Under 23 Questions with Jenn Jackson

FasterSkier · January 28, 2017

Jenn Jackson (Team Hardwood/Lappe Nordic) racing at 2016 Canadian nationals in Whitehorse, Yukon. (Photo: Bob Nishikawa)

In an effort to showcase the North Americans competing at next week’s International Ski Federation (FIS) 2017 USANA Nordic Junior World Championships and U23 Cross Country World Championships at Soldier Hollow in Midway, Utah, we asked those qualifying athletes several questions about themselves — actually, we had them fill in the blanks. Here we have 21-year-old Jenn Jackson, of Team Hardwood and Lappe Nordic, who’s representing Canada at her second U23 World Championships.

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“My full name is Jennifer Jackson, but you can call me Jenn. I was born in Toronto, raised in Midhurst, [Ontario], and one thing you should know about my hometown is I don’t live there anymore.

Jenn Jackson (r) and her brother Ryan Jackson at 2016 Junior/U23 World Championships in Rasnov, Romania. Both qualified to represent Canada again at this year's Junior/U23 World Championships in Midway, Utah. (Courtesy photo) — Jenn Jackson (r) and her brother Ryan Jackson at 2016 Junior/U23 World Championships in Rasnov, Romania. Both qualified to represent Canada again at this year’s Junior/U23 World Championships in Midway, Utah. (Courtesy photo)

I started cross-country skiing when I was pretty young, thanks to my parents. I currently train in Oro Medonte, [Ontario], over the summer and Thunder Bay during the school year, primarily on my own, but I race for Team Hardwood and Lappe Nordic.

If I’m not skiing, you might find me at school. If I had to pick a favourite book, it would be: I couldn’t pick a favourite book, but I am currently reading ‘Antifragile: Things That Gain From Disorder’ and Jens Voigt’s book ‘Shut Up, Legs!’

One of the things I’m most excited about for U23/Junior Worlds at Soldier Hollow is the tacos. One race I’m especially targeting there is probably the sprint.

The best advice anyone ever gave me about skiing or racing was that sometimes you just need to put your head down, close your eyes, hold your breath, and hammer. Maybe not the best advice in a practical sense… but the essence of it is gold.

Some of the best race memories I have are probably the string of comeback races at the end of 2015 after breaking my leg early season.

If I could meet one World Cup skier, it would be Masako Ishida.

If I don’t end up being a professional skier, I’ll probably be an amateur skier with a regular job.

I’m missing too many days of school to be here, and my professors are probably thinking, ‘Engineering is hard even when you attend lectures, why are you doing this to yourself.’