Two-time world 200m champion, Shericka Jackson, is keeping a positive and grounded mindset heading into the Olympic season.
Jackson, the fastest woman alive over 200m and second-fastest all time, will open her 2024 season at the Miramar Invitational in Florida on April 6.
“My mindset is really positive, grounded and it’s happy. That’s one of the pluses for me right now. Once you have a positive mindset approaching training each day, I think it’s something we as athletes look forward to every day,” she said in an interview with Citius Mag on Monday.
A simple but powerful tool that has helped Jackson’s rise to track and field superstardom is her ritual of writing her goals for a season down.
“I think it’s very important because it allows you to know that whenever you feel like giving up, you have goals to achieve. Me just writing down my goals is something that I look forward to and I just want to achieve all that I wrote down and if I don’t achieve them, I go back to the drawing board and I write new goals,” she said.
“Once I write my goals and I achieve them I tick them off because it’s something I look forward to. I remember growing up learning if you save $20 every day you’ll finish the week with a lot of money so it’s something that helps me to work super hard,” she added.
The reigning National Sportswoman of the Year also mentioned that while she hasn’t written down her goals for the 2024 season just yet, a maiden Olympic gold medal will certainly be on the list.
“Funny enough I haven’t even written them yet. Usually at the beginning of January, I write them but because of not going to World Indoors I put them on pause a bit but I definitely know they’re in my head. I just have to put them on paper. I’ve yet to achieve an Olympic gold medal so that’s definitely something I want to achieve,” she said.
Last season, Jackson inched even closer to Florence Griffith-Joyner’s 34-year-old 200m world record of 21.34 when she ran 21.41 to defend her world title in Budapest.
The 29-year-old says that the world record is on her mind but it isn’t something that she will go into every race thinking about.
“Honestly I remember when I was afraid to say I wanted to break the world record and coach and I had a conversation and he enlightened me about something. Whether I speak about it or not and I don’t achieve it, it’s not the end of the world. I think it’s something that we really look forward to,” she said.
“It would’ve definitely been a plus last year but it didn’t happen. I was still super happy. To be able to run two 21.4s and so much fast 21.5s in one season, I definitely think it’s something I look forward to. As I said, the World Record is on our mind but it’s not something we’re going to dwell on every race we go into. Once I’m healthy and in peak form, anything is possible,” she added.