Jake Jarman on how gymnasts manage travel fatigue
"Outside of gymnastics, I think the most important thing is always going to be recovery," Jake Jarman tells Olympcs.com in an exclusive interview ahead of the European Gymnastics Championships taking place in Rimini, Italy 24-28 April.
What followed was a more in-depth discussion about how the British artistic gymnast personally manages sleep and travel in particular, in a sport that is unique in requiring endurance, explosive power, balance, aerial awareness, and flexibility across multiple days of competition – in both individual and team events.
The acrobatic nature of the sport is such that tiredness and energy must be managed well to ensure not only the optimum performance of the gymnast but, most importantly, their safety.
So as the world vault champion eyes adding a second European title on the apparatus during his time on the Adriatic Coast – while also showcasing his form to selectors ahead of the team announcement for Paris 2024 that follows the championships – the 22-year-old gave us the lowdown on how he has learned to manage travel fatigue alongside competing.
* As National Olympic Committees have the exclusive authority for the representation of their respective countries at the Olympic Games, athletes' participation at the Paris Games depends on their NOC selecting them to represent their delegation at Paris 2024.
* Click here to see the official qualification system for each sport.
On the road
Olympics.com was speaking to Jarman at the British Gymnastics Championships in March, with the competition being a regular early-season cobweb shifter before the major internationals commence.
But it's not just being out on the competition floor that a gymnast must acclimatise to after an off-season spent improving and perfecting routines in training gyms. It's travel, too.
"I'm always a bit tired after having to be in a car for so long and having to settle into the hotel and stuff," said Jarman, who had travelled 300km from his home in Peterborough to the event in Liverpool.
"To be honest, it was only three hours, so it's not as long as other people's car journeys so other people have it a lot harder to be fair, but I've kept myself occupied playing my games console.
"The best thing to do is, whether short- or long-distance travel, to try to keep moving, not sit down and get stiff. You'll end up being quite sore, and you'll struggle to train after a journey. So that's definitely the most important thing I look to when I travel."
Longer journeys require additional planning, says Jarman, who was the reserve for Tokyo 2020 so headed to Japan with the team from the UK, a more than 13-hour direct flight.
"Most of my memories from doing long-distance plane journeys with the team have been from where we'll all stand around, we'll stand in the aisle – obviously, if people want to get past, we'll move out of the way – but we'll just do a little stretch out, or we'll stand up and talk to each other.
"I remember doing a stretch out by the toilet area – not next to it, that would be a bit gross, but you know, where the crew chilled, but out of their way, because there's not a lot of space on a plane. We just tried to do what we could with what we've got, just literally tiny stretches, just keeping moving because you don't want to sit for that long. Sitting down is not great."
The actual journey itself is not the only external factor to manage. Preparation for time zone changes plus the start and end times of the competitions themselves, which vary widely, is also key.
Format change at European Championships
The artistic gymnastics in Rimini has a change of format for the 2024 Europeans, in which the team competition takes place on the last day of the championships. Usually the first event, it is generally followed by the individual all-around, and then two days of individual apparatus finals. The switch makes a difference, says Jarman.
"It will definitely be a first for me. I'm going to have to really practise and think about how to plan and how to manage my body to save enough energy for that last day because normally it's the hardest day of competition.
"For me personally, I don't make that many apparatus finals, so (competitions) kind of taper off, but this time around, it's like almost as if it starts to ramp up, so I'm just going to have to try and figure out how to manage it."
With the announcement of the draw for Paris, the British men know that they will be competing relatively early, in subdivision one on Saturday 27 July, starting at 11am local time (CEST). So, does this work for Jarman? Is he an early bird?
"It depends, to be honest. If I'm in the routine of being up early I actually really do enjoy getting up early. There's something about the first hour of sunlight of the day. That's just really refreshing, especially in the summertime before it gets too hot.
"I've also been a 1pm get-up kind of person before, so that's both worlds, I guess."
In Paris, there's a day's break for the men while the women take to the podium on the Sunday, then on the Monday (29 July) it's the men's team competition, starting 5.30pm local time, a day's break and then the men's all-around final. Another day to rest, then three consecutive days of apparatus finals follow, combining both women's and men's events.
So, the early start for men's qualifying is followed by late afternoon competitions for all the finals, for which the GB team will prepare thoroughly at squad camps at the national training centre, Lilleshall.
So, is Jarman a fan of the athlete favourite – micro-sleeps – to top up the balance if needed, particularly if overseas with a big time difference?
"I can sleep anywhere, but I try not to because, whenever I have a nap, I will always feel terrible afterwards. So I just try and stay awake until I have to go to bed at night."
Managing time differences won't be a factor for the Olympic Games in France, with the nations just one hour apart - one less thing for Team GB to incorporate in their comprehensive Olympic plans.
All part of being an elite gymnast, Jarman is not phased by the changes, it's just part of the sport. Besides, the team are taking the train to France, so there will be plenty of chances there for the team to stretch their legs en route to Paris.