will be new territory for Jackson, a native Texan who swam at Arizona for her collegiate and post-grad training. She’s long been highly-complimentary of the Arizona/Tuscon Ford program and reiterated that feeling this week. But Jackson also said that an influx of new ideas can be a real spark to a career, a spark she’s hoping to catch and kindle in sunny Florida.
“It’s a new program, a new message, a new start,” Jackson said, and one that should allow her to keep enjoying the process, a necessity for anyone continuing in such a training-heavy sport into their late-20s. Jackson repeatedly emphasized the value she places on having fun in the sport in order to succeed, and said that will be a big part of her comeback effort.
“When you get to this level, you can overburden yourself,” she said. “I definitely plan to swim through 2016 Trials, but I don’t want to repeat mistakes I made earlier in my career.”
“2016 will still be there when I get there.”
Jackson is no stranger to the Olympic Trials. She swam the event in 2008 and 2012, coming up as a notable Trials Third in the 50 free in 2008. Third place at Olympic Trials is one of the more bittersweet honors that a swimmer can receive, just one spot away from the ultimate carrot, an Olympic bid. That it was the 50 free made things all the closer and all the more excruciating; after setting the American record in prelims, Jackson missed the Olympic team by just .06 seconds.
Jackson responded to that adversity with a crushing senior NCAA season, breaking multiple American records including the 21.27 50 free mark that still stands today. No doubt another redemption story like that is in the back of Jackson’s mind for 2016 Trials, but for now, the goals are more short term. Jackson said she plans to swim some Grand Prix events to get back into the swing of things, with the goal of putting up some fast times and getting her feet back under her in big-time competition. Though she won’t know her official schedule until she gets to Florida and meets with her new coaching staff, Jackson said she’s got her eye on the Mesa Grand Prix in late-April as a potential venue for her official return.
The ultimate short-term goal, though, is U.S. Nationals in Irvine, CA on August 6-10, where national teams will be selected for a number of future international meets including 2015 Worlds, Pan-Pacs and Pan-Ams.
“Nationals is the goal,” Jackson said. “That’s definitely the end of the rainbow for this season.”
As laid-back as Jackson seems with her emphasis on fun, she’s clearly still got the drive that led to multiple national championships in her first career. She emphasized that a comeback now is an all-chips-on-the-table endeavor – swimming, fast swimming, is the priority.
That fully-focused commitment in combination with an evident love and enthusiasm for the sport has given Jackson a sort of light-hearted confidence.
Those horses who inspired Jackson back in Kentucky may not race past three years old. Their former caretaker is now all-in on a bid to capture that youthful energy as she reverses the competitive process: coming back from pasture to hit the dusty race-track once again. And Jackson’s fun-loving confidence suggests that in a horserace, she’d be placing bets on herself.
“I’m very excited to race again,” she said. “I really feel like my best racing is still ahead of me.”
Who knows, this might be one horse that breaks late.
Check out Jackson’s website, larajackson.us, courtesy of KSM Sports Media for updates on her meet schedule and more about her swimming career.