Joanne Amy Jackson (born 12 September 1986) is an English freestyle swimmer. She is the sister of retired Olympic swimmer Nicola Jackson.[1] She was born in Northallerton and went to Richmond School, North Yorkshire.
Jackson won the 400 m freestyle event at the 2003 European Short Course Swimming Championships.[1]
She swam in the 2004 Athens Olympics in the 400 m freestyle and 4×200 m freestyle relay.[2][3] She was partly funded by Richmondshire District Council.[4]
In the 2006 Commonwealth Games she won a silver medal in the 400 m freestyle event.
On 11 August 2008 at the 2008 Summer Olympics she won a bronze medal in 400 m freestyle,[5][6] finished 14th in the 200 m freestyle[7] and 9th as part of the Great British team in the 4 × 200 m freestyle relay.[8]
On 16 March 2009 she set a new world record in the 400 m freestyle (long course) in a time of 4:00.66, beating her British rival and reigning Olympic gold medallist Rebecca Adlington in the process, who also broke the previous world record with a time of 4:00.89.[9]
On 26 July, she claimed silver in the 400-metre freestyle at the 2009 World Aquatics Championships, finishing behind Pellegrini but ahead of Adlington.[10] She then went on to claim a bronze medal in the 4×200 m freestyle relay and a silver medal in the 800 m freestyle – the most medals that any British swimmer has ever won in a single world championships.
At the London 2012 Olympics, Jackson finished seventh in her 400 m freestyle heat in a time of 4:11.50[11] and was also part of the British team that finished in fifth place in the 4×200 m freestyle relay.[12]
After retiring from competitive swimming in 2012, Jackson went on to establish the Joanne Jackson Swim Academy with former Olympic swimmer Grant Turner.