British athlete Jessie Knight has said she doesn't want to give up being a primary school teacher despite chasing her Olympic dream.

The 25 year-old temporarily retired from running the 400m due to the demand of her teaching job three years ago.

“Your first year of teaching is really tough – you’re getting to school at 7am and I was working until 10pm.

“My athletics took a back seat and I didn’t want to do it if I couldn’t be the best I could be so I made the really sad decision to stop. I’d been doing it since I was eight, so I was really gutted,” she told The Telegraph.

Though she won't give up teaching completely she has considered going part-time.

“We’re discussing maybe going part time as a teacher next year, but I haven’t fully decided yet. No matter how well the season goes, I definitely wouldn’t leave teaching completely because it gives me a healthy distraction.

“But I do think going part-time would make everything a bit more manageable and mean I can get more sleep. At the moment I’m working off seven hours’ sleep, which I know for an athlete training at this level isn’t maximal.

“When I’ve finished a day at work, I’m absolutely exhausted and I know I have a lactic session in the evening, so I can’t say I’m not envious of full-time athletes.”

Knight is competing at the British Athletics Indoor Championships this weekend, keep an eye out for NewsChain's coverage.