- The Olympian works full-time and fits his training around his busy schedule
- Jacob Fincham-Dukes, 27, is a British long jumper who lives full-time in Texas
- Olympic champion Miltiadis Tentoglou made history with his gold medal
A Team GB athlete is returning to his full-time job outside of athletics, just days after finishing fifth in the long jump final at the Paris Olympics.
Jacob Fincham-Dukes produced an impressive performance in last weekend’s qualifying matches to secure a place in the final at the Stade de France on Tuesday evening.
The 27-year-old then jumped a mammoth 8.14 metres, a distance just six centimetres off his personal best, to finish fifth. Olympic champion Miltiadis Tentoglou became the first athlete to win back-to-back long jump competitions in the 21st century.
But despite fulfilling his potential in Paris, Fincham-Dukes admitted he had other things on his mind during his time in the French capital.
“I really hope I’ve done myself justice because I work full time and I’m back at work on Friday,” Fincham-Dukes told the BBC.
Jacob Fincham-Dukes said he was already thinking about returning to work moments after the last
The 27-year-old jumped 8.14m in the long jump final to finish an impressive fifth in the event
Off the court, Fincham-Dukes is a Senior Associate at ISN and based in Arlington, Texas
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‘So I have to deal with a lot of extra stress that these guys don’t have to deal with.
‘I’ve behaved really well this year. Fourth at the European Championships, fifth at the Olympics.
‘I wasn’t supposed to finish fifth there, so I think I did myself proud.’
Off the track, Fincham-Dukes, who lives in Texas, works with ISN to ensure health and safety compliance. In an interview with his employers, the Harrogate-born athlete gave fans a revealing insight into the rigorous demands of his training regime, which combines work and competition.
“I train 7-8 times a week,” says Fincham-Dukes.
‘My day starts at 5am with a gym session, followed by work and then another workout. My weekly routine consists of strength training before work and training sessions after, with a recovery stretching session on Wednesday.
‘The day before a competition I do a short warm-up to prepare myself mentally and physically. I visualize my performance and set goals.’
The Harrogate-born athlete was just six centimetres off his personal best at Stade de France
Before the Games, Fincham-Dukes said his main goal was to reach Tuesday’s final
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Before the Games, Fincham-Dukes said his “main goal” was to reach the final and that representing Team GB was “hugely important”.
“Representing my country on such a global stage is a rare and special opportunity,” Fincham-Dukes added. “The pinnacle of the sport.”
Team GB had a mixed run in the athletics events on Tuesday night, with Josh Kerr narrowly missing out on the gold medal in the men’s 1500m final, beaten by unknown winner Cole Hocker of the USA.
Neither Daryll Neita nor Dina Asher-Smith were able to secure a medal in the 200m final an hour later. The British duo came agonisingly close to third place but finished empty-handed. Gold medallist Gabrielle Thomas, second-place finisher Julien Alfred and Thomas’ American compatriot Brittany Brown, who claimed bronze, performed convincingly.