Joey Essex: “Maybe I could enter the Olympics next year”
Joey ‘the Eagle’ Essex has won The Jump and feels he could tackle anything – including the Olympics
Last night Joey Essex saw off competition from athletes Mike Tindall and Louise Hazel to win winter sports-themed reality show The Jump and now he feels, well, pretty epic.
“Maybe I could enter the Olympics next year or something,” an excitable Essex told RadioTimes.com this morning. “I beat two athletes – buzzing!”
The next winter Olympics aren’t until 2018, but hey, that’s a couple more years to practice, eh Joey?
The reality star admits – having never skied before – that he had no idea what his limits would be going into the competition, which saw him tackle all manner of winter sport disciplines including snow cross and bobsleigh. But Essex says he copes well under the spotlight.
“When I’m under pressure, I’m very confident. I don’t give up and I give my all. When I’m under pressure I can do anything.
“Every time I have done sport and someone has said to me, ‘Right Joey this is it,’ I’ve always taken it to that level and always somehow succeeded.”
‘Snowy Joey’ sure did succeed, besting former England rugby captain Mike Tindall in the final showdown; he jumped 17.5 metres to Tindall’s 17.
“Obviously Mike’s a bit annoyed about it, you can tell. He’s competitive and he wanted to win,” laughs Essex.
“You could see in his eyes he was gutted. Don’t underestimate an Essex boy!”
Now he’s the champ, Essex joins last year’s champion singer Joe McElderry in being the proud owner of an oversize cowbell. So what’s he going to do with that?
“I didn’t even know I was getting a cowbell. I’m going to treat it as a medal. I’m going to try and hang it on my wall in my living room or something.”
See Joey tonight in Educating Joey Essex: Supermodel Student 9:00pm on ITV2
