Jazz Carlin is a Double Olympic Silver medal-winning swimmer.
Born and raised in Swindon, Jazz was first recognised when she won Bronze at the 2005 European Junior Championships.
Following a period of development, Jazz won her first senior medal at the 2009 World Championships.
After helping the Great Britain team to a 4x200m Freestyle Relay medal at the 2010 European Championships in Budapest, Carlin ended a barren spell of 36 years for Welsh female swimming medalists at the Commonwealth Games by winning silver in the 200m Freestyle setting a new Welsh record.
A few days later, Carlin added to her tally, becoming the first female Welsh swimmer in 80 years to win two Commonwealth medals at one Games by taking Bronze in the 400m Freestyle.
Later that year in 2010 Jazz was announced as one of the six nominees of the BBC Cymru Wales Sports Personality of the Year 2010.
Despite her progress, 2011 and 2012 were unfortunate years for Jazz as a series of injuries, and then illness ruined her chances of competing at London 2012. However, with those two years behind her, Jazz bounced back making her mark on the global stage where she finished a creditable fourth in the 400m freestyle at the World Championships.
In 2014, Jazz kicked off her year 2014 winning Gold at the Mediterranean Open in the 400 meters, placing her 3rd in the World Rankings. Jazz followed this up at the British Championships winning the 800m, breaking her own Welsh record in the process.
Jazz entered the 2014 Commonwealth Games in Glasgow in stunning form winning Wales’ first Gold in the pool for 40 years, winning the 800m in 8 minutes 18.11 seconds.
The next day Jazz added to her medal haul, winning Silver in the 400m.
Fresh from success in Glasgow, Jazz headed to Berlin to compete in the European Championships, becoming one of the stars of the competition, winning Double Gold in the 400m and 800m freestyle. An impressive swim closely followed this at the World Championships in Doha where she achieved Silver narrowly missing out on Gold. These performances capped off an unbelievable year for Jazz.
Jazz began 2015 year with a bang, achieving 3 x Gold Medals at the British Championships in 800m, 400m and 200m.
More medals followed in 2015, including:
- 1 x Bronze at the 2015 World Championships in Kazan in the 800m freestyle,
- 3 x Silvers and 1 x Gold in the World Cup series
- 2 x Golds in the 800m and 400m freestyle at the European Short Course Championships in Israel.
Jazz continued this success into 2016, where Rio qualification was the main focus. Jazz qualified for the 2016 Olympics in superb style, winning the British Championships over 200m, 400m and 800m.
Following this success Jazz walked away with 2 x Silvers in the 400m and 800m at the European Championships in London.
With less than three months until the Games began Jazz competed at the Mare Nostrum competitions in Barcelona and Canet where she picked up 4 x Golds in the 400m and 800m.
When the 2016 Rio Olympics arrived, Jazz’s Olympic journey was nothing short of brilliant when she came away with 2 x Silver medals in both the 400m and 800m freestyle.
Jazz Carlin – Motivational Speaker
Following an incredible career, Jazz Carlin retired from competing in 2019 and currently works with Swim Wales to inspire the next generation of swimmers as well as mentor the Welsh Youth Squad.
As a motivational speaker, Jazz’s speaking topics include:
- Mental Toughness
- Positive Mindset
- Goal Setting
- Adapting to Change
