Jessica-Jane Applegate: 'really nice' to see local people support me
The swimmer from Great Yarmouth won gold in relay and bronze in freestyle and backstroke during this years Paralympic games
Last updated 12th Sep 2021
Jessica-Jane Applegate says it was really nice to see local people support her during the 2021 Paralympics games.
She told us "Its been really nice to speak to all the local people that have been supporting me. A lot of the local Facebook groups kept posting how I'd done that day. It was nice to see local people follow what I was doing".
Ms Applegate also told us she is so pleased to have won three medals despite a reduced and disrupted training schedule.
"I didn't actually get into a physical swimming pool until April, I only managed to do four months of actual swimming training going into the games. I was only able to get into a proper Olympic swimming pool, in June. It was very difficult going into it, but I don't think I did too badly considering".
She went on to say she was even more pleased by the gold medal, considering the team changed last minute due to injury, but she was able to beat her own World Record nonetheless.
"We only got a few chances to practice, as it was, due to the pandemic. It was a very quick change and I think he handled the situation very well".
"It was nice to pull together as a team, I personally went a lot faster than I did at the World Championship's so that was really exciting."
Ms Applegate told us she was "super impressed" by Paralympics GB finishing second in the Tokyo games' overall medal tally.
"There was never a day where the team spirit was down, it was always positive. We may be a small nation, but we're certainly mighty."
She concluded by saying that she wants to continue competing and to represent Paralympics GB at the Paris 2024 games.
"It was my birthday while I was away and I didn't get to celebrate. My Auntie got me a joke present that was the French dictionary with the words 'Paris 2024 Paralympic games' written inside. Everyone wants me to carry on competing, but then again so do I, because I love it so much and I'd have no idea what I'd do if I wasn't competing".
This afternoon the National Lottery's homecoming event will celebrate the achievements of Jessica and the rest of Paralympics GB at Wembley. This will see artists like Ella Henderson, James Arthur and Madness perform to a full SSE Arena.