It is a long way from where he has come from. As a 12-year-old, Jackson decided to try his hand at competitive swimming when he was frustrated with team sport and bored of sitting on the sidelines watching his older sister compete.
Having learned to swim at the prompting of his mother and with the impetus of sibling rivalry, Jackson found a real aptitude for the sport.
He won two national junior titles during his time at the local Manurewa Swimming Club. Down the road, the successful Howick Pakuranga Club had emerged as a top-ranked age group programme and Jackson moved there under then coach Gary Hollywood.
"I thought I would try and get the best out of swimming and that was the best at the time," Jackson said. "We had a good squad. We were around the same age and really tight. We became good mates."
He thrived at age 15, making the national team for the transtasman age group competition in Australia.
However, despite bettering times at age group meets, Jackson missed qualifying for big meets like the Youth Commonwealth Games. Then things turned dark.
"I lost confidence in myself, in my swimming and my ability, and it took a toll on my performances and my approach to the sport for two years."
At the same time his clubmates at Howick Pakuranga, like Corey Main and Alex Hancock, were thriving.
"I contemplated giving it away many times. But even in my darkest patches, swimming was still something that enabled me to get away from other things," says Jackson. "Underneath, I always knew that I still liked swimming."
Coach Hollywood moved on with Jana Korbasova stepping up as acting head coach. The Slovakian, who competed at the Sydney Olympics, instilled fresh hope in Jackson. "She is such a positive person who looks on the bright side of things always. She never came to the pool unhappy.
"It motivated me and really helped me. My training was enjoyable again, I started to swim well and I wanted to do well for her."
Within six months, Jackson had turned things around to the extent that he qualified for the 2012 World Short Course Championships.
On his return, and with mates Main and Hancock living in the United States, coach Korbasova suggested that Jackson should consider change.
"She said that on my own she was not sure what more she could do with me and I should consider trying out for the national high-performance squad."
Korbasova supported the application, and Swimming New Zealand coach David Lyles decided to take the punt to add Jackson to his high performance squad. In just seven months, he helped Jackson qualify for the men's 4 x 200m freestyle relay team for Glasgow.
While daunted when first joining the senior squad at the Millennium Institute, alongside the likes of Lauren Boyle and Matthew Stanley, Jackson has thrived in the competitive environment.
"Everyone there expected to make the team and I didn't want to be left out. It's motivating to swim with fast swimmers in the lane next to you.
"I try to be a better athlete every day, to be the best I can be. I am trying not to hold back and to be assertive to what I need to do in training."
His Glasgow teammates have rallied behind their youngest colleague, supporting each other to push harder. They know that the team's tyro will never, ever give up.
