Jessica Ennis
Encyclopedia
Jessica Ennis, MBE is a British
track and field
athlete specialising in multi-eventing disciplines
and 100m hurdles. A member of the City of Sheffield Athletic Club
, she is the current European and former World heptathlon
champion and is the current world indoor pentathlon
champion.
, is a self-employed painter and decorator
; her mother, a social worker, was born in Derbyshire
. Neither of her parents were particularly athletic, but her father did some sprinting at school whilst her mother favoured the high jump
. They introduced her to athletics by taking her to a 'Start:Track' event at Sheffield
's Don Valley Stadium
during the 1996 school summer holidays. In later years she joked that her parents took her to the event because "I think my mum and dad wanted me out of the house!" She won her first athletics prize there - a pair of trainers. More importantly, it was there that she met the man who was to become her coach, Toni Minichiello. She took to the sport immediately and joined the City of Sheffield Athletic Club
the following year, aged eleven. In November 2000, aged fourteen, she won the Sheffield Federation for School Sports Whitham Award for the best performance by a Sheffield
athlete at the National Schools Championships, where she won the high jump
competition.
Growing up in the Highfield area of Sheffield
, Ennis attended King Ecgbert School
in Dore
, where she sat her GCSEs and stayed on in the sixth form to gain three A-Levels, before going on to study Psychology
at the University of Sheffield
, graduating in 2007 with a 2:2.
Ennis lives in Sheffield
with her chocolate Labrador Myla. She got engaged to long-term boyfriend Andy Hill on Christmas Eve 2010. She is a fan of Sheffield United.
She writes a column for The Times
newspaper, and is a patron for businessman Barrie Wells
's sports foundation. She has been involved in advertising campaigns for Aviva
, Powerade
, BP
and Adidas
.
in Sherbrooke, Quebec
, Canada
in July and the 2004 World Junior Championships
in Grosseto
, Italy
, but it was her winning performance at the 2005 European Athletics Junior Championships
in Kaunas
, Lithuania
that brought her to the fore. Her first senior championships was the 2005 Universiade
, held in İzmir, Turkey, where she won the bronze medal with a new personal best of 5,910 points.
One of Ennis's first victories as a senior came in February 2004, when she was eighteen years old. She won the 60 metre hurdles at the Northern Senior Indoor Championships in a time of 8.60 seconds. Two weeks earlier she had won three Northern Junior Indoor Championship titles: the 60 metre sprint, the 60 metre hurdles and the high jump
.
Below is a summary of Ennis's early successes:
2000 – 1st AAA U15 Championships pentathlon and 75 metre hurdles
2001 – 2nd AAA U17 Indoor Championships 60 metre hurdles
2003 – 1st AAA U20 Indoor Championships pentathlon, 1st AAA U20 Championships 100 metre hurdles
2004 – 8th World Junior Championships heptathlon
2005 – 1st European Junior Championships heptathlon, 3rd World University Games heptathlon, 1st AAA Indoor Championships pentathlon, 3rd AAA Championships 100 metre hurdles
in Melbourne
, Australia
with a personal best score of 6,269 points, improving her previous best total by more than 350 points. Her leap of 1.91m high jump
would have been enough to take the individual event gold medal. Before the Games she didn't think she would do so well, saying, "I don't think I will win a medal, to be honest, but I am just hoping to score over 6,000 points."
Later in 2006 Ennis improved her personal best with a score of 6,287 points at the 2006 European Championships in Gothenburg
, Sweden
. This was only sufficient for her to finish eighth, three points behind fellow British heptathlete Kelly Sotherton
, after being third at the end of the first day. Ennis produced personal bests in the shot put
and the 200 metres
.
at the 2007 European Indoor Championships, in Birmingham
improving her personal best score by more than 300 points to 4,716.
In July Ennis competed in the 100 metre hurdles at the European Under-23 Championships in Debrecen
, Hungary
winning a bronze medal in time of 13.09 seconds, behind winner Nevin Yanit
of Turkey
and silver medallist Christina Vukicevic
of Norway
.
At the British National Championships, and World Trials, Ennis won the 100 metre hurdles beating specialists, such as defending champion Sarah Claxton
, as well as rival Kelly Sotherton
and also the high jump
.
In August Ennis finished fourth at the World Championships
in Osaka
, Japan
, behind the winner Carolina Klüft
, Lyudmyla Blonska and fellow Briton Kelly Sotherton
despite recording the fastest times in the three track events including a personal best of 12.97 seconds in the 100 metre hurdles. At the end of the first day's events, BBC Television
athletics commentator Paul Dickenson
remarked that Ennis's performance was "the sign of a champion for the future". At the conclusion of the competition, Sotherton told BBC Television
trackside interviewer Phil Jones
: "She's the future, so everyone better watch out."
Ennis also went on to finish second overall in the World Combined Events Challenge this season, behind the Osaka silver-medallist, Lyudmyla Blonska.
In September, Ennis won the inaugural European Athletics Rising Star Award.
competition at the Hypo-Meeting
in Götzis
, Austria
after the first day's events citing pain in her right foot. A scan later revealed that Ennis had three stress fractures in her right foot and would not be able to compete in the forthcoming Olympic Games
in Beijing
. The injury was diagnosed as stress fractures of the navicular and a metatarsal.
She wrote in her column in The Times
: "I was second after the first day, but the vague niggle I'd had beforehand was getting worse. It got really bad in the high jump, the second event of the day, and I think the damage started then. I had some treatment, felt fine and then set a personal best in the shot. In the 200 metres I think the adrenalin masked the pain, but in the home straight I felt I was going backwards. I struggled to push off and when I finished I couldn't walk."
Two years later Ennis told BBC Television
presenter Hazel Irvine
that she feared for her career. She said, "I was told by the UK Athletics
doctor that this was a career-threatening injury. At that point my heart absolutely sunk and I was worrying that it would be the end of my career at the age of 22."
in Desenzano del Garda
in May, winning the event with a personal best score of 6,587 points, including an 800 metres
personal best whilst also breaking Liliana Năstase
's 16-year-old meet record in the process. Notably Ennis's foot injury the previous year meant that she had to change her take-off leg in the long jump from right to left, a switch that she described as feeling "alien at the start" comparing it to changing her writing hand.
Ennis' next competition was at the McCain Loughborough
International meeting later in May where she competed as a guest in the long jump, in which she came second with 6.07 metres, and the 100 metre hurdles, which she won in 12.93 seconds. She then won the high jump
and 100 metre hurdles at the national championships in Birmingham
in July, with 1.91 metres and 12.87 seconds respectively.
In August Ennis won the gold medal at the 2009 World Championships
in Berlin
with a personal best points total of 6,731, 238 points ahead of silver medallist Jennifer Oeser
of Germany
and Poland
's Kamila Chudzik
. Ennis led the competition from the first event and posted a personal best of 14.14 metres in the shot put, whilst her first day points total of 4,124 points was the third-best first-day heptathlon
score ever behind world record holder Jackie Joyner-Kersee
and European record holder Carolina Klüft
. Ennis's overnight lead of 307 points was reduced but never threatened. She set off at a rapid pace in the 800 metres and although overtaken by Nataliya Dobrynska
on the final bend she regained the lead to win in 2 minutes 12.22 seconds. Ennis's room-mate and fellow heptathlete Louise Hazel revealed that Ennis had been reading Fern Britton
's autobiography to take her mind off being Britain's top medal hope. Ennis's parents weren't in Berlin to see her triumph as they had bought non-refundable tickets to Beijing a year earlier and, as Ennis said, "it was difficult for them to come out here financially." Ennis’s lap of honour, which in the heptathlon
is traditionally shared with all the other competitors, could not be completed as the athletes competing in the men's 100 metres final were preparing for their race, in which Usain Bolt
broke the world record with a time of 9.58 seconds. After her victory UK Athletics head coach Charles Van Commenee
said; "She is cool, calm and collected and that is her special quality. She is not affected by the opposition or the occasion and there is room for improvement."
Ennis made one final track appearance in 2009, at the Aviva
Grand Prix in Gateshead
at the end of August, coming fifth in the 100 metre hurdles in 13.28 seconds.
Sheffield City Council
held a reception for Ennis in the city’s Peace Gardens
, at which she was presented with a Mulberry
designer handbag and a canteen of Sheffield
cutlery. Council leader Paul Scriven
said, "This is from the 530,000 people of Sheffield – this is our prize to you, our golden girl, our special champion."
In November 2009 it was reported that Ennis had not yet claimed her $36,000 prize for winning in Berlin
. She said, "I actually forgot about it, to be honest - you have to fill out a form while you're out there, but I forgot. Yeah, I've got to chase that up."
In December 2009, Ennis won the "Sportswoman of the Year" award from the (British) Sports Journalists' Association, as well as being voted "Sportswoman of the Year" at the Ultimate Woman of the Year Awards organised by Cosmopolitan magazine
. Ennis also came third in the 2009 BBC Sports Personality of the Year
, behind second-placed Formula One
world champion Jensen Button and winner Ryan Giggs
of Manchester United F.C.
.
at a five-team international meeting in Glasgow winning in a British record time of 7.95 seconds, two hundredths of a second ahead of Jones. Afterwards Jones expressed shock at being beaten by a multi-eventer, saying; "I’m looking forward to getting smooth again and not letting heptathletes, who practise every event, beat me when I’m only working on one thing. That’s kind of crazy."
At the same meeting Ennis set a new indoor personal best in the High Jump
of 1.94 metres.
At the World Indoor Championships
in Doha
, Qatar
, Ennis became the World Indoor Champion for the pentathlon
with a new British Record
, Commonwealth Record and Championship Record, with a score of 4,937 points, finishing ahead of all three Beijing
heptathlon
medal winners, Nataliya Dobrynska
, Hyleas Fountain
and Tatyana Chernova
. Dobrynska was second with 4,851 points, Chernova third with 4,762 points and Fountain fourth with 4,753 points. Ennis's victory meant that she became the first British
woman to win world titles both indoors and outdoors. Her preparation for the event was hampered by another foot injury, much less serious than the one she suffered in 2008. Following her victory she said; "Winning the worlds and then competing here against everybody who was in Berlin
, apart from Kelly Sotherton
, was really special. It has really boosted my confidence knowing I came here having had another foot injury and still managed to beat people who won medals in Beijing
. The injury was always at the back of my mind and I was always a little bit worried about it."
In May Ennis won the 150 metre race in 16.99 seconds on a specially constructed straight track along Deansgate
in Manchester
city centre beating World and Olympic 400 metre champion Christine Ohurougu into third place. Later in May Ennis competed in three events at the Loughborough
International meeting. She ran 12.85 seconds in the 100 metre hurdles and cleared 1.93 metres in the high jump
but failed in her attempt to set a new British record of 1.96 metres. She was below her best in the javelin, throwing 43.83 metres.
At the end of May Ennis returned to the 2010 Hypo-Meeting
in Götzis
where she injured her ankle in 2008 winning the heptathlon with 6,689 points. She said her victory got rid of "all the demons from last time", referring to the foot injury suffered at the same event two years earlier that forced her to miss the Beijing
Olympics.
The Adidas Grand Prix Diamond League
meeting in New York
in June saw Ennis in a one-off contest over three events against Hyleas Fountain
. She won two of the three events, setting a personal best of 6.51 metres in the long jump, but lost by 15 points overall. She ran the 100 metres hurdles in 12.85 seconds, her second-fastest time ever, and recorded a below-par 13.61 metres in the shot put.
Ennis's training was interrupted in June due to a virus that affected her balance, preventing her from doing any work at all for two weeks. It forced her to miss the combined UK Championships/European Trials in Birmingham
. She said; "I was dizzy all the time. I had to stay in bed for two weeks because I couldn't move. All I did was watch TV all day and try to get better." She returned to action at the Aviva
Grand Prix in Gateshead
in mid July, competing in the 200 metres and javelin. She ran a disappointing 23.55 seconds in the 200 metres, but registered 46.15 metres in the javelin, close to her personal best.
Ennis won the heptathlon
gold medal at the 2010 European Championships with a personal best and European Championship Record score of 6,823 points, just eight points short of Denise Lewis
's British
and Commonwealth Records recording a personal best in the javelin of 46.71m. Ennis had led from the start of the competition but going into the final event, the 800 metres, she led Nataliya Dobrynska
by only 18 points. Dobrynska had to beat Ennis by 2.2 seconds to take the title. Ennis led from the gun but with 250 metres to go Dobrynska went past her. Ennis responded immediately and sprinted to victory in 2 minutes 10.18 seconds to win the gold medal. Dobrynska finished second, 45 points behind Ennis, with Jennifer Oeser
third. This time Ennis's parents were present to see her triumph.
After her victory Ennis recognised the challenge she had faced to overcome 2008 Olympic gold medallist Dobrynska. Ennis said: "It was really tough, completely different to last year and I'm happy to have handled the pressure and come out on top. At any point it could have completely changed. There was a lot of pressure because the girls were performing so well and I've been pushed all the way. I had to raise my game at every level." Dobrynska later declared that Ennis "has no weaknesses" but Ennis disagreed: "Everyone has a weakness. I'm expecting to be challenged [in the future] and things don't always go your way so I'm fully prepared for that." Dobrynska sounded her own warning: "Yes, Jessica is a great athlete but I know my reserve. What if I had managed to do the shot put in Barcelona as I can do, at least 50cm further? These are the eighty points which in the end I lacked to win."
Ennis decided not to compete in the 2010 Commonwealth Games
in Delhi
, India
.
Ennis was voted European Athlete of the Month three times in 2010, winning the award in January, March and May. She was nominated for a Laureus World Sports Award for Comeback of the Year
after she came back from injury to become world champion in 2009, the award eventually being won by Belgian tennis player Kim Clijsters
. Ennis was nominated as on the shortlist of fiver for the IAAF Female Athlete of the Year., an award won by Croatian high jumper Blanka Vlasic
. Also in November Ennis was voted the "Ultimate Sports Star" at the Ultimate Woman of the Year Awards organised by Cosmopolitan magazine
in London
, the second consecutive year she had won this award. A few days later Ennis was voted the "Outstanding Female Athlete" at the Commonwealth Sports Awards in Birmingham
, despite not competing in the Delhi
Commonwealth Games
. The awards nominations continued to flow: Ennis was shortlisted for the BBC
Sports Personality of the Year title for the second year running, and also for the Sunday Times "Sportswoman of the Year". She was unanimously voted (female) "British Athlete of the Year" by the British Athletics Writers' Association and was
named the Sports Journalists' Association's "Sportswoman of the Year", both titles for the second consecutive year. Ennis came third for the second year in succession in the vote for the BBC
Sports Personality of the Year, polling just over 9% of the votes. The runaway winner was jump jockey Tony McCoy
, with darts player Phil Taylor pipping Jessica for second place.
In 2010 Ennis was chosen to receive a D.Litt
Honorary degree
from the University of Sheffield
for her excellent contribution to sport. She was the 2010 recipient of the prestigious Dame Marea Hartman Award awarded annually to the English female athlete who is adjudged to have been the outstanding athlete of the year. Others to have received this award include Christine Ohuruogu
and Becky Lyne
.
In August 2010 Ennis was put forward as a role model for young students - at a California high school. The incoming class of teenagers at the Silicon Valley
city's Presentation High School were asked by Pete Campbell, a columnist for the San Jose
on-line publication sanjoseinside.com: "How many of you know who Jessica Ennis is? Jessica Ennis is an international track star. Earlier this summer, she won the gold medal in the Heptathlon
at the European Championships. Last year, she also took gold at the World Championships. Jessica Ennis is arguably the world’s greatest female athlete. This young woman can fly…and throw…and jump…etc. She’s Wonder Woman."
in Sheffield
in mid January. She competed in the shot put, in which she finished second with an indoor personal best of 14.11 metres, the 60 metres hurdles, which she won in a time of 8.15 seconds, and the 60 metres sprint. She won her heat in 7.44 seconds but did not participate in the final as a precaution after she felt a 'twinge' in her knee. Ennis's shot put personal best lasted only a week as she bettered it by 50 centimetres at an indoor meeting in Loughborough
. The same day she recorded 6.16 metres in the long jump and 8.03 seconds in the 60 metres hurdles. On 29 January Ennis captained the British team at the Aviva
international meeting in Glasgow
. She competed in the 60 metres hurdles and won in a time of 7.97 seconds, beating renowned American sprint hurdler Lolo Jones
for the second time. During the race Jones hit a hurdle and was never in contention to win. Ennis also competed in the long jump
, where she came third, jumping a distance of 6.38 metres, one centimetre behind her indoor personal best. She improved her distance with each jump in the third, fourth, fifth and sixth rounds.
The Aviva
Indoor UK Trials and Championships were held at the English Institute of Sport
in Sheffield
over the weekend of 12/13 February 2011. Ennis intended to compete in four events - two each day. On the first day she won the high jump
with a height of 1.88 metres and finished seventh in the shot put
, throwing a below-par 13.86 metres. After two high jump
failures at 1.91 metres, Ennis declined her third attempt as she felt "tightness" in her ankle and withdrew from the following day's long jump
and 60 metres hurdles. The injury was serious enough for her to pull out of the following week's Aviva
Grand Prix meeting in Birmingham
and also the European Indoor Championships held in Paris
in early March. She said; "I cannot take this risk. The World Championships has to be my priority." The injury was diagnosed as inflammation of the plantaris muscle
. In Paris
the pentathlon
was won by Frenchwoman Antoinette Nana Djimou
with a total more than 200 points fewer than Ennis's score at the World Indoor Championships a year earlier.
Ennis's first outdoor appearance of 2011 was in the Great City Games of Manchester on 15 May. On a track laid on the city's Deansgate
thoroughfare she competed in the 100 metres hurdles, in which she came third in a time of 12.88 seconds, and the straight 150 metres sprint, in which she came second in 17.40 seconds. The following week she competed in two events at the Loughborough International Meeting. In windy conditions she won the high jump competition with 1.86 metres and finished sixth in the javelin, throwing 44.49 metres.
On the final weekend in May Ennis won the heptathlon at the 2011 Hypo-Meeting in Götzis
, Austria, for the second consecutive year, recording 6,790 points, 101 more than in 2010 and just 33 points below her best ever. She beat Russia's Tatyana Chernova
by 251 points. Her first day total of 4097 points gave her a chance of beating Denise Lewis
's British record, but her performances in the long jump and javelin were below her best. However, she recorded personal best times in the 200 metres (23.11 seconds) and the 800 metres (2 minutes 8.46 seconds). Afterwards Ennis said: "I had about six weeks to prepare and that's about the bare minimum you'd need. I didn't want to come and produce a poor score and send out the wrong message with the World Championships this year. It was a bit of a gamble but as I started training I was in quite good shape and running well so I knew I could get myself in reasonably good shape and the gamble paid off."
Ennis next competed in two events at the Diamond League meeting at Randall's Island
, New York
, but she struggled in the face of a strong headwind and rain. She jumped 6.03 metres in the long jump and ran 13.27 seconds in the 100 metres hurdles. The following weekend Ennis took part in the Northern Athletics Outdoor Championships in Manchester
, winning the long jump with 6.24 metres and finishing second in the javelin with a throw of 44.81 metres.
In mid July Ennis announced that she was to compete in five individual events at the Aviva UK Trials and Championships at the Alexander Stadium
in Birmingham: the 100 metres hurdles, the high jump, the long jump, the shot put and the javelin. She equalled her outdoor personal best in the shot put (14.25 metres), jumped a season's best in the long jump (6.44 metres), won the national high jump title for the second time (1,89 metres) and finished second behind new British record holder Tiffany Porter in the 100 metres hurdles (12.96 seconds). In the final event she threw 42.93 metres in the javelin competition. Ennis's last competition before the World Championships in Daegu
was a low-key midweek event at Loughborough
, where she recorded a personal best 12.79 seconds in the 100 metres hurdles to place her second on the British all-time list.
At the 2011 World Athletics Championships in Daegu
, South Korea
, Ennis was in the unusual position of not being in the lead after the first event, the 100 metres hurdles, her time of 12.94 seconds leaving her two points behind Hyleas Fountain
. Fountain increased her lead to 41 points after the high jump, Ennis clearing only 1.86 metres. A personal best throw of 14.67 metres in the shot put gave Ennis the lead in the competition, a lead she increased after the 200 metres, which she ran in a time of 23.27 seconds. Her first-day total of 4,078 points was two points fewer than at the same stage of the 2010 European Championships and 46 fewer than in the 2009 World Championships. She led Tatyana Chernova
by 151 points. On Day Two, Chernova reduced Ennis's lead by jumping 6.61 metres in the long jump, but Ennis responded by matching her personal best of 6.51 metres to limit the damage, now holding a lead of 118 points. Ennis's hopes of retaining her title received a severe setback with a poor effort of just 39.95 metres in the javelin, after Chernova had earlier thrown 52.95 metres to take an overall lead of 133 points. Ennis needed to beat Chernova by around nine seconds in the final event, the 800 metres, and despite recording a personal best time of 2 minutes 7.81 seconds it was not enough to overcome the deficit, as Chernova finished under one second behind, taking the title by 129 points. Chernova's score of 6880 points was 49 points higher than Denise Lewis
's British record and 57 points higher than Ennis's best total. Afterwards, Ennis's coach Toni Minichiello pointed out that his athlete 'beat Chernova in five events, but just got heavily beaten in the javelin. That's the difference.' Ennis remarked: 'I don't want to analyse it too much. I think it was just one of those days where it just didn't come together. The event is always going to improve year upon year. It was a brilliant score by Chernova, she performed really well. I think I performed well, I've had some solid performances, some PBs, so I can take positives away from that and work on the javelin.'
Ennis, who had contemplated retirement after the 2016 Olympic Games, modified her plans when, in November 2011, the IAAF awarded the 2017 World Athletics Championships to London. She said: 'The fact that there will now be a World Championships on home soil will probably change my thinking. The heptathlon is such a gruelling event, there are only so many years you can cope with waking up with your body screaming at you. I will be 31 and nearing retirement by the time the 2017 World Championships come around. I hope that is not too old and that there is still some life in my bones.'
In January 2011 Ennis was one of six women nominated for the 2011 Laureus World Sports Awards
. She was selected as European Athlete of the Month for January 2011 and in June 2011 she was voted Sportswoman of the Year by Glamour magazine
. Later the same month Ennis was inducted into the Sheffield Legends
'Walk of Fame', alongside other well-known people born in or connected with Sheffield
who are honoured by plaques set in the pavement outside the Town Hall. The following month Ennis became part-owner of a two-year-old throroughbred racehorse that shares her name. The grey filly, bought by John Warren for Highclere Thoroughbred Racing for 82,000 guineas, is trained by Michael Bell. However, a few days later the horse was injured in a training accident when it bolted whilst undergoing stalls schooling, ran into a road and was hit by a car.
A lifesize representation of Ennis in wax was unveiled at Madame Tussaud's in London in late July. The model shows Ennis in celebratory pose holding a Union Flag
.
Ennis was appointed Member of the Order of the British Empire (MBE) in the 2011 Birthday Honours
for services to athletics.
In October Ennis was voted Athlete of the Year for the third time by the British Athletic Writers' Association, beating Hannah England
by two votes.
Ennis featured in the December 2011 issue of British Vogue
magazine as part of its People To Celebrate feature and also appeared in a video of her photoshoot for the magazine.
, Ennis achieved a foot (30 cm) above her own height of 1.65 which only ten women have ever managed, it also meant that she became the joint British women's high jump record holder.
Her personal best of 12.79 seconds in the 100 metre hurdles puts her in second place on the British all-time list
, with only Tiffany Porter (12.56s) having achieved a better time in the event.
Ennis is currently second on the British all-time list for the Heptathlon with 6,823 points, behind Olympic gold-medallist Denise Lewis
(6,831). If Ennis managed to equal all of her personal bests in one heptathlon competition, she would achieve a total of 7,037 points. Lewis's equivalent personal best total would be 6,970 points.
Outdoor Personal Bests
Indoor Personal Bests
had struggled during his unfamiliar role as athletics presenter on UK television. Following a morning session, Deley appeared to improvise off script, remarking on "a gloriously sunny day in the studio" and in a moment of confusion saying the words "Jessica Ennis...goodnight" as the programme cut for adverts. In the subsequent days many TV and radio presenters used the phrase to 'sign off', as a way of parody.
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
track and field
Track and field
Track and field is a sport comprising various competitive athletic contests based around the activities of running, jumping and throwing. The name of the sport derives from the venue for the competitions: a stadium which features an oval running track surrounding a grassy area...
athlete specialising in multi-eventing disciplines
Heptathlon
A heptathlon is a track and field athletics combined events contest made up of seven events. The name derives from the Greek hepta and athlon . A competitor in a heptathlon is referred to as a heptathlete.-Women's Heptathlon:...
and 100m hurdles. A member of the City of Sheffield Athletic Club
City of Sheffield Athletic Club
The City of Sheffield Athletic Club is one of the North of England's premier clubs, with a senior men's team which is in the Premiership of the British Athletics League. They have a mix of athletes from varied cultural backgrounds from ages 8 year olds to seniors and veterans...
, she is the current European and former World heptathlon
Heptathlon
A heptathlon is a track and field athletics combined events contest made up of seven events. The name derives from the Greek hepta and athlon . A competitor in a heptathlon is referred to as a heptathlete.-Women's Heptathlon:...
champion and is the current world indoor pentathlon
Women's pentathlon
The pentathlon is a sports contest made up of five events . The women's pentathlon was contested in the Olympics from 1964 until 1980, and it was replaced in the 1984 Games with the heptathlon. It had a different set of events than the ancient Olympic pentathlon...
champion.
Background
One of two daughters born to Vinnie Ennis and Alison Powell, Jessica Ennis has a younger sister called Carmel. Her father, originally from JamaicaJamaica
Jamaica is an island nation of the Greater Antilles, in length, up to in width and 10,990 square kilometres in area. It is situated in the Caribbean Sea, about south of Cuba, and west of Hispaniola, the island harbouring the nation-states Haiti and the Dominican Republic...
, is a self-employed painter and decorator
Painter and decorator
A house painter and decorator is a tradesman responsible for the painting and decorating of buildings, and is also known as a decorator or house painter...
; her mother, a social worker, was born in Derbyshire
Derbyshire
Derbyshire is a county in the East Midlands of England. A substantial portion of the Peak District National Park lies within Derbyshire. The northern part of Derbyshire overlaps with the Pennines, a famous chain of hills and mountains. The county contains within its boundary of approx...
. Neither of her parents were particularly athletic, but her father did some sprinting at school whilst her mother favoured the high jump
High jump
The high jump is a track and field athletics event in which competitors must jump over a horizontal bar placed at measured heights without the aid of certain devices in its modern most practiced format; auxiliary weights and mounds have been used for assistance; rules have changed over the years....
. They introduced her to athletics by taking her to a 'Start:Track' event at Sheffield
Sheffield
Sheffield is a city and metropolitan borough of South Yorkshire, England. Its name derives from the River Sheaf, which runs through the city. Historically a part of the West Riding of Yorkshire, and with some of its southern suburbs annexed from Derbyshire, the city has grown from its largely...
's Don Valley Stadium
Don Valley Stadium
The Don Valley Stadium is a stadium in Sheffield, England and is the home of Rotherham United F.C.. The stadium is an athletics stadium which has hosted major UK Athletic events and the 1991 World Student Games. Sheffield Eagles RLFC and Parramore Sports FC also use the stadium. It was designed by...
during the 1996 school summer holidays. In later years she joked that her parents took her to the event because "I think my mum and dad wanted me out of the house!" She won her first athletics prize there - a pair of trainers. More importantly, it was there that she met the man who was to become her coach, Toni Minichiello. She took to the sport immediately and joined the City of Sheffield Athletic Club
City of Sheffield Athletic Club
The City of Sheffield Athletic Club is one of the North of England's premier clubs, with a senior men's team which is in the Premiership of the British Athletics League. They have a mix of athletes from varied cultural backgrounds from ages 8 year olds to seniors and veterans...
the following year, aged eleven. In November 2000, aged fourteen, she won the Sheffield Federation for School Sports Whitham Award for the best performance by a Sheffield
Sheffield
Sheffield is a city and metropolitan borough of South Yorkshire, England. Its name derives from the River Sheaf, which runs through the city. Historically a part of the West Riding of Yorkshire, and with some of its southern suburbs annexed from Derbyshire, the city has grown from its largely...
athlete at the National Schools Championships, where she won the high jump
High jump
The high jump is a track and field athletics event in which competitors must jump over a horizontal bar placed at measured heights without the aid of certain devices in its modern most practiced format; auxiliary weights and mounds have been used for assistance; rules have changed over the years....
competition.
Growing up in the Highfield area of Sheffield
Sheffield
Sheffield is a city and metropolitan borough of South Yorkshire, England. Its name derives from the River Sheaf, which runs through the city. Historically a part of the West Riding of Yorkshire, and with some of its southern suburbs annexed from Derbyshire, the city has grown from its largely...
, Ennis attended King Ecgbert School
King Ecgbert School
King Ecgbert School is a coeducational comprehensive school in the village of Dore in the south west of Sheffield, South Yorkshire, England....
in Dore
Dore
Dore is a village in South Yorkshire, England. The village lies on a hill above the River Sheaf, and until 1934 was part of Derbyshire, but it is now a suburb of Sheffield. It is served by Dore and Totley railway station on the Hope Valley Line...
, where she sat her GCSEs and stayed on in the sixth form to gain three A-Levels, before going on to study Psychology
Psychology
Psychology is the study of the mind and behavior. Its immediate goal is to understand individuals and groups by both establishing general principles and researching specific cases. For many, the ultimate goal of psychology is to benefit society...
at the University of Sheffield
University of Sheffield
The University of Sheffield is a research university based in the city of Sheffield in South Yorkshire, England. It is one of the original 'red brick' universities and is a member of the Russell Group of leading research intensive universities...
, graduating in 2007 with a 2:2.
Ennis lives in Sheffield
Sheffield
Sheffield is a city and metropolitan borough of South Yorkshire, England. Its name derives from the River Sheaf, which runs through the city. Historically a part of the West Riding of Yorkshire, and with some of its southern suburbs annexed from Derbyshire, the city has grown from its largely...
with her chocolate Labrador Myla. She got engaged to long-term boyfriend Andy Hill on Christmas Eve 2010. She is a fan of Sheffield United.
She writes a column for The Times
The Times
The Times is a British daily national newspaper, first published in London in 1785 under the title The Daily Universal Register . The Times and its sister paper The Sunday Times are published by Times Newspapers Limited, a subsidiary since 1981 of News International...
newspaper, and is a patron for businessman Barrie Wells
Barrie Wells
Barrie Wells is an English financial services entrepreneur and businessperson, who has set up and sold two major insurance-related businesses in his career...
's sports foundation. She has been involved in advertising campaigns for Aviva
Aviva
Aviva plc is a global insurance company headquartered in London, United Kingdom. It is the sixth-largest insurance company in the world measured by net premium income and has 53 million customers in 28 countries...
, Powerade
Powerade
Powerade is a sports drink manufactured and marketed by The Coca-Cola Company. First introduced in 1988, its primary competitor is PepsiCo's Gatorade...
, BP
BP
BP p.l.c. is a global oil and gas company headquartered in London, United Kingdom. It is the third-largest energy company and fourth-largest company in the world measured by revenues and one of the six oil and gas "supermajors"...
and Adidas
Adidas
Adidas AG is a German sports apparel manufacturer and parent company of the Adidas Group, which consists of the Reebok sportswear company, TaylorMade-Adidas golf company , and Rockport...
.
Junior competitions and early senior career
Ennis competed at the 2003 World Youth Championships2003 World Youth Championships in Athletics
The 2003 World Youth Championships in Athletics is the 2003 version of the World Youth Championships in Athletics. It was held in Sherbrooke, Quebec, Canada from the 9th to the 13th of July.-Boys:-Girls:-Medals table:-External links:*...
in Sherbrooke, Quebec
Quebec
Quebec or is a province in east-central Canada. It is the only Canadian province with a predominantly French-speaking population and the only one whose sole official language is French at the provincial level....
, Canada
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
in July and the 2004 World Junior Championships
2004 World Junior Championships in Athletics
The 2004 World Junior Championships in Athletics was the 2004 version of the World Junior Championships in Athletics. It was held in Grosseto in Italy.-Men:-Women:-Medals table:-References:*. GBR Athletics. Retrieved on 2010-06-06....
in Grosseto
Grosseto
Grosseto is a city and comune in the central Italian region of Tuscany, the capital of the Province of Grosseto. The city lies 14 km from the Tyrrhenian Sea, in the Maremma, at the centre of an alluvial plain, on the Ombrone river....
, Italy
Italy
Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...
, but it was her winning performance at the 2005 European Athletics Junior Championships
2005 European Athletics Junior Championships
The 2005 European Athletics Junior Championships is the 2005 version of the European Athletics Junior Championships. It was held in Kaunas, Lithuania.-Men:-Women:-Medal table:-Notes and references:*...
in Kaunas
Kaunas
Kaunas is the second-largest city in Lithuania and has historically been a leading centre of Lithuanian economic, academic, and cultural life. Kaunas was the biggest city and the center of a powiat in Trakai Voivodeship of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania since 1413. During Russian Empire occupation...
, Lithuania
Lithuania
Lithuania , officially the Republic of Lithuania is a country in Northern Europe, the biggest of the three Baltic states. It is situated along the southeastern shore of the Baltic Sea, whereby to the west lie Sweden and Denmark...
that brought her to the fore. Her first senior championships was the 2005 Universiade
Athletics at the 2005 Summer Universiade
The athletics competition in the 2005 Summer Universiade was held on the İzmir Atatürk Stadyumu in İzmir, Turkey, between 15 August and 20 August 2005.-Men's events:-Women's events:-Medal table:-References:* - GBR Athletics* - GBR Athletics* - FIBU...
, held in İzmir, Turkey, where she won the bronze medal with a new personal best of 5,910 points.
One of Ennis's first victories as a senior came in February 2004, when she was eighteen years old. She won the 60 metre hurdles at the Northern Senior Indoor Championships in a time of 8.60 seconds. Two weeks earlier she had won three Northern Junior Indoor Championship titles: the 60 metre sprint, the 60 metre hurdles and the high jump
High jump
The high jump is a track and field athletics event in which competitors must jump over a horizontal bar placed at measured heights without the aid of certain devices in its modern most practiced format; auxiliary weights and mounds have been used for assistance; rules have changed over the years....
.
Below is a summary of Ennis's early successes:
2000 – 1st AAA U15 Championships pentathlon and 75 metre hurdles
2001 – 2nd AAA U17 Indoor Championships 60 metre hurdles
2003 – 1st AAA U20 Indoor Championships pentathlon, 1st AAA U20 Championships 100 metre hurdles
2004 – 8th World Junior Championships heptathlon
2005 – 1st European Junior Championships heptathlon, 3rd World University Games heptathlon, 1st AAA Indoor Championships pentathlon, 3rd AAA Championships 100 metre hurdles
2006
Ennis won a bronze medal at the 2006 Commonwealth Games2006 Commonwealth Games
The 2006 Commonwealth Games were held in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia between 15 March and 26 March 2006. It was the largest sporting event to be staged in Melbourne, eclipsing the 1956 Summer Olympics in terms of the number of teams competing, athletes competing, and events being held.The site...
in Melbourne
Melbourne
Melbourne is the capital and most populous city in the state of Victoria, and the second most populous city in Australia. The Melbourne City Centre is the hub of the greater metropolitan area and the Census statistical division—of which "Melbourne" is the common name. As of June 2009, the greater...
, Australia
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
with a personal best score of 6,269 points, improving her previous best total by more than 350 points. Her leap of 1.91m high jump
High jump
The high jump is a track and field athletics event in which competitors must jump over a horizontal bar placed at measured heights without the aid of certain devices in its modern most practiced format; auxiliary weights and mounds have been used for assistance; rules have changed over the years....
would have been enough to take the individual event gold medal. Before the Games she didn't think she would do so well, saying, "I don't think I will win a medal, to be honest, but I am just hoping to score over 6,000 points."
Later in 2006 Ennis improved her personal best with a score of 6,287 points at the 2006 European Championships in Gothenburg
Gothenburg
Gothenburg is the second-largest city in Sweden and the fifth-largest in the Nordic countries. Situated on the west coast of Sweden, the city proper has a population of 519,399, with 549,839 in the urban area and total of 937,015 inhabitants in the metropolitan area...
, Sweden
Sweden
Sweden , officially the Kingdom of Sweden , is a Nordic country on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. Sweden borders with Norway and Finland and is connected to Denmark by a bridge-tunnel across the Öresund....
. This was only sufficient for her to finish eighth, three points behind fellow British heptathlete Kelly Sotherton
Kelly Sotherton
Kelly Jade Sotherton is an English heptathlete and 400m sprinter. She was the bronze medallist at the 2004 Summer Olympics and was fourth at the 2008 Summer Olympics. She also was a bronze at the 2007 World Championships in Athletics, and was the heptathlon gold medallist at the 2006 Commonwealth...
, after being third at the end of the first day. Ennis produced personal bests in the shot put
Shot put
The shot put is a track and field event involving "putting" a heavy metal ball—the shot—as far as possible. It is common to use the term "shot put" to refer to both the shot itself and to the putting action....
and the 200 metres
200 metres
A 200 metres race is a sprint running event. On an outdoor 400 m track, the race begins on the curve and ends on the home straight, so a combination of techniques are needed to successfully run the race. A slightly shorter race, called the stadion and run on a straight track, was the first...
.
2007
Ennis finished sixth in the pentathlonPentathlon
A pentathlon is a contest featuring five different events. The name is derived from Greek: combining the words pente and -athlon . The first pentathlon was documented in Ancient Greece and was part of the Ancient Olympic Games...
at the 2007 European Indoor Championships, in Birmingham
Birmingham
Birmingham is a city and metropolitan borough in the West Midlands of England. It is the most populous British city outside the capital London, with a population of 1,036,900 , and lies at the heart of the West Midlands conurbation, the second most populous urban area in the United Kingdom with a...
improving her personal best score by more than 300 points to 4,716.
In July Ennis competed in the 100 metre hurdles at the European Under-23 Championships in Debrecen
Debrecen
Debrecen , is the second largest city in Hungary after Budapest. Debrecen is the regional centre of the Northern Great Plain region and the seat of Hajdú-Bihar county.- Name :...
, Hungary
Hungary
Hungary , officially the Republic of Hungary , is a landlocked country in Central Europe. It is situated in the Carpathian Basin and is bordered by Slovakia to the north, Ukraine and Romania to the east, Serbia and Croatia to the south, Slovenia to the southwest and Austria to the west. The...
winning a bronze medal in time of 13.09 seconds, behind winner Nevin Yanit
Nevin Yanıt
Nevin Yanıt, is a Turkish female sprinter competing in hurdling, especially in 100 m hurdles. Currently, she is majoring in Physical Education at Mersin University, and a member of the Fenerbahçe S.K. athletics club...
of Turkey
Turkey
Turkey , known officially as the Republic of Turkey , is a Eurasian country located in Western Asia and in East Thrace in Southeastern Europe...
and silver medallist Christina Vukicevic
Christina Vukicevic
Ljubica Christina Vukicevic is a Norwegian hurdler of Serbian and Norwegian descent...
of Norway
Norway
Norway , officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic unitary constitutional monarchy whose territory comprises the western portion of the Scandinavian Peninsula, Jan Mayen, and the Arctic archipelago of Svalbard and Bouvet Island. Norway has a total area of and a population of about 4.9 million...
.
At the British National Championships, and World Trials, Ennis won the 100 metre hurdles beating specialists, such as defending champion Sarah Claxton
Sarah Claxton
Sarah Claxton is an English athlete who specializes in the 100 metres hurdles.She finished eighth at the 2008 Olympic Games...
, as well as rival Kelly Sotherton
Kelly Sotherton
Kelly Jade Sotherton is an English heptathlete and 400m sprinter. She was the bronze medallist at the 2004 Summer Olympics and was fourth at the 2008 Summer Olympics. She also was a bronze at the 2007 World Championships in Athletics, and was the heptathlon gold medallist at the 2006 Commonwealth...
and also the high jump
High jump
The high jump is a track and field athletics event in which competitors must jump over a horizontal bar placed at measured heights without the aid of certain devices in its modern most practiced format; auxiliary weights and mounds have been used for assistance; rules have changed over the years....
.
In August Ennis finished fourth at the World Championships
2007 World Championships in Athletics
The 11th World Championships in Athletics, under the auspices of the International Association of Athletics Federations , were held at Nagai Stadium in Osaka, Japan from 24 August to 2 September 2007...
in Osaka
Osaka
is a city in the Kansai region of Japan's main island of Honshu, a designated city under the Local Autonomy Law, the capital city of Osaka Prefecture and also the biggest part of Keihanshin area, which is represented by three major cities of Japan, Kyoto, Osaka and Kobe...
, Japan
Japan
Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...
, behind the winner Carolina Klüft
Carolina Klüft
Carolina Evelyn Klüft is a Swedish athlete competing in triple jump, long jump and formerly in heptathlon and pentathlon. She won the Olympic heptathlon title in 2004...
, Lyudmyla Blonska and fellow Briton Kelly Sotherton
Kelly Sotherton
Kelly Jade Sotherton is an English heptathlete and 400m sprinter. She was the bronze medallist at the 2004 Summer Olympics and was fourth at the 2008 Summer Olympics. She also was a bronze at the 2007 World Championships in Athletics, and was the heptathlon gold medallist at the 2006 Commonwealth...
despite recording the fastest times in the three track events including a personal best of 12.97 seconds in the 100 metre hurdles. At the end of the first day's events, BBC Television
BBC Television
BBC Television is a service of the British Broadcasting Corporation. The corporation, which has operated in the United Kingdom under the terms of a Royal Charter since 1927, has produced television programmes from its own studios since 1932, although the start of its regular service of television...
athletics commentator Paul Dickenson
Paul Dickenson
Derek Paul Dickenson is a retired male hammer thrower from England, who represented the United Kingdom at two consecutive Summer Olympics, starting in 1976 . His best Olympic result was finishing in 14th place at the 1976 Summer Olympics, throwing 68.52 metres...
remarked that Ennis's performance was "the sign of a champion for the future". At the conclusion of the competition, Sotherton told BBC Television
BBC Television
BBC Television is a service of the British Broadcasting Corporation. The corporation, which has operated in the United Kingdom under the terms of a Royal Charter since 1927, has produced television programmes from its own studios since 1932, although the start of its regular service of television...
trackside interviewer Phil Jones
Phil Jones
Philip D. Jones is a climatologist at the University of East Anglia, where he works as a Professor in the School of Environmental Sciences. Jones holds a BA in Environmental Sciences from the University of Lancaster, and an MSc and PhD from the University of Newcastle upon Tyne...
: "She's the future, so everyone better watch out."
Ennis also went on to finish second overall in the World Combined Events Challenge this season, behind the Osaka silver-medallist, Lyudmyla Blonska.
In September, Ennis won the inaugural European Athletics Rising Star Award.
2008
In May 2008 Ennis withdrew from the heptathlonHeptathlon
A heptathlon is a track and field athletics combined events contest made up of seven events. The name derives from the Greek hepta and athlon . A competitor in a heptathlon is referred to as a heptathlete.-Women's Heptathlon:...
competition at the Hypo-Meeting
Hypo-Meeting
The Hypo-Meeting is an annual athletics competition that takes place in the Mösle stadium in Götzis, Austria, held in the spring . The meeting began as a men's only contest in 1975 and a women's competition was added in 1981...
in Götzis
Götzis
Götzis is a town in the western Austrian state of Vorarlberg, district Feldkirch.The town is well-known for its annual hypo-combined events meeting, the so called Hypo-Meeting, where some of the world's leading decathletes and heptathletes gather in the Mösle stadium...
, Austria
Austria
Austria , officially the Republic of Austria , is a landlocked country of roughly 8.4 million people in Central Europe. It is bordered by the Czech Republic and Germany to the north, Slovakia and Hungary to the east, Slovenia and Italy to the south, and Switzerland and Liechtenstein to the...
after the first day's events citing pain in her right foot. A scan later revealed that Ennis had three stress fractures in her right foot and would not be able to compete in the forthcoming Olympic Games
2008 Summer Olympics
The 2008 Summer Olympics, officially known as the Games of the XXIX Olympiad, was a major international multi-sport event that took place in Beijing, China, from August 8 to August 24, 2008. A total of 11,028 athletes from 204 National Olympic Committees competed in 28 sports and 302 events...
in Beijing
Beijing
Beijing , also known as Peking , is the capital of the People's Republic of China and one of the most populous cities in the world, with a population of 19,612,368 as of 2010. The city is the country's political, cultural, and educational center, and home to the headquarters for most of China's...
. The injury was diagnosed as stress fractures of the navicular and a metatarsal.
She wrote in her column in The Times
The Times
The Times is a British daily national newspaper, first published in London in 1785 under the title The Daily Universal Register . The Times and its sister paper The Sunday Times are published by Times Newspapers Limited, a subsidiary since 1981 of News International...
: "I was second after the first day, but the vague niggle I'd had beforehand was getting worse. It got really bad in the high jump, the second event of the day, and I think the damage started then. I had some treatment, felt fine and then set a personal best in the shot. In the 200 metres I think the adrenalin masked the pain, but in the home straight I felt I was going backwards. I struggled to push off and when I finished I couldn't walk."
Two years later Ennis told BBC Television
BBC Television
BBC Television is a service of the British Broadcasting Corporation. The corporation, which has operated in the United Kingdom under the terms of a Royal Charter since 1927, has produced television programmes from its own studios since 1932, although the start of its regular service of television...
presenter Hazel Irvine
Hazel Irvine
Hazel Irvine , is a television presenter from the United Kingdom.- Life and career :Educated at Hermitage Academy in Helensburgh, she achieved an M.A. in History of Art at the University of St. Andrews, and competed in golf, netball and athletics at university level. In her final year she was...
that she feared for her career. She said, "I was told by the UK Athletics
UK Athletics
UK Athletics is the governing body for the sport of athletics in the United Kingdom. It is responsible for overseeing the governance of athletics events in the UK as well as athletes, their development, and athletics officials....
doctor that this was a career-threatening injury. At that point my heart absolutely sunk and I was worrying that it would be the end of my career at the age of 22."
2009
After a twelve-month lay-off due to injury Ennis returned to competition at the IAAF World Combined Events ChallengeIAAF World Combined Events Challenge
The IAAF World Combined Events Challenge is an athletics contest organized by the International Association of Athletics Federations for combined events, the heptathlon for women, and the decathlon for men. The medalists are decided by totaling the number of points that the athletes have scored in...
in Desenzano del Garda
Desenzano del Garda
Desenzano del Garda is a town and comune in the province of Brescia, in Lombardy, Italy, which borders Lake Garda. It is bordered by other communes of Castiglione delle Stiviere, Lonato, Padenghe sul Garda and Sirmione.-History:...
in May, winning the event with a personal best score of 6,587 points, including an 800 metres
800 metres
The 800 meter race is a common track running event. It is the shortest common middle distance track event. The 800 meter is run over two laps of the track and has always been an Olympic event. During indoor track season the event is usually run on a 200 meter track, therefore requiring four laps...
personal best whilst also breaking Liliana Năstase
Liliana Nastase
Liliana Năstase Alexandru is a retired Romanian heptathlete. She was born in Vânju Mare.She is best known for her gold medal at the 1993 World Indoor Championships. She also competed in the 100 metres hurdles.-Achievements:...
's 16-year-old meet record in the process. Notably Ennis's foot injury the previous year meant that she had to change her take-off leg in the long jump from right to left, a switch that she described as feeling "alien at the start" comparing it to changing her writing hand.
Ennis' next competition was at the McCain Loughborough
Loughborough
Loughborough is a town within the Charnwood borough of Leicestershire, England. It is the seat of Charnwood Borough Council and is home to Loughborough University...
International meeting later in May where she competed as a guest in the long jump, in which she came second with 6.07 metres, and the 100 metre hurdles, which she won in 12.93 seconds. She then won the high jump
High jump
The high jump is a track and field athletics event in which competitors must jump over a horizontal bar placed at measured heights without the aid of certain devices in its modern most practiced format; auxiliary weights and mounds have been used for assistance; rules have changed over the years....
and 100 metre hurdles at the national championships in Birmingham
Birmingham
Birmingham is a city and metropolitan borough in the West Midlands of England. It is the most populous British city outside the capital London, with a population of 1,036,900 , and lies at the heart of the West Midlands conurbation, the second most populous urban area in the United Kingdom with a...
in July, with 1.91 metres and 12.87 seconds respectively.
In August Ennis won the gold medal at the 2009 World Championships
2009 World Championships in Athletics
The 12th IAAF World Championships in Athletics were held in Berlin, Germany from 15–23 August 2009. The majority of events took place in the Olympiastadion, while the marathon and racewalking events started and finished at the Brandenburg Gate....
in Berlin
Berlin
Berlin is the capital city of Germany and is one of the 16 states of Germany. With a population of 3.45 million people, Berlin is Germany's largest city. It is the second most populous city proper and the seventh most populous urban area in the European Union...
with a personal best points total of 6,731, 238 points ahead of silver medallist Jennifer Oeser
Jennifer Oeser
Jennifer Oeser is a German heptathlete.Her first international championships was the 2002 World Junior Championships in Athletics and she finished in eighth place with a score of 5405 points. She improved her personal best to 5901 points to win the gold medal at the 2003 European Athletics U23...
of Germany
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
and Poland
Poland
Poland , officially the Republic of Poland , is a country in Central Europe bordered by Germany to the west; the Czech Republic and Slovakia to the south; Ukraine, Belarus and Lithuania to the east; and the Baltic Sea and Kaliningrad Oblast, a Russian exclave, to the north...
's Kamila Chudzik
Kamila Chudzik
Kamila Chudzik is a Polish athlete. She won the bronze medal in heptathlon at the Berlin World Championship in August 2009.For her sport achievements, she received: Golden Cross of Merit in 2009.-External links:...
. Ennis led the competition from the first event and posted a personal best of 14.14 metres in the shot put, whilst her first day points total of 4,124 points was the third-best first-day heptathlon
Heptathlon
A heptathlon is a track and field athletics combined events contest made up of seven events. The name derives from the Greek hepta and athlon . A competitor in a heptathlon is referred to as a heptathlete.-Women's Heptathlon:...
score ever behind world record holder Jackie Joyner-Kersee
Jackie Joyner-Kersee
Jacqueline "Jackie" Joyner-Kersee is a retired American athlete, ranked among the all-time greatest athletes in the women's heptathlon as well as in the women's long jump. She won three gold, one silver, and two bronze Olympic medals, in those four different events...
and European record holder Carolina Klüft
Carolina Klüft
Carolina Evelyn Klüft is a Swedish athlete competing in triple jump, long jump and formerly in heptathlon and pentathlon. She won the Olympic heptathlon title in 2004...
. Ennis's overnight lead of 307 points was reduced but never threatened. She set off at a rapid pace in the 800 metres and although overtaken by Nataliya Dobrynska
Nataliya Dobrynska
Nataliya Dobrynska is a Ukrainian heptathlete. She is the 2008 Olympic champion and also holds the Heptathlon best in the Shot Put....
on the final bend she regained the lead to win in 2 minutes 12.22 seconds. Ennis's room-mate and fellow heptathlete Louise Hazel revealed that Ennis had been reading Fern Britton
Fern Britton
Fern Britton is an English television presenter, known as the former main co-presenter on the ITV magazine programme This Morning alongside Phillip Schofield. She left the show on 17 July 2009, her 52nd birthday.- Early life :...
's autobiography to take her mind off being Britain's top medal hope. Ennis's parents weren't in Berlin to see her triumph as they had bought non-refundable tickets to Beijing a year earlier and, as Ennis said, "it was difficult for them to come out here financially." Ennis’s lap of honour, which in the heptathlon
Heptathlon
A heptathlon is a track and field athletics combined events contest made up of seven events. The name derives from the Greek hepta and athlon . A competitor in a heptathlon is referred to as a heptathlete.-Women's Heptathlon:...
is traditionally shared with all the other competitors, could not be completed as the athletes competing in the men's 100 metres final were preparing for their race, in which Usain Bolt
Usain Bolt
The Honourable Usain St. Leo Bolt, OJ, C.D. , is a Jamaican sprinter and a five-time World and three-time Olympic gold medalist. He is the world record and Olympic record holder in the 100 metres, the 200 metres and the 4×100 metres relay...
broke the world record with a time of 9.58 seconds. After her victory UK Athletics head coach Charles Van Commenee
Charles van Commenee
Charles van Commenee, written in Dutch as Charles van Commenée, is an Dutch athletics coach who is currently the head coach of UK Athletics. He began his professional career as a technical director and national coach for the Netherlands. He moved to take up similar roles for the British athletics...
said; "She is cool, calm and collected and that is her special quality. She is not affected by the opposition or the occasion and there is room for improvement."
Ennis made one final track appearance in 2009, at the Aviva
Aviva
Aviva plc is a global insurance company headquartered in London, United Kingdom. It is the sixth-largest insurance company in the world measured by net premium income and has 53 million customers in 28 countries...
Grand Prix in Gateshead
Gateshead
Gateshead is a town in Tyne and Wear, England and is the main settlement in the Metropolitan Borough of Gateshead. Historically a part of County Durham, it lies on the southern bank of the River Tyne opposite Newcastle upon Tyne and together they form the urban core of Tyneside...
at the end of August, coming fifth in the 100 metre hurdles in 13.28 seconds.
Sheffield City Council
Sheffield City Council
Sheffield City Council is the city council for the metropolitan borough of Sheffield in South Yorkshire, England. It consists of 84 councillors, elected to represent 28 wards, each with three councillors...
held a reception for Ennis in the city’s Peace Gardens
Peace Gardens
The Peace Gardens are an inner city square in Sheffield, England. It was created as part of the Heart of the City project by Sheffield City Council....
, at which she was presented with a Mulberry
Mulberry
Morus is a genus of flowering plants in the family Moraceae. The 10–16 species of deciduous trees it contains are commonly known as Mulberries....
designer handbag and a canteen of Sheffield
Sheffield
Sheffield is a city and metropolitan borough of South Yorkshire, England. Its name derives from the River Sheaf, which runs through the city. Historically a part of the West Riding of Yorkshire, and with some of its southern suburbs annexed from Derbyshire, the city has grown from its largely...
cutlery. Council leader Paul Scriven
Paul Scriven
Paul James Scriven was the Liberal Democrat Leader of Sheffield City Council , on which he represents Broomhill.Scriven was born in Huddersfield, West Yorkshire as the middle of three children...
said, "This is from the 530,000 people of Sheffield – this is our prize to you, our golden girl, our special champion."
In November 2009 it was reported that Ennis had not yet claimed her $36,000 prize for winning in Berlin
Berlin
Berlin is the capital city of Germany and is one of the 16 states of Germany. With a population of 3.45 million people, Berlin is Germany's largest city. It is the second most populous city proper and the seventh most populous urban area in the European Union...
. She said, "I actually forgot about it, to be honest - you have to fill out a form while you're out there, but I forgot. Yeah, I've got to chase that up."
In December 2009, Ennis won the "Sportswoman of the Year" award from the (British) Sports Journalists' Association, as well as being voted "Sportswoman of the Year" at the Ultimate Woman of the Year Awards organised by Cosmopolitan magazine
Cosmopolitan (magazine)
Cosmopolitan is an international magazine for women. It was first published in 1886 in the United States as a family magazine, was later transformed into a literary magazine and eventually became a women's magazine in the late 1960s...
. Ennis also came third in the 2009 BBC Sports Personality of the Year
BBC Sports Personality of the Year
The BBC Sports Personality of the Year is an awards ceremony that takes place annually in December. Devised by Paul Fox in 1954, it originally consisted of one titular award. Several new awards have been introduced, and , eight awards are presented. The oldest of these are the Team of the Year and...
, behind second-placed Formula One
Formula One
Formula One, also known as Formula 1 or F1 and referred to officially as the FIA Formula One World Championship, is the highest class of single seater auto racing sanctioned by the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile . The "formula" designation in the name refers to a set of rules with which...
world champion Jensen Button and winner Ryan Giggs
Ryan Giggs
Ryan Joseph Giggs OBE is a Welsh professional footballer who plays for Manchester United. Giggs made his first appearance for the club during the 1990–91 season and has been a regular player since the 1991–92 season...
of Manchester United F.C.
Manchester United F.C.
Manchester United Football Club is an English professional football club, based in Old Trafford, Greater Manchester, that plays in the Premier League. Founded as Newton Heath LYR Football Club in 1878, the club changed its name to Manchester United in 1902 and moved to Old Trafford in 1910.The 1958...
.
2010
At the start of 2010 Ennis caused a surprise when winning the 60 metres hurdles ahead of American world indoor champion Lolo JonesLolo Jones
Lori "Lolo" Jones, more commonly known as Lolo Jones, is an American track and field athlete who specializes in the 60 and 100 meter hurdles. She won three NCAA titles and garnered 11 All-American honors while at LSU...
at a five-team international meeting in Glasgow winning in a British record time of 7.95 seconds, two hundredths of a second ahead of Jones. Afterwards Jones expressed shock at being beaten by a multi-eventer, saying; "I’m looking forward to getting smooth again and not letting heptathletes, who practise every event, beat me when I’m only working on one thing. That’s kind of crazy."
At the same meeting Ennis set a new indoor personal best in the High Jump
High jump
The high jump is a track and field athletics event in which competitors must jump over a horizontal bar placed at measured heights without the aid of certain devices in its modern most practiced format; auxiliary weights and mounds have been used for assistance; rules have changed over the years....
of 1.94 metres.
At the World Indoor Championships
2010 IAAF World Indoor Championships
The 2010 IAAF World Indoor Championships in Athletics was held between 12 and 14 March at the ASPIRE Dome in Doha, Qatar. The championships was the first of six IAAF World Athletics Series events to take place in 2010.-Bidding and organisation:...
in Doha
Doha
Doha is the capital city of the state of Qatar. Located on the Persian Gulf, it had a population of 998,651 in 2008, and is also one of the municipalities of Qatar...
, Qatar
Qatar
Qatar , also known as the State of Qatar or locally Dawlat Qaṭar, is a sovereign Arab state, located in the Middle East, occupying the small Qatar Peninsula on the northeasterly coast of the much larger Arabian Peninsula. Its sole land border is with Saudi Arabia to the south, with the rest of its...
, Ennis became the World Indoor Champion for the pentathlon
Pentathlon
A pentathlon is a contest featuring five different events. The name is derived from Greek: combining the words pente and -athlon . The first pentathlon was documented in Ancient Greece and was part of the Ancient Olympic Games...
with a new British Record
British records in athletics
British records in athletics are the best performances in athletics events by athletes representing the United Kingdom which are ratified by the Amateur Athletic Association and the British Amateur Athletic Board .-History:...
, Commonwealth Record and Championship Record, with a score of 4,937 points, finishing ahead of all three Beijing
Beijing
Beijing , also known as Peking , is the capital of the People's Republic of China and one of the most populous cities in the world, with a population of 19,612,368 as of 2010. The city is the country's political, cultural, and educational center, and home to the headquarters for most of China's...
heptathlon
Heptathlon
A heptathlon is a track and field athletics combined events contest made up of seven events. The name derives from the Greek hepta and athlon . A competitor in a heptathlon is referred to as a heptathlete.-Women's Heptathlon:...
medal winners, Nataliya Dobrynska
Nataliya Dobrynska
Nataliya Dobrynska is a Ukrainian heptathlete. She is the 2008 Olympic champion and also holds the Heptathlon best in the Shot Put....
, Hyleas Fountain
Hyleas Fountain
Hyleas Fountain is an American heptathlete.-Early years:Fountain attended Central Dauphin East High School in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania where she was under the coaching of Al Moten, and continued her career at the University of Georgia under coach Wayne Norton...
and Tatyana Chernova
Tatyana Chernova
Tatyana Sergeyevna Chernova is a Russian heptathlete. She was the bronze medalist at the 2008 Summer Olympics and won the gold medal at the 2011 World Championships in Athletics, where she set her personal best of 6880 points....
. Dobrynska was second with 4,851 points, Chernova third with 4,762 points and Fountain fourth with 4,753 points. Ennis's victory meant that she became the first British
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
woman to win world titles both indoors and outdoors. Her preparation for the event was hampered by another foot injury, much less serious than the one she suffered in 2008. Following her victory she said; "Winning the worlds and then competing here against everybody who was in Berlin
Berlin
Berlin is the capital city of Germany and is one of the 16 states of Germany. With a population of 3.45 million people, Berlin is Germany's largest city. It is the second most populous city proper and the seventh most populous urban area in the European Union...
, apart from Kelly Sotherton
Kelly Sotherton
Kelly Jade Sotherton is an English heptathlete and 400m sprinter. She was the bronze medallist at the 2004 Summer Olympics and was fourth at the 2008 Summer Olympics. She also was a bronze at the 2007 World Championships in Athletics, and was the heptathlon gold medallist at the 2006 Commonwealth...
, was really special. It has really boosted my confidence knowing I came here having had another foot injury and still managed to beat people who won medals in Beijing
Beijing
Beijing , also known as Peking , is the capital of the People's Republic of China and one of the most populous cities in the world, with a population of 19,612,368 as of 2010. The city is the country's political, cultural, and educational center, and home to the headquarters for most of China's...
. The injury was always at the back of my mind and I was always a little bit worried about it."
In May Ennis won the 150 metre race in 16.99 seconds on a specially constructed straight track along Deansgate
Deansgate
Deansgate is a main road through the city centre of Manchester, England. It runs roughly north–south in a near straight route through the western part of the city centre and is the longest road in the city centre at over one mile long....
in Manchester
Manchester
Manchester is a city and metropolitan borough in Greater Manchester, England. According to the Office for National Statistics, the 2010 mid-year population estimate for Manchester was 498,800. Manchester lies within one of the UK's largest metropolitan areas, the metropolitan county of Greater...
city centre beating World and Olympic 400 metre champion Christine Ohurougu into third place. Later in May Ennis competed in three events at the Loughborough
Loughborough
Loughborough is a town within the Charnwood borough of Leicestershire, England. It is the seat of Charnwood Borough Council and is home to Loughborough University...
International meeting. She ran 12.85 seconds in the 100 metre hurdles and cleared 1.93 metres in the high jump
High jump
The high jump is a track and field athletics event in which competitors must jump over a horizontal bar placed at measured heights without the aid of certain devices in its modern most practiced format; auxiliary weights and mounds have been used for assistance; rules have changed over the years....
but failed in her attempt to set a new British record of 1.96 metres. She was below her best in the javelin, throwing 43.83 metres.
At the end of May Ennis returned to the 2010 Hypo-Meeting
2010 Hypo-Meeting
The 36th edition of the annual Hypo-Meeting took place on May 29 and May 30, 2010 in Götzis, Austria. The track and field competition, featuring a men's decathlon and a women's heptathlon event was part of the 2010 IAAF World Combined Events Challenge. Oleksiy Kasyanov and Jessica Ennis led the...
in Götzis
Götzis
Götzis is a town in the western Austrian state of Vorarlberg, district Feldkirch.The town is well-known for its annual hypo-combined events meeting, the so called Hypo-Meeting, where some of the world's leading decathletes and heptathletes gather in the Mösle stadium...
where she injured her ankle in 2008 winning the heptathlon with 6,689 points. She said her victory got rid of "all the demons from last time", referring to the foot injury suffered at the same event two years earlier that forced her to miss the Beijing
Beijing
Beijing , also known as Peking , is the capital of the People's Republic of China and one of the most populous cities in the world, with a population of 19,612,368 as of 2010. The city is the country's political, cultural, and educational center, and home to the headquarters for most of China's...
Olympics.
The Adidas Grand Prix Diamond League
2010 IAAF Diamond League
The 2010 IAAF Diamond League was the first edition of the Diamond League, an annual series of fourteen one-day track and field meetings. The series began on 14 May in Doha, Qatar and ended on 27 August in Brussels, Belgium....
meeting in New York
New York
New York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...
in June saw Ennis in a one-off contest over three events against Hyleas Fountain
Hyleas Fountain
Hyleas Fountain is an American heptathlete.-Early years:Fountain attended Central Dauphin East High School in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania where she was under the coaching of Al Moten, and continued her career at the University of Georgia under coach Wayne Norton...
. She won two of the three events, setting a personal best of 6.51 metres in the long jump, but lost by 15 points overall. She ran the 100 metres hurdles in 12.85 seconds, her second-fastest time ever, and recorded a below-par 13.61 metres in the shot put.
Ennis's training was interrupted in June due to a virus that affected her balance, preventing her from doing any work at all for two weeks. It forced her to miss the combined UK Championships/European Trials in Birmingham
Birmingham
Birmingham is a city and metropolitan borough in the West Midlands of England. It is the most populous British city outside the capital London, with a population of 1,036,900 , and lies at the heart of the West Midlands conurbation, the second most populous urban area in the United Kingdom with a...
. She said; "I was dizzy all the time. I had to stay in bed for two weeks because I couldn't move. All I did was watch TV all day and try to get better." She returned to action at the Aviva
Aviva
Aviva plc is a global insurance company headquartered in London, United Kingdom. It is the sixth-largest insurance company in the world measured by net premium income and has 53 million customers in 28 countries...
Grand Prix in Gateshead
Gateshead
Gateshead is a town in Tyne and Wear, England and is the main settlement in the Metropolitan Borough of Gateshead. Historically a part of County Durham, it lies on the southern bank of the River Tyne opposite Newcastle upon Tyne and together they form the urban core of Tyneside...
in mid July, competing in the 200 metres and javelin. She ran a disappointing 23.55 seconds in the 200 metres, but registered 46.15 metres in the javelin, close to her personal best.
Ennis won the heptathlon
Heptathlon
A heptathlon is a track and field athletics combined events contest made up of seven events. The name derives from the Greek hepta and athlon . A competitor in a heptathlon is referred to as a heptathlete.-Women's Heptathlon:...
gold medal at the 2010 European Championships with a personal best and European Championship Record score of 6,823 points, just eight points short of Denise Lewis
Denise Lewis
Denise Lewis OBE is a retired British athlete who specialised in the heptathlon. She won the gold medal in the heptathlon at the 2000 Sydney Olympics.-2000 Olympics:...
's British
British records in athletics
British records in athletics are the best performances in athletics events by athletes representing the United Kingdom which are ratified by the Amateur Athletic Association and the British Amateur Athletic Board .-History:...
and Commonwealth Records recording a personal best in the javelin of 46.71m. Ennis had led from the start of the competition but going into the final event, the 800 metres, she led Nataliya Dobrynska
Nataliya Dobrynska
Nataliya Dobrynska is a Ukrainian heptathlete. She is the 2008 Olympic champion and also holds the Heptathlon best in the Shot Put....
by only 18 points. Dobrynska had to beat Ennis by 2.2 seconds to take the title. Ennis led from the gun but with 250 metres to go Dobrynska went past her. Ennis responded immediately and sprinted to victory in 2 minutes 10.18 seconds to win the gold medal. Dobrynska finished second, 45 points behind Ennis, with Jennifer Oeser
Jennifer Oeser
Jennifer Oeser is a German heptathlete.Her first international championships was the 2002 World Junior Championships in Athletics and she finished in eighth place with a score of 5405 points. She improved her personal best to 5901 points to win the gold medal at the 2003 European Athletics U23...
third. This time Ennis's parents were present to see her triumph.
After her victory Ennis recognised the challenge she had faced to overcome 2008 Olympic gold medallist Dobrynska. Ennis said: "It was really tough, completely different to last year and I'm happy to have handled the pressure and come out on top. At any point it could have completely changed. There was a lot of pressure because the girls were performing so well and I've been pushed all the way. I had to raise my game at every level." Dobrynska later declared that Ennis "has no weaknesses" but Ennis disagreed: "Everyone has a weakness. I'm expecting to be challenged [in the future] and things don't always go your way so I'm fully prepared for that." Dobrynska sounded her own warning: "Yes, Jessica is a great athlete but I know my reserve. What if I had managed to do the shot put in Barcelona as I can do, at least 50cm further? These are the eighty points which in the end I lacked to win."
Ennis decided not to compete in the 2010 Commonwealth Games
Commonwealth Games
The Commonwealth Games is an international, multi-sport event involving athletes from the Commonwealth of Nations. The event was first held in 1930 and takes place every four years....
in Delhi
Delhi
Delhi , officially National Capital Territory of Delhi , is the largest metropolis by area and the second-largest by population in India, next to Mumbai. It is the eighth largest metropolis in the world by population with 16,753,265 inhabitants in the Territory at the 2011 Census...
, India
India
India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...
.
Ennis was voted European Athlete of the Month three times in 2010, winning the award in January, March and May. She was nominated for a Laureus World Sports Award for Comeback of the Year
Laureus World Sports Award for Comeback of the Year
List of winners and nominees of the Laureus World Sports Awards: Comeback of the Year.-List of winners and nominees:-See also:*Sportsman of the Year*Sportswoman of the Year*Team of the Year*Breakthrough of the Year...
after she came back from injury to become world champion in 2009, the award eventually being won by Belgian tennis player Kim Clijsters
Kim Clijsters
Kim Antonie Lode Clijsters is a Belgian professional tennis player. As of 7 November 2011, Clijsters is ranked No. 13 in singles. Clijsters is a former World No. 1 in both singles and doubles....
. Ennis was nominated as on the shortlist of fiver for the IAAF Female Athlete of the Year., an award won by Croatian high jumper Blanka Vlasic
Blanka Vlašic
Blanka Vlašić is a Croatian athlete who specialises in the high jump. She is the current Croatian record holder in the event, and also the current indoorWorld Champion. The daughter of Croatian decathlon record holder Joško Vlašić, she was a talented junior athlete and attended her first Olympic...
. Also in November Ennis was voted the "Ultimate Sports Star" at the Ultimate Woman of the Year Awards organised by Cosmopolitan magazine
Cosmopolitan (magazine)
Cosmopolitan is an international magazine for women. It was first published in 1886 in the United States as a family magazine, was later transformed into a literary magazine and eventually became a women's magazine in the late 1960s...
in London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
, the second consecutive year she had won this award. A few days later Ennis was voted the "Outstanding Female Athlete" at the Commonwealth Sports Awards in Birmingham
Birmingham
Birmingham is a city and metropolitan borough in the West Midlands of England. It is the most populous British city outside the capital London, with a population of 1,036,900 , and lies at the heart of the West Midlands conurbation, the second most populous urban area in the United Kingdom with a...
, despite not competing in the Delhi
Delhi
Delhi , officially National Capital Territory of Delhi , is the largest metropolis by area and the second-largest by population in India, next to Mumbai. It is the eighth largest metropolis in the world by population with 16,753,265 inhabitants in the Territory at the 2011 Census...
Commonwealth Games
Commonwealth Games
The Commonwealth Games is an international, multi-sport event involving athletes from the Commonwealth of Nations. The event was first held in 1930 and takes place every four years....
. The awards nominations continued to flow: Ennis was shortlisted for the BBC
BBC
The British Broadcasting Corporation is a British public service broadcaster. Its headquarters is at Broadcasting House in the City of Westminster, London. It is the largest broadcaster in the world, with about 23,000 staff...
Sports Personality of the Year title for the second year running, and also for the Sunday Times "Sportswoman of the Year". She was unanimously voted (female) "British Athlete of the Year" by the British Athletics Writers' Association and was
named the Sports Journalists' Association's "Sportswoman of the Year", both titles for the second consecutive year. Ennis came third for the second year in succession in the vote for the BBC
BBC
The British Broadcasting Corporation is a British public service broadcaster. Its headquarters is at Broadcasting House in the City of Westminster, London. It is the largest broadcaster in the world, with about 23,000 staff...
Sports Personality of the Year, polling just over 9% of the votes. The runaway winner was jump jockey Tony McCoy
Tony McCoy
Anthony Peter McCoy OBE , commonly known as A. P. McCoy or Tony McCoy, is a Northern Irish horse racing jockey....
, with darts player Phil Taylor pipping Jessica for second place.
In 2010 Ennis was chosen to receive a D.Litt
Doctor of Letters
Doctor of Letters is a university academic degree, often a higher doctorate which is frequently awarded as an honorary degree in recognition of outstanding scholarship or other merits.-Commonwealth:...
Honorary degree
Honorary degree
An honorary degree or a degree honoris causa is an academic degree for which a university has waived the usual requirements, such as matriculation, residence, study, and the passing of examinations...
from the University of Sheffield
University of Sheffield
The University of Sheffield is a research university based in the city of Sheffield in South Yorkshire, England. It is one of the original 'red brick' universities and is a member of the Russell Group of leading research intensive universities...
for her excellent contribution to sport. She was the 2010 recipient of the prestigious Dame Marea Hartman Award awarded annually to the English female athlete who is adjudged to have been the outstanding athlete of the year. Others to have received this award include Christine Ohuruogu
Christine Ohuruogu
Christine Ijeoma Ohuruogu MBE is an English athlete, who specialises in the 400 metres; the event for which she is the current Olympic and former World and Commonwealth Champion...
and Becky Lyne
Becky Lyne
Rebecca "Becky" Lyne , is an English middle-distance runner, specialising in 800 and 1,500 metre races.Lyne attended Tapton School in Sheffield ....
.
In August 2010 Ennis was put forward as a role model for young students - at a California high school. The incoming class of teenagers at the Silicon Valley
Silicon Valley
Silicon Valley is a term which refers to the southern part of the San Francisco Bay Area in Northern California in the United States. The region is home to many of the world's largest technology corporations...
city's Presentation High School were asked by Pete Campbell, a columnist for the San Jose
San Jose, California
San Jose is the third-largest city in California, the tenth-largest in the U.S., and the county seat of Santa Clara County which is located at the southern end of San Francisco Bay...
on-line publication sanjoseinside.com: "How many of you know who Jessica Ennis is? Jessica Ennis is an international track star. Earlier this summer, she won the gold medal in the Heptathlon
Heptathlon
A heptathlon is a track and field athletics combined events contest made up of seven events. The name derives from the Greek hepta and athlon . A competitor in a heptathlon is referred to as a heptathlete.-Women's Heptathlon:...
at the European Championships. Last year, she also took gold at the World Championships. Jessica Ennis is arguably the world’s greatest female athlete. This young woman can fly…and throw…and jump…etc. She’s Wonder Woman."
2011
Ennis's first competition of 2011 was the Northern Athletics Senior Indoor Championships at the English Institute of SportEnglish Institute of Sport
The English Institute of Sport , established in May 2002, is an organisation which provides sport science and medical support services to elite athletes through a nationwide network of expertise and facilities, working with Olympic and Paralympic summer and winter sports, as well as English and a...
in Sheffield
Sheffield
Sheffield is a city and metropolitan borough of South Yorkshire, England. Its name derives from the River Sheaf, which runs through the city. Historically a part of the West Riding of Yorkshire, and with some of its southern suburbs annexed from Derbyshire, the city has grown from its largely...
in mid January. She competed in the shot put, in which she finished second with an indoor personal best of 14.11 metres, the 60 metres hurdles, which she won in a time of 8.15 seconds, and the 60 metres sprint. She won her heat in 7.44 seconds but did not participate in the final as a precaution after she felt a 'twinge' in her knee. Ennis's shot put personal best lasted only a week as she bettered it by 50 centimetres at an indoor meeting in Loughborough
Loughborough
Loughborough is a town within the Charnwood borough of Leicestershire, England. It is the seat of Charnwood Borough Council and is home to Loughborough University...
. The same day she recorded 6.16 metres in the long jump and 8.03 seconds in the 60 metres hurdles. On 29 January Ennis captained the British team at the Aviva
Aviva
Aviva plc is a global insurance company headquartered in London, United Kingdom. It is the sixth-largest insurance company in the world measured by net premium income and has 53 million customers in 28 countries...
international meeting in Glasgow
Glasgow
Glasgow is the largest city in Scotland and third most populous in the United Kingdom. The city is situated on the River Clyde in the country's west central lowlands...
. She competed in the 60 metres hurdles and won in a time of 7.97 seconds, beating renowned American sprint hurdler Lolo Jones
Lolo Jones
Lori "Lolo" Jones, more commonly known as Lolo Jones, is an American track and field athlete who specializes in the 60 and 100 meter hurdles. She won three NCAA titles and garnered 11 All-American honors while at LSU...
for the second time. During the race Jones hit a hurdle and was never in contention to win. Ennis also competed in the long jump
Long jump
The long jump is a track and field event in which athletes combine speed, strength, and agility in an attempt to leap as far as possible from a take off point...
, where she came third, jumping a distance of 6.38 metres, one centimetre behind her indoor personal best. She improved her distance with each jump in the third, fourth, fifth and sixth rounds.
The Aviva
Aviva
Aviva plc is a global insurance company headquartered in London, United Kingdom. It is the sixth-largest insurance company in the world measured by net premium income and has 53 million customers in 28 countries...
Indoor UK Trials and Championships were held at the English Institute of Sport
English Institute of Sport
The English Institute of Sport , established in May 2002, is an organisation which provides sport science and medical support services to elite athletes through a nationwide network of expertise and facilities, working with Olympic and Paralympic summer and winter sports, as well as English and a...
in Sheffield
Sheffield
Sheffield is a city and metropolitan borough of South Yorkshire, England. Its name derives from the River Sheaf, which runs through the city. Historically a part of the West Riding of Yorkshire, and with some of its southern suburbs annexed from Derbyshire, the city has grown from its largely...
over the weekend of 12/13 February 2011. Ennis intended to compete in four events - two each day. On the first day she won the high jump
High jump
The high jump is a track and field athletics event in which competitors must jump over a horizontal bar placed at measured heights without the aid of certain devices in its modern most practiced format; auxiliary weights and mounds have been used for assistance; rules have changed over the years....
with a height of 1.88 metres and finished seventh in the shot put
Shot put
The shot put is a track and field event involving "putting" a heavy metal ball—the shot—as far as possible. It is common to use the term "shot put" to refer to both the shot itself and to the putting action....
, throwing a below-par 13.86 metres. After two high jump
High jump
The high jump is a track and field athletics event in which competitors must jump over a horizontal bar placed at measured heights without the aid of certain devices in its modern most practiced format; auxiliary weights and mounds have been used for assistance; rules have changed over the years....
failures at 1.91 metres, Ennis declined her third attempt as she felt "tightness" in her ankle and withdrew from the following day's long jump
Long jump
The long jump is a track and field event in which athletes combine speed, strength, and agility in an attempt to leap as far as possible from a take off point...
and 60 metres hurdles. The injury was serious enough for her to pull out of the following week's Aviva
Aviva
Aviva plc is a global insurance company headquartered in London, United Kingdom. It is the sixth-largest insurance company in the world measured by net premium income and has 53 million customers in 28 countries...
Grand Prix meeting in Birmingham
Birmingham
Birmingham is a city and metropolitan borough in the West Midlands of England. It is the most populous British city outside the capital London, with a population of 1,036,900 , and lies at the heart of the West Midlands conurbation, the second most populous urban area in the United Kingdom with a...
and also the European Indoor Championships held in Paris
Paris
Paris is the capital and largest city in France, situated on the river Seine, in northern France, at the heart of the Île-de-France region...
in early March. She said; "I cannot take this risk. The World Championships has to be my priority." The injury was diagnosed as inflammation of the plantaris muscle
Plantaris muscle
Plantaris is a vestigial structure and one of the superficial muscles of the posterior crural compartment of the leg.It is innervated by the tibial nerve ....
. In Paris
Paris
Paris is the capital and largest city in France, situated on the river Seine, in northern France, at the heart of the Île-de-France region...
the pentathlon
Pentathlon
A pentathlon is a contest featuring five different events. The name is derived from Greek: combining the words pente and -athlon . The first pentathlon was documented in Ancient Greece and was part of the Ancient Olympic Games...
was won by Frenchwoman Antoinette Nana Djimou
Antoinette Nana Djimou
Antoinette Nana Djimou Ida is a French-Cameroonian heptathlete. She was born in Douala, Cameroon. Her personal best result is 6323 points, achieved at the 2009 World Championships in Berlin.-Achievements:-References:...
with a total more than 200 points fewer than Ennis's score at the World Indoor Championships a year earlier.
Ennis's first outdoor appearance of 2011 was in the Great City Games of Manchester on 15 May. On a track laid on the city's Deansgate
Deansgate
Deansgate is a main road through the city centre of Manchester, England. It runs roughly north–south in a near straight route through the western part of the city centre and is the longest road in the city centre at over one mile long....
thoroughfare she competed in the 100 metres hurdles, in which she came third in a time of 12.88 seconds, and the straight 150 metres sprint, in which she came second in 17.40 seconds. The following week she competed in two events at the Loughborough International Meeting. In windy conditions she won the high jump competition with 1.86 metres and finished sixth in the javelin, throwing 44.49 metres.
On the final weekend in May Ennis won the heptathlon at the 2011 Hypo-Meeting in Götzis
Götzis
Götzis is a town in the western Austrian state of Vorarlberg, district Feldkirch.The town is well-known for its annual hypo-combined events meeting, the so called Hypo-Meeting, where some of the world's leading decathletes and heptathletes gather in the Mösle stadium...
, Austria, for the second consecutive year, recording 6,790 points, 101 more than in 2010 and just 33 points below her best ever. She beat Russia's Tatyana Chernova
Tatyana Chernova
Tatyana Sergeyevna Chernova is a Russian heptathlete. She was the bronze medalist at the 2008 Summer Olympics and won the gold medal at the 2011 World Championships in Athletics, where she set her personal best of 6880 points....
by 251 points. Her first day total of 4097 points gave her a chance of beating Denise Lewis
Denise Lewis
Denise Lewis OBE is a retired British athlete who specialised in the heptathlon. She won the gold medal in the heptathlon at the 2000 Sydney Olympics.-2000 Olympics:...
's British record, but her performances in the long jump and javelin were below her best. However, she recorded personal best times in the 200 metres (23.11 seconds) and the 800 metres (2 minutes 8.46 seconds). Afterwards Ennis said: "I had about six weeks to prepare and that's about the bare minimum you'd need. I didn't want to come and produce a poor score and send out the wrong message with the World Championships this year. It was a bit of a gamble but as I started training I was in quite good shape and running well so I knew I could get myself in reasonably good shape and the gamble paid off."
Ennis next competed in two events at the Diamond League meeting at Randall's Island
Randall's Island
Randall's Island is situated in the East River in New York City, part of the borough of Manhattan. It is separated from Manhattan island on the west by the river's main channel, from Queens on the east by the Hell Gate, and from the Bronx on the north by the Bronx Kill. It is joined to Wards...
, New York
New York
New York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...
, but she struggled in the face of a strong headwind and rain. She jumped 6.03 metres in the long jump and ran 13.27 seconds in the 100 metres hurdles. The following weekend Ennis took part in the Northern Athletics Outdoor Championships in Manchester
Manchester
Manchester is a city and metropolitan borough in Greater Manchester, England. According to the Office for National Statistics, the 2010 mid-year population estimate for Manchester was 498,800. Manchester lies within one of the UK's largest metropolitan areas, the metropolitan county of Greater...
, winning the long jump with 6.24 metres and finishing second in the javelin with a throw of 44.81 metres.
In mid July Ennis announced that she was to compete in five individual events at the Aviva UK Trials and Championships at the Alexander Stadium
Alexander Stadium
Alexander Stadium is an international athletics stadium located within Perry Park in Perry Barr, Birmingham, England, at . It has staged the Amateur Athletics Association Championships, and was the venue of the 1998 Disability World Athletics Championships...
in Birmingham: the 100 metres hurdles, the high jump, the long jump, the shot put and the javelin. She equalled her outdoor personal best in the shot put (14.25 metres), jumped a season's best in the long jump (6.44 metres), won the national high jump title for the second time (1,89 metres) and finished second behind new British record holder Tiffany Porter in the 100 metres hurdles (12.96 seconds). In the final event she threw 42.93 metres in the javelin competition. Ennis's last competition before the World Championships in Daegu
Daegu
Daegu , also known as Taegu, and officially the Daegu Metropolitan City, is a city in South Korea, the fourth largest after Seoul, Busan, and Incheon, and the third largest metropolitan area in the country with over 2.5 million residents. The city is the capital and principal city of the...
was a low-key midweek event at Loughborough
Loughborough
Loughborough is a town within the Charnwood borough of Leicestershire, England. It is the seat of Charnwood Borough Council and is home to Loughborough University...
, where she recorded a personal best 12.79 seconds in the 100 metres hurdles to place her second on the British all-time list.
At the 2011 World Athletics Championships in Daegu
Daegu
Daegu , also known as Taegu, and officially the Daegu Metropolitan City, is a city in South Korea, the fourth largest after Seoul, Busan, and Incheon, and the third largest metropolitan area in the country with over 2.5 million residents. The city is the capital and principal city of the...
, South Korea
South Korea
The Republic of Korea , , is a sovereign state in East Asia, located on the southern portion of the Korean Peninsula. It is neighbored by the People's Republic of China to the west, Japan to the east, North Korea to the north, and the East China Sea and Republic of China to the south...
, Ennis was in the unusual position of not being in the lead after the first event, the 100 metres hurdles, her time of 12.94 seconds leaving her two points behind Hyleas Fountain
Hyleas Fountain
Hyleas Fountain is an American heptathlete.-Early years:Fountain attended Central Dauphin East High School in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania where she was under the coaching of Al Moten, and continued her career at the University of Georgia under coach Wayne Norton...
. Fountain increased her lead to 41 points after the high jump, Ennis clearing only 1.86 metres. A personal best throw of 14.67 metres in the shot put gave Ennis the lead in the competition, a lead she increased after the 200 metres, which she ran in a time of 23.27 seconds. Her first-day total of 4,078 points was two points fewer than at the same stage of the 2010 European Championships and 46 fewer than in the 2009 World Championships. She led Tatyana Chernova
Tatyana Chernova
Tatyana Sergeyevna Chernova is a Russian heptathlete. She was the bronze medalist at the 2008 Summer Olympics and won the gold medal at the 2011 World Championships in Athletics, where she set her personal best of 6880 points....
by 151 points. On Day Two, Chernova reduced Ennis's lead by jumping 6.61 metres in the long jump, but Ennis responded by matching her personal best of 6.51 metres to limit the damage, now holding a lead of 118 points. Ennis's hopes of retaining her title received a severe setback with a poor effort of just 39.95 metres in the javelin, after Chernova had earlier thrown 52.95 metres to take an overall lead of 133 points. Ennis needed to beat Chernova by around nine seconds in the final event, the 800 metres, and despite recording a personal best time of 2 minutes 7.81 seconds it was not enough to overcome the deficit, as Chernova finished under one second behind, taking the title by 129 points. Chernova's score of 6880 points was 49 points higher than Denise Lewis
Denise Lewis
Denise Lewis OBE is a retired British athlete who specialised in the heptathlon. She won the gold medal in the heptathlon at the 2000 Sydney Olympics.-2000 Olympics:...
's British record and 57 points higher than Ennis's best total. Afterwards, Ennis's coach Toni Minichiello pointed out that his athlete 'beat Chernova in five events, but just got heavily beaten in the javelin. That's the difference.' Ennis remarked: 'I don't want to analyse it too much. I think it was just one of those days where it just didn't come together. The event is always going to improve year upon year. It was a brilliant score by Chernova, she performed really well. I think I performed well, I've had some solid performances, some PBs, so I can take positives away from that and work on the javelin.'
Ennis, who had contemplated retirement after the 2016 Olympic Games, modified her plans when, in November 2011, the IAAF awarded the 2017 World Athletics Championships to London. She said: 'The fact that there will now be a World Championships on home soil will probably change my thinking. The heptathlon is such a gruelling event, there are only so many years you can cope with waking up with your body screaming at you. I will be 31 and nearing retirement by the time the 2017 World Championships come around. I hope that is not too old and that there is still some life in my bones.'
In January 2011 Ennis was one of six women nominated for the 2011 Laureus World Sports Awards
Laureus World Sports Awards
The Laureus World Sports Awards are awarded annually to sportspeople who have been outstanding during the previous year. The Laureus World Sports Awards were established in 1999 by Founding Patrons Daimler and Richemont and is supported by its Global Partners Mercedes-Benz, IWC Schaffhausen and...
. She was selected as European Athlete of the Month for January 2011 and in June 2011 she was voted Sportswoman of the Year by Glamour magazine
Glamour magazine
Glamour magazine means:* Glamour magazine, a U.S. publication aimed at a predominantly female readership* a girlie magazine aimed at a male readership featuring photographs of women...
. Later the same month Ennis was inducted into the Sheffield Legends
Sheffield Legends
Sheffield Legends is a Walk of Fame located outside Sheffield Town Hall honouring famous people from or connected to Sheffield. Like the Hollywood version, there are plaques with famous people's names on them and why they are famous....
'Walk of Fame', alongside other well-known people born in or connected with Sheffield
Sheffield
Sheffield is a city and metropolitan borough of South Yorkshire, England. Its name derives from the River Sheaf, which runs through the city. Historically a part of the West Riding of Yorkshire, and with some of its southern suburbs annexed from Derbyshire, the city has grown from its largely...
who are honoured by plaques set in the pavement outside the Town Hall. The following month Ennis became part-owner of a two-year-old throroughbred racehorse that shares her name. The grey filly, bought by John Warren for Highclere Thoroughbred Racing for 82,000 guineas, is trained by Michael Bell. However, a few days later the horse was injured in a training accident when it bolted whilst undergoing stalls schooling, ran into a road and was hit by a car.
A lifesize representation of Ennis in wax was unveiled at Madame Tussaud's in London in late July. The model shows Ennis in celebratory pose holding a Union Flag
Union Flag
The Union Flag, also known as the Union Jack, is the flag of the United Kingdom. It retains an official or semi-official status in some Commonwealth Realms; for example, it is known as the Royal Union Flag in Canada. It is also used as an official flag in some of the smaller British overseas...
.
Ennis was appointed Member of the Order of the British Empire (MBE) in the 2011 Birthday Honours
2011 Birthday Honours
The Birthday Honours 2011 for the Commonwealth Realms were announced on 7 June 2011 in New Zealand and 11 June 2011 in United Kingdom to celebrate the Queen's Birthday of 2011.-Privy Councillors:...
for services to athletics.
In October Ennis was voted Athlete of the Year for the third time by the British Athletic Writers' Association, beating Hannah England
Hannah England
Hannah England is a British middle-distance athlete who specialises in the 800 metres, 1500 metres and mile run.Born in Oxford, England, she attended the Cherwell School in Summertown, North Oxford. England joined Oxford City Athletic Club as an under 13, her first major success coming in the UK...
by two votes.
Ennis featured in the December 2011 issue of British Vogue
Vogue (magazine)
Vogue is a fashion and lifestyle magazine that is published monthly in 18 national and one regional edition by Condé Nast.-History:In 1892 Arthur Turnure founded Vogue as a weekly publication in the United States. When he died in 1909, Condé Montrose Nast picked up the magazine and slowly began...
magazine as part of its People To Celebrate feature and also appeared in a video of her photoshoot for the magazine.
2007 World Championships
| Event | Result | Position | Points | Overall | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 100 metre hurdles | 12.97 secs | 1st | 1,129 | 1st | (1,129) Beat Carolina Klüft Carolina Klüft Carolina Evelyn Klüft is a Swedish athlete competing in triple jump, long jump and formerly in heptathlon and pentathlon. She won the Olympic heptathlon title in 2004... (2nd, PB) and Kelly Sotherton Kelly Sotherton Kelly Jade Sotherton is an English heptathlete and 400m sprinter. She was the bronze medallist at the 2004 Summer Olympics and was fourth at the 2008 Summer Olympics. She also was a bronze at the 2007 World Championships in Athletics, and was the heptathlon gold medallist at the 2006 Commonwealth... (3rd, PB) in her heat |
| High jump High jump The high jump is a track and field athletics event in which competitors must jump over a horizontal bar placed at measured heights without the aid of certain devices in its modern most practiced format; auxiliary weights and mounds have been used for assistance; rules have changed over the years.... |
1.89 m | 3rd | 1,093 | 2nd | (2,222) Carolina Klüft Carolina Klüft Carolina Evelyn Klüft is a Swedish athlete competing in triple jump, long jump and formerly in heptathlon and pentathlon. She won the Olympic heptathlon title in 2004... won with a jump of 1.95 m (PB) |
| Shot put Shot put The shot put is a track and field event involving "putting" a heavy metal ball—the shot—as far as possible. It is common to use the term "shot put" to refer to both the shot itself and to the putting action.... |
11.93 m | 34th | 656 | 4th | (2,878) Dropped from 2nd to 4th in overall points standings |
| 200 metres 200 metres A 200 metres race is a sprint running event. On an outdoor 400 m track, the race begins on the curve and ends on the home straight, so a combination of techniques are needed to successfully run the race. A slightly shorter race, called the stadion and run on a straight track, was the first... |
23.15 secs | 1st | 1,064 | 4th | (3,942) Beat Klüft Carolina Klüft Carolina Evelyn Klüft is a Swedish athlete competing in triple jump, long jump and formerly in heptathlon and pentathlon. She won the Olympic heptathlon title in 2004... (2nd, SB) and Sotherton Kelly Sotherton Kelly Jade Sotherton is an English heptathlete and 400m sprinter. She was the bronze medallist at the 2004 Summer Olympics and was fourth at the 2008 Summer Olympics. She also was a bronze at the 2007 World Championships in Athletics, and was the heptathlon gold medallist at the 2006 Commonwealth... (3rd, PB) in her heat |
| Long jump Long jump The long jump is a track and field event in which athletes combine speed, strength, and agility in an attempt to leap as far as possible from a take off point... |
6.33 m | 9th | 953 | 4th | (4,895) |
| Javelin Javelin throw The javelin throw is a track and field athletics throwing event where the object to be thrown is the javelin, a spear approximately 2.5 metres in length. Javelin is an event of both the men's decathlon and the women's heptathlon... |
38.07 m | 26th | 630 | 5th | (5,525) |
| 800 metres 800 metres The 800 meter race is a common track running event. It is the shortest common middle distance track event. The 800 meter is run over two laps of the track and has always been an Olympic event. During indoor track season the event is usually run on a 200 meter track, therefore requiring four laps... |
2:11.39 | 1st | 944 | 4th | (6,469) Beat Kelly Sotherton Kelly Sotherton Kelly Jade Sotherton is an English heptathlete and 400m sprinter. She was the bronze medallist at the 2004 Summer Olympics and was fourth at the 2008 Summer Olympics. She also was a bronze at the 2007 World Championships in Athletics, and was the heptathlon gold medallist at the 2006 Commonwealth... (2nd) in her heat |
| Heptathlon Heptathlon A heptathlon is a track and field athletics combined events contest made up of seven events. The name derives from the Greek hepta and athlon . A competitor in a heptathlon is referred to as a heptathlete.-Women's Heptathlon:... |
6,469 | 4th |
2009 World Championships
| Event | Result | Position | Points | Overall | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 100 metre hurdles | 12.93 secs | 1st | 1,135 | 1st | (1,135) Led by 76 points after opening event |
| High jump High jump The high jump is a track and field athletics event in which competitors must jump over a horizontal bar placed at measured heights without the aid of certain devices in its modern most practiced format; auxiliary weights and mounds have been used for assistance; rules have changed over the years.... |
1.92 m | 1st | 1,132 | 1st | (2,267) Extended lead to 181 points |
| Shot put Shot put The shot put is a track and field event involving "putting" a heavy metal ball—the shot—as far as possible. It is common to use the term "shot put" to refer to both the shot itself and to the putting action.... |
14.14 m | 5th | 803 | 1st | (3,070) Despite a personal best, her lead was reduced to 148 points |
| 200 metres 200 metres A 200 metres race is a sprint running event. On an outdoor 400 m track, the race begins on the curve and ends on the home straight, so a combination of techniques are needed to successfully run the race. A slightly shorter race, called the stadion and run on a straight track, was the first... |
23.25 secs | 1st | 1,054 | 1st | (4,124) 3rd highest points scorer ever after first day of a heptathlon Heptathlon A heptathlon is a track and field athletics combined events contest made up of seven events. The name derives from the Greek hepta and athlon . A competitor in a heptathlon is referred to as a heptathlete.-Women's Heptathlon:... . Led by 307 points. |
| Long jump Long jump The long jump is a track and field event in which athletes combine speed, strength, and agility in an attempt to leap as far as possible from a take off point... |
6.29 m | 9th | 940 | 1st | (5,064) Lead was reduced to 269 points after the fifth event. |
| Javelin Javelin throw The javelin throw is a track and field athletics throwing event where the object to be thrown is the javelin, a spear approximately 2.5 metres in length. Javelin is an event of both the men's decathlon and the women's heptathlon... |
43.54 m | 10th | 735 | 1st | (5,799) Lead was reduced to 171 points after penultimate event |
| 800 metres 800 metres The 800 meter race is a common track running event. It is the shortest common middle distance track event. The 800 meter is run over two laps of the track and has always been an Olympic event. During indoor track season the event is usually run on a 200 meter track, therefore requiring four laps... |
2:12.22 | 1st | 932 | 1st | (6,731) Increased lead by 67 points to 238 by winning the final heat. |
| Heptathlon Heptathlon A heptathlon is a track and field athletics combined events contest made up of seven events. The name derives from the Greek hepta and athlon . A competitor in a heptathlon is referred to as a heptathlete.-Women's Heptathlon:... |
6,731 | 1st | New World Champion. Beat Jennifer Oeser Jennifer Oeser Jennifer Oeser is a German heptathlete.Her first international championships was the 2002 World Junior Championships in Athletics and she finished in eighth place with a score of 5405 points. She improved her personal best to 5901 points to win the gold medal at the 2003 European Athletics U23... by 238 points. |
2010 World Indoor Championships
| Event | Result | Position | Points | Overall | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 60 metre hurdles | 8.04 secs | 1st | 1,120 | 1st | (1,120) |
| High jump High jump The high jump is a track and field athletics event in which competitors must jump over a horizontal bar placed at measured heights without the aid of certain devices in its modern most practiced format; auxiliary weights and mounds have been used for assistance; rules have changed over the years.... |
1.90 m | 1st | 1,106 | 1st | (2,226) |
| Shot put Shot put The shot put is a track and field event involving "putting" a heavy metal ball—the shot—as far as possible. It is common to use the term "shot put" to refer to both the shot itself and to the putting action.... |
14.01 m | 5th | 795 | 1st | (3,021) Personal Best |
| Long jump Long jump The long jump is a track and field event in which athletes combine speed, strength, and agility in an attempt to leap as far as possible from a take off point... |
6.44 m | 3rd | 988 | 1st | (4,009) Personal Best |
| 800 metres 800 metres The 800 meter race is a common track running event. It is the shortest common middle distance track event. The 800 meter is run over two laps of the track and has always been an Olympic event. During indoor track season the event is usually run on a 200 meter track, therefore requiring four laps... |
2:12.55 | 2nd | 928 | 1st | (4,937) Personal Best |
| Pentathlon Pentathlon A pentathlon is a contest featuring five different events. The name is derived from Greek: combining the words pente and -athlon . The first pentathlon was documented in Ancient Greece and was part of the Ancient Olympic Games... |
4,937 | 1st | New World Indoor Champion, new Championship Record |
2010 European Championships
| Event | Result | Position | Points | Overall | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 100 metre hurdles | 12.95 secs | 1st | 1,132 | 1st | (1,132) Led by 63 points after opening event |
| High jump High jump The high jump is a track and field athletics event in which competitors must jump over a horizontal bar placed at measured heights without the aid of certain devices in its modern most practiced format; auxiliary weights and mounds have been used for assistance; rules have changed over the years.... |
1.89 m | 1st | 1,093 | 1st | (2,225) Extended lead to 134 points |
| Shot put Shot put The shot put is a track and field event involving "putting" a heavy metal ball—the shot—as far as possible. It is common to use the term "shot put" to refer to both the shot itself and to the putting action.... |
14.05 m | 6th | 797 | 1st | (3,022) Lead was reduced to 11 points |
| 200 metres 200 metres A 200 metres race is a sprint running event. On an outdoor 400 m track, the race begins on the curve and ends on the home straight, so a combination of techniques are needed to successfully run the race. A slightly shorter race, called the stadion and run on a straight track, was the first... |
23.21 secs | 1st | 1,058 | 1st | (4,080) Increased her lead to 110 points |
| Long jump Long jump The long jump is a track and field event in which athletes combine speed, strength, and agility in an attempt to leap as far as possible from a take off point... |
6.43 m | 4th | 985 | 1st | (5,065) Lead was reduced to 68 points |
| Javelin Javelin throw The javelin throw is a track and field athletics throwing event where the object to be thrown is the javelin, a spear approximately 2.5 metres in length. Javelin is an event of both the men's decathlon and the women's heptathlon... |
46.71 m | 8th | 796 | 1st | (5,861) Despite a Personal Best her lead was reduced to 18 points |
| 800 metres 800 metres The 800 meter race is a common track running event. It is the shortest common middle distance track event. The 800 meter is run over two laps of the track and has always been an Olympic event. During indoor track season the event is usually run on a 200 meter track, therefore requiring four laps... |
2:10.18 | 1st | 962 | 1st | (6,823) Points total of 6,823 was a new Personal Best and European Championship Record. |
| Heptathlon Heptathlon A heptathlon is a track and field athletics combined events contest made up of seven events. The name derives from the Greek hepta and athlon . A competitor in a heptathlon is referred to as a heptathlete.-Women's Heptathlon:... |
6,823 | 1st | New European Champion, New Championship Record Beat Nataliya Dobrynska Nataliya Dobrynska Nataliya Dobrynska is a Ukrainian heptathlete. She is the 2008 Olympic champion and also holds the Heptathlon best in the Shot Put.... by 45 points. |
2011 World Championships
| Event | Result | Position | Points | Overall | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 100 metre hurdles | 12.94 secs | 2nd | 1,133 | 2nd | (1,133) Trailed Hyleas Fountain Hyleas Fountain Hyleas Fountain is an American heptathlete.-Early years:Fountain attended Central Dauphin East High School in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania where she was under the coaching of Al Moten, and continued her career at the University of Georgia under coach Wayne Norton... by 2 points |
| High jump High jump The high jump is a track and field athletics event in which competitors must jump over a horizontal bar placed at measured heights without the aid of certain devices in its modern most practiced format; auxiliary weights and mounds have been used for assistance; rules have changed over the years.... |
1.86 m | 2nd | 1,054 | 2nd | (2,187) Trailed Hyleas Fountain Hyleas Fountain Hyleas Fountain is an American heptathlete.-Early years:Fountain attended Central Dauphin East High School in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania where she was under the coaching of Al Moten, and continued her career at the University of Georgia under coach Wayne Norton... by 41 points |
| Shot put Shot put The shot put is a track and field event involving "putting" a heavy metal ball—the shot—as far as possible. It is common to use the term "shot put" to refer to both the shot itself and to the putting action.... |
14.67 m | 7th | 839 | 1st | (3,026) New PB, took lead (over Austra Skujyte Austra Skujyte Austra Skujytė is a Lithuanian athlete, competing in both the heptathlon and the decathlon. On 15 April 2005 in Columbia, Missouri, she broke the women's decathlon world record, with a score of 8366.... ) by 12 points |
| 200 metres 200 metres A 200 metres race is a sprint running event. On an outdoor 400 m track, the race begins on the curve and ends on the home straight, so a combination of techniques are needed to successfully run the race. A slightly shorter race, called the stadion and run on a straight track, was the first... |
23.27 secs | 1st | 1,052 | 1st | (4,078) Increased lead (now over Tatyana Chernova Tatyana Chernova Tatyana Sergeyevna Chernova is a Russian heptathlete. She was the bronze medalist at the 2008 Summer Olympics and won the gold medal at the 2011 World Championships in Athletics, where she set her personal best of 6880 points.... ) to 151 points |
| Long jump Long jump The long jump is a track and field event in which athletes combine speed, strength, and agility in an attempt to leap as far as possible from a take off point... |
6.51 m | 2nd | 1,010 | 1st | (5,088) Matched PB, lead reduced to 118 points |
| Javelin Javelin A Javelin is a light spear intended for throwing. It is commonly known from the modern athletic discipline, the Javelin throw.Javelin may also refer to:-Aviation:* ATG Javelin, an American-Israeli civil jet aircraft, under development... |
39.95 m | 21st | 666 | 2nd | (5,754) 133 points behind Tatyana Chernova Tatyana Chernova Tatyana Sergeyevna Chernova is a Russian heptathlete. She was the bronze medalist at the 2008 Summer Olympics and won the gold medal at the 2011 World Championships in Athletics, where she set her personal best of 6880 points.... |
| 800 metres 800 metres The 800 meter race is a common track running event. It is the shortest common middle distance track event. The 800 meter is run over two laps of the track and has always been an Olympic event. During indoor track season the event is usually run on a 200 meter track, therefore requiring four laps... |
2:07.81 | 2nd | 997 | 2nd | (6,751) New PB, 129 points behind Tatyana Chernova Tatyana Chernova Tatyana Sergeyevna Chernova is a Russian heptathlete. She was the bronze medalist at the 2008 Summer Olympics and won the gold medal at the 2011 World Championships in Athletics, where she set her personal best of 6880 points.... |
| Heptathlon Heptathlon A heptathlon is a track and field athletics combined events contest made up of seven events. The name derives from the Greek hepta and athlon . A competitor in a heptathlon is referred to as a heptathlete.-Women's Heptathlon:... |
6,751 | 2nd | Silver medal, with her 3rd best career points total |
Personal bests
By clearing 1.95 metres in the high jumpHigh jump
The high jump is a track and field athletics event in which competitors must jump over a horizontal bar placed at measured heights without the aid of certain devices in its modern most practiced format; auxiliary weights and mounds have been used for assistance; rules have changed over the years....
, Ennis achieved a foot (30 cm) above her own height of 1.65 which only ten women have ever managed, it also meant that she became the joint British women's high jump record holder.
Her personal best of 12.79 seconds in the 100 metre hurdles puts her in second place on the British all-time list
British records in athletics
British records in athletics are the best performances in athletics events by athletes representing the United Kingdom which are ratified by the Amateur Athletic Association and the British Amateur Athletic Board .-History:...
, with only Tiffany Porter (12.56s) having achieved a better time in the event.
Ennis is currently second on the British all-time list for the Heptathlon with 6,823 points, behind Olympic gold-medallist Denise Lewis
Denise Lewis
Denise Lewis OBE is a retired British athlete who specialised in the heptathlon. She won the gold medal in the heptathlon at the 2000 Sydney Olympics.-2000 Olympics:...
(6,831). If Ennis managed to equal all of her personal bests in one heptathlon competition, she would achieve a total of 7,037 points. Lewis's equivalent personal best total would be 6,970 points.
Outdoor Personal Bests
| Event | Record | Points | Venue | Date | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 100 metre hurdles | 12.79 secs | 1,156 | Loughborough Loughborough Loughborough is a town within the Charnwood borough of Leicestershire, England. It is the seat of Charnwood Borough Council and is home to Loughborough University... , England England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental... |
11 August 2011 | |
| High jump High jump The high jump is a track and field athletics event in which competitors must jump over a horizontal bar placed at measured heights without the aid of certain devices in its modern most practiced format; auxiliary weights and mounds have been used for assistance; rules have changed over the years.... |
1.95 m | 1,171 | Desenzano del Garda Desenzano del Garda Desenzano del Garda is a town and comune in the province of Brescia, in Lombardy, Italy, which borders Lake Garda. It is bordered by other communes of Castiglione delle Stiviere, Lonato, Padenghe sul Garda and Sirmione.-History:... , Italy Italy Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and... |
5 May 2007 | British record, jointly held with Diana Davies and Susan Moncrieff. |
| Shot put Shot put The shot put is a track and field event involving "putting" a heavy metal ball—the shot—as far as possible. It is common to use the term "shot put" to refer to both the shot itself and to the putting action.... |
14.67 m | 839 | Daegu Daegu Daegu , also known as Taegu, and officially the Daegu Metropolitan City, is a city in South Korea, the fourth largest after Seoul, Busan, and Incheon, and the third largest metropolitan area in the country with over 2.5 million residents. The city is the capital and principal city of the... , South Korea South Korea The Republic of Korea , , is a sovereign state in East Asia, located on the southern portion of the Korean Peninsula. It is neighbored by the People's Republic of China to the west, Japan to the east, North Korea to the north, and the East China Sea and Republic of China to the south... |
29 August 2011 | |
| 200 metres 200 metres A 200 metres race is a sprint running event. On an outdoor 400 m track, the race begins on the curve and ends on the home straight, so a combination of techniques are needed to successfully run the race. A slightly shorter race, called the stadion and run on a straight track, was the first... |
23.11 secs | 1,068 | Götzis Götzis Götzis is a town in the western Austrian state of Vorarlberg, district Feldkirch.The town is well-known for its annual hypo-combined events meeting, the so called Hypo-Meeting, where some of the world's leading decathletes and heptathletes gather in the Mösle stadium... , Austria Austria Austria , officially the Republic of Austria , is a landlocked country of roughly 8.4 million people in Central Europe. It is bordered by the Czech Republic and Germany to the north, Slovakia and Hungary to the east, Slovenia and Italy to the south, and Switzerland and Liechtenstein to the... |
28 May 2011 | |
| Long jump Long jump The long jump is a track and field event in which athletes combine speed, strength, and agility in an attempt to leap as far as possible from a take off point... |
6.51 m | 1,010 | New York New York New York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east... , United States United States The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district... & Daegu Daegu Daegu , also known as Taegu, and officially the Daegu Metropolitan City, is a city in South Korea, the fourth largest after Seoul, Busan, and Incheon, and the third largest metropolitan area in the country with over 2.5 million residents. The city is the capital and principal city of the... , South Korea South Korea The Republic of Korea , , is a sovereign state in East Asia, located on the southern portion of the Korean Peninsula. It is neighbored by the People's Republic of China to the west, Japan to the east, North Korea to the north, and the East China Sea and Republic of China to the south... |
12 June 2010 & 30 August 2011 | |
| Javelin Javelin throw The javelin throw is a track and field athletics throwing event where the object to be thrown is the javelin, a spear approximately 2.5 metres in length. Javelin is an event of both the men's decathlon and the women's heptathlon... |
46.71 m | 796 | Barcelona Barcelona Barcelona is the second largest city in Spain after Madrid, and the capital of Catalonia, with a population of 1,621,537 within its administrative limits on a land area of... , Spain Spain Spain , officially the Kingdom of Spain languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Spain's official name is as follows:;;;;;;), is a country and member state of the European Union located in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula... |
31 July 2010 | |
| 800 metres 800 metres The 800 meter race is a common track running event. It is the shortest common middle distance track event. The 800 meter is run over two laps of the track and has always been an Olympic event. During indoor track season the event is usually run on a 200 meter track, therefore requiring four laps... |
2:07.81 | 997 | Daegu Daegu Daegu , also known as Taegu, and officially the Daegu Metropolitan City, is a city in South Korea, the fourth largest after Seoul, Busan, and Incheon, and the third largest metropolitan area in the country with over 2.5 million residents. The city is the capital and principal city of the... , South Korea South Korea The Republic of Korea , , is a sovereign state in East Asia, located on the southern portion of the Korean Peninsula. It is neighbored by the People's Republic of China to the west, Japan to the east, North Korea to the north, and the East China Sea and Republic of China to the south... |
30 August 2011 | |
| Heptathlon Heptathlon A heptathlon is a track and field athletics combined events contest made up of seven events. The name derives from the Greek hepta and athlon . A competitor in a heptathlon is referred to as a heptathlete.-Women's Heptathlon:... |
6,823 pts | 7,037 (potential) | Barcelona Barcelona Barcelona is the second largest city in Spain after Madrid, and the capital of Catalonia, with a population of 1,621,537 within its administrative limits on a land area of... , Spain Spain Spain , officially the Kingdom of Spain languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Spain's official name is as follows:;;;;;;), is a country and member state of the European Union located in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula... |
31 July 2010 | European Championship Record |
Indoor Personal Bests
| Event | Record | Venue | Date | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 60 metres 60 metres 60 metres is a sprint event in track and field athletics. It is a championship event for indoor championships, normally dominated by the best outdoor 100 metres runners. At outdoor venues it is a rare distance, at least for senior athletes... |
7.36 secs | Sheffield Sheffield Sheffield is a city and metropolitan borough of South Yorkshire, England. Its name derives from the River Sheaf, which runs through the city. Historically a part of the West Riding of Yorkshire, and with some of its southern suburbs annexed from Derbyshire, the city has grown from its largely... , England England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental... |
16 January 2010 | |
| 60 metre hurdles | 7.95 secs | Glasgow Glasgow Glasgow is the largest city in Scotland and third most populous in the United Kingdom. The city is situated on the River Clyde in the country's west central lowlands... , Scotland Scotland Scotland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Occupying the northern third of the island of Great Britain, it shares a border with England to the south and is bounded by the North Sea to the east, the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, and the North Channel and Irish Sea to the... |
30 January 2010 | |
| High Jump High jump The high jump is a track and field athletics event in which competitors must jump over a horizontal bar placed at measured heights without the aid of certain devices in its modern most practiced format; auxiliary weights and mounds have been used for assistance; rules have changed over the years.... |
1.94 m | Glasgow Glasgow Glasgow is the largest city in Scotland and third most populous in the United Kingdom. The city is situated on the River Clyde in the country's west central lowlands... , Scotland Scotland Scotland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Occupying the northern third of the island of Great Britain, it shares a border with England to the south and is bounded by the North Sea to the east, the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, and the North Channel and Irish Sea to the... |
30 January 2010 | Joint 2nd highest ever by a British High jumper indoors. |
| Shot put Shot put The shot put is a track and field event involving "putting" a heavy metal ball—the shot—as far as possible. It is common to use the term "shot put" to refer to both the shot itself and to the putting action.... |
14.61 m | Loughborough Loughborough Loughborough is a town within the Charnwood borough of Leicestershire, England. It is the seat of Charnwood Borough Council and is home to Loughborough University... , England England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental... |
22 January 2011 | |
| Long Jump Long jump The long jump is a track and field event in which athletes combine speed, strength, and agility in an attempt to leap as far as possible from a take off point... |
6.44 m | Doha Doha Doha is the capital city of the state of Qatar. Located on the Persian Gulf, it had a population of 998,651 in 2008, and is also one of the municipalities of Qatar... , Qatar Qatar Qatar , also known as the State of Qatar or locally Dawlat Qaṭar, is a sovereign Arab state, located in the Middle East, occupying the small Qatar Peninsula on the northeasterly coast of the much larger Arabian Peninsula. Its sole land border is with Saudi Arabia to the south, with the rest of its... |
13 March 2010 | |
| 800 metres 800 metres The 800 meter race is a common track running event. It is the shortest common middle distance track event. The 800 meter is run over two laps of the track and has always been an Olympic event. During indoor track season the event is usually run on a 200 meter track, therefore requiring four laps... |
2:12.55 | Doha Doha Doha is the capital city of the state of Qatar. Located on the Persian Gulf, it had a population of 998,651 in 2008, and is also one of the municipalities of Qatar... , Qatar Qatar Qatar , also known as the State of Qatar or locally Dawlat Qaṭar, is a sovereign Arab state, located in the Middle East, occupying the small Qatar Peninsula on the northeasterly coast of the much larger Arabian Peninsula. Its sole land border is with Saudi Arabia to the south, with the rest of its... |
13 March 2010 | |
| Pentathlon Pentathlon A pentathlon is a contest featuring five different events. The name is derived from Greek: combining the words pente and -athlon . The first pentathlon was documented in Ancient Greece and was part of the Ancient Olympic Games... |
4,937 pts | Doha Doha Doha is the capital city of the state of Qatar. Located on the Persian Gulf, it had a population of 998,651 in 2008, and is also one of the municipalities of Qatar... , Qatar Qatar Qatar , also known as the State of Qatar or locally Dawlat Qaṭar, is a sovereign Arab state, located in the Middle East, occupying the small Qatar Peninsula on the northeasterly coast of the much larger Arabian Peninsula. Its sole land border is with Saudi Arabia to the south, with the rest of its... |
13 March 2010 | World Indoor Championship Record, British Record British records in athletics British records in athletics are the best performances in athletics events by athletes representing the United Kingdom which are ratified by the Amateur Athletic Association and the British Amateur Athletic Board .-History:... , Commonwealth Record |
Trivia
Following her performance at the 2011 World Championships in Daegu, the name Jessica Ennis became inadvertently embroiled into a now notorious catchphrase. Ortis DeleyOrtis Deley
Ortis Deley is a British television presenter, radio DJ and actor of Ghanaian/Nigerian descent. He went to Ernest Bevin College in Tooting Bec, London. He is currently one of the presenters of The Gadget Show and presenter of Choice FM on Sunday mornings....
had struggled during his unfamiliar role as athletics presenter on UK television. Following a morning session, Deley appeared to improvise off script, remarking on "a gloriously sunny day in the studio" and in a moment of confusion saying the words "Jessica Ennis...goodnight" as the programme cut for adverts. In the subsequent days many TV and radio presenters used the phrase to 'sign off', as a way of parody.
External links
- Jessica Ennis (official website) JessicaEnnis.net
- City of Sheffield Athletic Club SheffieldAthletics.co.uk
- Profile: Jessica Ennis All-Athletics.com
- Profile: Jessica Ennis thepowerof10.info