The prospect of a pre-5am wake-up appeals little to most university students, but Jacques Bonsell (Medicine 2018) is motivated differently.

Jacques is a Cambridge University Swimming Club Blue and three to four times a week takes the short walk from his Caius postgraduate accommodation for two hours of early morning swimming at Parkside Pool, where he trains with City of Cambridge Swimming Club. He also trains for two hours in the evenings.

Swimming has obvious physical benefits, but Jacques also enjoys the meditative effect.

He says: “It’s very repetitive and it can drown out everything else. If I’m worrying about anything I get in the pool, plod up and down for two hours and forget it all.”

Jacques is from Blackpool, Lancashire, and completed nine two-hour swimming sessions a week as a teenager. His swimming schedule at Cambridge is light in comparison.

He is still reaping the rewards, setting a 200 metres freestyle personal best of one minute 49 seconds in last term's Varsity contest with Oxford. Jacques is also regularly winning East Region titles, claiming 100m freestyle gold earlier this year and 200m and 1500m freestyle titles in 2022.

Combining a challenging degree and a demanding sport brings structure to Jacques’ day.

“I get to the library early, work well and halfway through the afternoon I have a break for training,” he adds.

“They help each other sometimes, and also sometimes get in the way! It just alternates throughout the year where my focus is. I feel like I can’t do both as well as I would like to all the time.”

Jacques is came close to qualifying to represent Scotland at last year’s Commonwealth Games. He might have considered being a full-time swimmer, but opted instead to look long-term by choosing Cambridge and a medical degree. He is competing at the British Championships this week.

He enjoyed his cardiology placement at Papworth and likes the continuity of care of General Practice, while, like other athletes, he relished the adrenaline rush from accident and emergency.

As someone who worked for Blackpool Beach Patrol as a lifeguard as a teenager, his passion for swimming and health care are clear.

Swimmers are renowned for being able to sleep anywhere. Despite his talent in the pool, Jacques is not one for napping.

He says: “I feel like I’m wasting the day if I go back to sleep. I’m awake, I’m ready and plough on with it.

“I go to bed very early – my girlfriend teases me when I go to bed at 8.30pm!”

Photo credits: Main photo: Kane Smith; other photo: CoCSC