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PERSONALITY PROFILE
THE JONES FILE
Name: Leisel Jones
Nicknames: “Lethal Leisel” and
“Weazel”
Date of Birth: Aug. 30, 1985
Age: 18
Born: Katherine, Northern Territory
Height: 5-9 (176 cm)
Weight: 132 pounds (60 kg)
Club: Redcliffe Lawnton, Queensland
Coach: Ken Wood
Family Members: Rosemary
(Mother)
School: Southern Cross, Redcliffe
Pets: King Charles Spaniel (Cloe),
Rat (Minx)
Favorite Band: Grinspoon
Relaxation: Reading
Favorite Car: Ford
Favorite Food: Cold Rock ice cream
Sponsorships: Uncle Toby’s,
Speedo, Innoxa and Ford
After Swimming: Perhaps to
design her own clothing label
Liesel’s coach of the past five years, 74-yearold
Ken Wood (left), describes Jones as the best
trainer he has ever coached.
Photo by Tom Brownold
Olympic Trials a little more than threeand-a-half
years ago. She clocked a very
satisfactory 1:08.71 to qualify fastest for
the 100-meter event and, at 14, became
the youngest swimmer to make the
Olympic team in 24 years.
“Going into the Olympic Trials, there
was no real pressure on me,” she
recalled. “I didn’t have to make the
team. I was prepared just go back to
school the next week. I didn’t think it
would change my life, but it certainly
did. Once I made the team, it was pretty
daunting. I hadn’t made a national
development squad or even been on
any junior camps, then suddenly I was
on the Australian Olympic team.
“There was so much hype in the leadup
to the Olympics, so much media
attention, and I hardly knew anyone on
the team, which made it very difficult. I
pretty much stuck with my roommate
(Sybilla Goode), who was also new to
the national team,” she recalled.
The record book shows that Jones
dealt pretty well with the expectations of
a nation, finishing her first “international
meet” with two Olympic silver
medals.
“At the time, I took it a little bit for
granted since it was a ‘home’ Olympics.
Now I look back and realize how special
an experience it was,” she said.
Stronger and Wiser
In 2001, at her first World Championships
in Fukuoka, Jones took silver in
the 100-meter race, again behind
China’s Luo, and placed fourth in the
deuce when she clocked a new PR
2:25.46. Earlier, she collected her first
gold medal in a major championship, as
part of the Aussie team that set a new
Championship record in the 400 medley
relay.
At the 2002 Commonwealth Games in
Manchester, Jones took the 100-200
double and a third gold in the medley
relay. Three weeks later in Yokohama at
the Pan Pacific Championships, she
added silver in the 200 breaststroke and
another relay gold.
In the case of “Lethal Leisel,” there
has been no stopping her momentum at
an age when many female swimmers
blossom early, then lose motivation and
direction. Her coach of the past five
years, 74-year-old Ken Wood, describes
Jones as the best trainer he has ever
coached.
“Leisel is so dedicated to her sport.
You have to admire the way she conducts
herself, and she has the natural
talent to be the best. People forget she’s
only just-turned 18.
“I remember in Fukuoka, she was crying
when she came up to me after finishing
second in the 100 breast. I
reminded her she now had silver medals
from both the Olympics and World
Championships. She started to laugh at
herself—she was only 15,” Wood
recalled.
Jones trains about 65-70,000 meters
per week, with ten sessions in the pool
and three trips to the gym. Interestingly,
her coach says she does up to 60 percent
of a session swimming breaststroke. The
big change to her program has come
after her disappointing 100 breast final
in Barcelona. Wood felt that they needed
to work on building her confidence
in pressure situations.
“I want her to move away from walking
out behind the blocks with an air of
anticipation to one of total confidence,”
he explained. He has been doing this by
giving her more work at race pace with
shorter rest. The hard work is already
starting to show fruit—two short course
world records and a pair of wins over
rival Amanda Beard, who beat her in
both the 100 and 200 in Barcelona.
“Leisel is a wonderful competitor,”
admits the 200 breast co-world record
holder Beard. “I know when I have her
in a lane next to me, it’s gonna be a real
good race. She never backs down. I like
racing people who will push me to be
outside my comfort zone. It will only
bring out the best in both of us.”
The determined Queenslander says
she intends to be around in swimming
“for as long as I continue to love it, perhaps
until I’m 28,” which computes to
three more Olympics. There is no question
this is one determined young
Aussie who will surely stand up to the
challenge in Athens next August, where
a silver medal just won’t be good
enough.
Stephen J. Thomas, one of Swimming World’s
Australian correspondents, is a former editorial consultant
to Australian Swimming and Fitness Magazine.
SWIMMING WORLD AND JUNIOR SWIMMER FEBRUARY 2004 23