Becky bags British bronze

University of Essex student Rebecca Jeggo has yet again achieved a phenomenal success by winning the bronze medal in the British Championships 200m final.

The final took place in Glasgow and was broadcast live on the BBC the night of the race. Rebecca also earnt a place in the 60m final where she achieved a personal best time at that distance.

Speaking about her success, Rebecca said: “You have to be invited by British Athletics to compete, so the standard is always of top quality. I have never made a British Champs final so to make two in one weekend, come away with personal bests and achieve a medal was my best achievement yet and great to achieve it on a national stage.”

Running in these types of races can obviously be nerve wracking, but when asked how she deals with her nerves before races, she mentioned how her university psychologist helps her a lot to deal with her thoughts and feelings.

She said: “I used to really struggle with nerves, but I cope with them a lot better than I used to with the help of my psychologist Cat at the University. We often practice breathing exercises and positive imagery and self-talk which has really helped me to be in the best possible headspace before a race.

“Also, gaining experience and confidence from each race has set me up confidently for each race which is half the battle. I still get nervous, but I use it as adrenaline and have complete control of it and ultimately shows I care about what I do.”

As the inside events are finished for the year, Rebecca is looking forward to beginning the outdoor competitions. She said: “The next aim is to achieve an international vest. The way my indoor season has gone, running just three hundredths off my outdoor personal bests gives me every confidence I will achieve this and a sub 24 second 200m. Tomes are typically quicker outdoors because of it being later in the season and the way the track is set out.”

Earlier this year Rebecca previously won gold in the 200m at the South of England Indoor Senior Athletic Championships then took 4th place in the national BUCS Athletics Indoor Championships.

This story was written by Multimedia Journalism student Chloe Bransom.