Jacob Kemp Athlete Ambassador

Jacob is a young triathlete who has his sights set on the GB Age Group team. He talks to Sundried about training and racing.

Have you always been into sport?

Yes from a young age I did many different sports; tennis, football, rugby, badminton, cycling and running.

What made you decide to enter the world of triathlon?

I wanted to pursue my running more and my mum pointed me in the direction of a local triathlon club, as she wanted me to have all-round fitness.

What’s been your favourite race to date and why?

My favourite race was probably in 2018 when I competed in my first adult triathlon race, I came first in my age category and it was one of my best performances to date.

And your proudest achievement?

Coming third in a duathlon race, which was a Yorkshire Series event at the Brownlee Centre and that meant a lot to me as I was definitely not one of the favourites, and there were a lot of very well known athletes there, so it was definitely a confidence boost for me.

Have you ever had any racing disasters/your toughest race yet?

Once in a cross country race, in the regionals, I was running comfortably in the top five, but then I slipped going round a corner, lost my rhythm and momentum and not to mention a few places and I only went backwards from there so came a disappointing 21st in the end, not even good enough to qualify for the next round.

How do you overcome setbacks?

My philosophy is generally, if I don't get the result I want or don't feel particularly great during a training set, I cure that by training harder each time, until I'm comfortable with my own fitness. If the setback is an injury though, you have to wait until all the niggles are gone before you start training hard again, otherwise it could become a lasting problem.

What advice do you wish you'd been given before you started competing?

Never just settle for second place, as in my first few races, I let the top few athletes break away and form a leading group and I didn't even try to follow them, and I was left wondering what if?

What are your goals for 2020?

To qualify for Team GB, to run my first ever sub 18-minute 5km and to improve my sprint distance triathlon time by five minutes on last year's PB.

Who do you take your inspiration from?

My coaches, my friends, my family, the professionals and mostly, my own drive to be the best.

What do you like about Sundried and what’s your favourite bit of our kit?

I love the fact that Sundried clothing is so comfortable and lightweight and looks good when racing. My favourite item of the Sundried range is probably the Dom 2.0 running vest as it looks good on and feels just like I'm wearing a second skin.