Meet Manchester Fashion Institute student - Jessica Crampton – National Championship gold medalist in track cycling and currently studying for a BA (Hons) Fashion, Design and Technology Sportswear degree.

Meet Manchester Fashion Institute student - Jessica Crampton – National Championship gold medalist in track cycling and currently studying for a BA (Hons) Fashion, Design and Technology Sportswear degree. We had a chat with her to find out how she juggles a busy training schedule whilst studying for a full time degree.

How long have you been cycling Jessica?
I have been cycling since I was 12 years old. I thought my career had come to an end when I was 18 (2012) as I decided to take a step back from the sport, however I returned last year and it was the best decision I’ve ever made. I'm feeling more motivated and I am enjoying the sport and university a lot more as my lifestyle is well balanced and I have a great support system and team around me.

What are you studying at Manchester Metropolitan University?
I am a second year Fashion, Design and Technology Sportswear student at Manchester Fashion Institute.

What is your favourite thing about your course?
Design and Technology are my favourite units because I’m allowed to be a bit mad with my ideas and try everything I want to which is great fun - especially in the Innovation Zone.

What are your job aspirations?
My dream is to be a full time cyclist and compete at the Olympics. When this part of my career is over I’d love to be a performance sportswear designer.

Tell us about your gold medal win.
I won my medal in the National Championships - the event was the sprint which involves a 200m qualification and then fastest against slowest until the final.

What is the next competition you have coming up?
I have a small race coming up on Easter Monday but apart from that I will be racing in Europe over the summer and I am hoping to be selected for the Europeans in October. 

How often do you train?
I train 5 days a week and some double days.

How do you balance your training and work load?
My coach, Matthew, is great with helping me to balance my training plan with my university work. He makes me focus more on quality rather than quantity and we have found that this is the best practice for my training, I also try to bring the same focus into my studies.

I do find this tricky but I find that if I use the time I have in lessons well then I have a lot of time at home to focus on training and having a social life, which is really important when I’m so busy. For Design we have 3 hour lessons and you'd be surprised how much you can get done in that time!

Thanks for chatting with us Jessica. It seems that it is possible to study a full time degree, train 5 days a week and also have a social life.
To find out more about Jessica’s university course click here