Elise Lovell has been competing in Sussex since she was 13 years old. Over the years she has represented Great Britain, won national titles as well as a string of county gold medals. She is also the current Sussex long jump record holder. Kate Matthews caught up with the Hastings athlete to chat about her background in the sport, training and dealing with changes following isolation and Coronavirus.
Kate: Who are you?
Elise: I am a 28 year old athlete who has lived in Hastings all my life. As well as representing Great Britain, I have achieved national titles and currently hold the county long jump record. Hastings AC has been the local club I have represented since the age of 13, and more recently I have competed for Havant AC, a club my family were always heavily involved in. I also represent Crawley AC as a higher claim athlete. Aside from athletics, I am a full time PE & Science teacher at The St Leonards Academy. From the age of 15, I have been coached by Steve King, nearly half my life, which he likes to remind me!
Kate: What are your favourite distances/disciplines?
Elise: My greatest success has come from being a Heptathlete. But I have always enjoyed specialising in the Long Jump and Hurdles. Due to an ongoing achilles issue, meaning my body now cannot cope with the intensity of a 2 day combined events competition, I have more recently started transferring my skills to the 400m Hurdles. Heptathlon has always been my passion, as I enjoy doing a variety of events. I like how if you have a bad event, you have the opportunity to make up points in other events. There is always a positive to take away from every combined events competition. There is also a very nurturing atmosphere within the combined events community. Even during competition, you are together for two days, and you always encourage each other to do well......to a point!
Kate: How did you get into athletics? 
Elise: I was a gymnast from the age of 6, but as I got older I struggled to progress as much as I would like, and needed a new hobby. My PE teacher at secondary school, Mrs Dallaway, noticed I had a talent in athletics and drove me towards the local athletics club. I began in the distance group, but quite quickly realised long distance running was definitely not for me after several windy, muddy and cold days dragging myself around cross country courses that I really did not enjoy. I tried a bit of Long Jump and sprinting at the county champs and was noticed by Steve King who suggested I try multi-events, and it all went from there.
Kate: What do you love/hate about the sport?
Elise: I love the way the sport is timed or measured, what you get is what you get. This always means you are in control of your performance. You can set personal targets and have personal bests that no one can take from you. Athletics is also so important at giving athletes fundamental movement skills that can be transferred to so many other sports. I don't really hate anything about the sport.
Kate: What has kept you in it? Have you had any breaks from it and come back?
Elise: As well as my own personal drive to achieve my goals, my parents have been my main reason for keeping in the sport. Their support and commitment to enabling me to get to training, competitions at various venues around the country and being there when things go wrong or right, has been invaluable, and I cannot thank them enough. I also wouldn't have had any of the success I have, without the incredible support of my coach Steve King. He will hate me for saying this, but he is always there at every important competition to give amazing coaching advice, celebrate performances, or give a witty and wise comment when things go wrong.
Kate: What is your most proud athletics' achievement moment?
Elise: Making my Great Britain debut in the European Combined Events Cup in the South of France. Standing on the start line of the 100m Hurdles, having your name announced as representing your country, and standing there in the kit with your family and coach watching. That feeling was amazing, and will stay with me for a lifetime. How I managed to settle and not false start was a miracle! Close to this is probably jumping 6m in the long jump for the first time.
Kate: What has been the toughest moment?
Elise: I had glandular fever quite aggressively in my final year of university. This meant I had to completely cut out training
and athletics just to have enough energy to focus on finishing my degree. This hit me hard, as not only could my body physically not train, I felt like all the training I had done for so many years would be lost. However, the whole situation made me realise the importance of rest and listening to your body as an athlete. It also made me learn that quality should be emphasised over quantity. I came back from this stronger than I had ever been before.
Kate: How often do you train (in normal times) and type of things this includes?
Elise: I usually have 3 track sessions a week where I run and/or do some technical work. I am then in the gym 2 times a week, and I try to do something different like pilates or yoga once a week. As I am Hastings based, training includes a lot of travel around the county to be with my training group and coach Steve.
Kate: Have you had any bad injuries and how did you deal with these?
Elise: I have been lucky in that I have only had the typical ligament and hamstring strains that seem to come with being a young heptathlete. My ongoing achilles issue is something that has developed in the last 3yrs, and I am learning to manage this. Dealing with these is just something you have to accept as an athlete. Looking after and listening to your body is so important, there is no point rushing the healing 
process, this could cause some more serious issues in the future.
Kate: Other than actual achievements/PBs, what has being part of athletics brought to your life?
Elise: Athletics has given me some key skills that I have been able to apply to every part of my life. I have learnt how to organise myself, due to the vast amount of kit I have to coordinate to take to heptathlon competitions and training. Seven pairs of athletics shoes do not fit in one rucksack! I have also learnt to time manage through having to train alongside education and now a career. In a less professional sense, athletics has given me some life-long friends and the opportunity to represent my country which I will cherish forever.
Kate: Best athletics memory?
Elise: Winning English Schools Long Jump. At the time, this was my ultimate goal 
as a young athlete, and it made me realise I can try and aim for the next level.
Kate: Any strange memories?
Elise: One that always sticks in my mind is one year when the training group were warm weather training in Spain, as we always did around Easter time. This particular year was that of the Icelandic volcano eruption. The ash cloud that followed meant that our flight was cancelled, and there wasn't another for a very long time. I was in the middle of exams at school, so had to get back home asap, as did another one of my group Amy Barclay. The only way we could get back in time was a 26hr straight coach journey across Spain, France, and then a ferry! It was horrible at the time as the rest of the group were back in the sun loving life and we had to sit through this journey from hell, but we always look back and laugh at it now.
Kate: What would you say to younger people wanting to get started?
Elise: Try not to stick to one event while you are young. Try other events, you never know, you might find something you weren't expecting to be good at.
Kate: What would you change about the sport?
Elise: If there was an infinite amount of money, I would increase the number of top level facilities in the South East. We really have had some impressive achievements as a county despite our lack of indoor arenas compared to other areas of the country, and I couldn't be more proud of that.
Kate: How do you juggle training/competitions around work?
Elise: I honestly don't have a magic answer to this. I just did/do what I could, and gave it my all. I have always seen athletics as a hobby, and therefore made my education the most important thing, because you may only have athletics for a short time, whereas education stays with you all your life. Nowadays with work, it is a little trickier, but athletics training is always something I enjoy and see it as my time to get away from everything that might be going on.
Kate: Favourite athlete (past or present)?
Elise: Jessica Ennis-Hill. I had the amazing privilege to train with her for 3yrs whilst I was at university in Sheffield, and whilst she was training for the 2012 Olympics. She is honestly one of the friendliest and most down to earth athletes I have ever met. Her achievements are outstanding.
Kate: Any other favourites i.e food, music?
Elise: Everyone who knows me, also knows I am a massive Leicester City fan, and like to make it known by wearing their shirts to training a lot of the time. I also love passing time with arts and crafts.
Kate: How are you managing to keep fit/train during Corona? Any tips for others?
Elise: It has been so difficult for all of us athletes during this time, but I believe we have all adapted so well. The school where I work have been amazing at giving me a safe space to complete training such as technical hurdles work that I would usually do on a track. Steve King has also been excellent at changing training sessions to suit the circumstances, and the facilities available to us. The only tips I could give are try and make the most of what you have. Hopefully with restrictions easing we will all soon be able to access the tracks we need, and be able to all be back competing soon.