Courtesy of University of Georgia
Jasmine Moore
Jasmine Moore, graduate of Mansfield’s Lake Ridge High School, has long been a local celebrity. From winning a Worlds championship in cheerleading her freshman year of high school to recently winning the 2020 SEC Women's Indoor Freshman Field Athlete of the Year, Moore’s recent third-place finish at the Olympic Trials builds on a long résumé of athletic success.
Moore, 20 years old and rising junior at the University of Florida, heads to Tokyo this month to compete in the triple jump after placing with a distance of 46 feet, 5 1/4 inches.
Moore spoke briefly with Fort Worth Magazine to talk about the upcoming Games, what the recent decision to remove spectators means for the competition, and what training looks like between now and Tokyo.
This interview has been edited for brevity and clarity.
FW: You were a world champion in cheer, so you’re going to the world stage again in the Olympics. Could you talk a little bit about your transition from cheer to track and in what ways competing will be different this time around?
JM: I feel like that's such a long time ago. It was my freshman year in high school, and I won the world championship with my team, Spirit of Texas. Obviously, that is more of a team sport, versus track is just you.
I've just grown and matured so much since then, and obviously, I was a lot younger. I feel like I am definitely more developed now.
I think track takes a different type of preparation versus cheer. And the world championship, it was a couple of international teams, but it was mainly U.S. teams. So, for the Olympics to obviously be teams and people from all over the world, that will be different. Cheer definitely has taught me a lot of team qualities and things that I still use today that have helped me out with track, that will help me in the workforce.
FW: The Olympics just announced that spectators won’t be allowed this year. Can you talk about how you think that will affect the feel of the competition?
JM: It's kind of similar to how we were in the indoor season for college. We weren't allowed to have fans in the arena during the indoor season, so it's kind of like that. It just obviously sucks because it is such a big moment and a big need to not have fans. I'm pretty sure that the competition will still be the same, and I think all the competitors will feed off each other.
FW: I saw that you recently transferred from the University of Georgia to the University of Florida. Can you speak about that move?
JM: I liked the University of Georgia because of [Coach Petros Kyprianou]. It was a great school; I made friends, and I got the fun experience. But it just wasn't for me, and my mental health there just wasn't good. So, having the opportunity to leave after Petros left as well, it was really a prayer answered because I had been wanting to leave, but I liked my coach so much that I wasn't willing to do that. So going to the University of Florida, I'm really excited. It has a great environment, and I'm just happy to be getting in a new area.
FW: What does your time look like between now and the Olympics? How are you preparing?
JM: So I'm going to Jacksonville tomorrow to train with Petros. I've just been training at home since, because of the storm, I wasn't able to get there earlier. All my training schedule has been the same since prior to making the team — nothing's really changed much, just the location.