Golden girl Ennis crowned Olympic heptathlon champion as Britain celebrates first track medal of London Games
|
Jessica Ennis lived up to her billing as Britain's golden girl with a commanding victory in the Olympic heptathlon at London 2012.
Four years after reluctantly watching the Beijing Games on TV following a career-threatening foot injury, Ennis made light of the weight of expectation on her shoulders to leave her rivals battling for silver and bronze.
Three personal bests in the previous six events meant Ennis went into the final discipline, the 800m, with a commanding 188-point lead that equated to a 13-second advantage over Lithuania's Austra Skujyte.
Done it! Jessica Ennis crosses the line after winning the 800m and ultimately the heptathlon gold medal
A run of two minutes 5.69 seconds would have seen her become only the fourth woman in history to score 7,000 points, and even though there was no need for such heroics, the 26-year-old from Sheffield blasted through the opening lap on her way to victory in 2:08.65.
That time was outside her personal best but still enough for a new overall PB of 6,955 points to improve on the national record of 6,906 she set earlier this year.
Russia's Tatyana Chernova, who took Ennis's world title last year, claimed silver a distant 327 points behind, with Ukraine's Lyudmyla Yosypenko taking bronze a further 10 points back.
Brit special: Ennis celebrates her heptathlon victory in the Olympic Stadium in London
Roar of delight: Jessica Ennis has won Olympic gold in the heptathlon
Ennis, who follows in the footsteps of 2000 champion Denise Lewis, had fittingly ignited the athletics programme with a sensational performance in the opening discipline on Friday morning, her 100m hurdles time of 12.54s not only a British record and personal best but also the same as that which won individual gold in Beijing.
A high jump of 1.86m was marginally disappointing and she briefly lost the lead following Skujyte's heptathlon world best of 17.31m in the shot, but another personal best of 22.83s in the 200m gave Ennis her biggest first-day score of 4,158 points and a lead of 184.
The second day brought an excellent 6.48m in the long jump - a source of concern over no-jumps just six weeks earlier - before yet another personal best of 47.49m in the javelin effectively sealed the win.
Ennis said of her glorious night, after putting the seal on two days of a one-sided competition: 'I'm so shocked, I can't believe it.
'I couldn't let myself believe it till I crossed the finish line in the 800 metres.
Thumbs up: Ennis won Great Britain's first track gold of the Games
On song: Ennis threw a personal best 47.49m in the javelin to lead the standing with one event to go
'I'm so happy.
'I want to thank everyone here and my family and everyone who's supported me. Everyone who's worked with me.'
Ennis had to sit out the 2008 Olympics due to injury, a blow which was difficult to accept at the time.
A tearful Ennis told BBC1: 'After Beijing, everyone said we were going for another four years to finish what we started.
'I just had to give it everything at the end.
'I just wanted to make sure I gave them such a show, brought it home and left everything on the track.'
Giant leap: Ennis competes in the women's heptathlon long jump event at the Olympic Stadium
Out in front: Ennis extended her advantage over Lithuania's Austra Skujyte to 258 points
She was non-committal over whether she will also compete in the 100 metres hurdles - the event in which she set a new British record yesterday in the opening event of the heptathlon.
'I think I need to savour this moment and enjoy it,' she said.
'It's been a really stressful year and there's been a lot of pressure.
'Everyone thought I was going to win gold from day one.'
Stunning: Ennis got off to a flying start in the 100m hurdles
Bringing it home: Ennis also ran well in the 200m to extend her lead
JESSICA ENNIS FACTFILE
1986: Born January 28, in Sheffield.
2006: March - Wins a bronze medal in her first professional and senior tournament at the Melbourne Commonwealth Games.
2007: May - Equals the 25-year-old British high jump record for women by jumping 1.95metres.
2007: May - Breaks Denise Lewis's under-23 British record for the heptathlon by scoring 6,388 at the IAAF Combined Events Challenge in Dezenzano, Italy. In doing so she successfully reaches the standard for qualifying for the Beijing Olympic Games in 2008.
2008: June - It is revealed after a scan that Ennis has broken her right ankle and will not compete at Beijing.
2009: May - Ennis puts the difficult year behind her by winning the Dezenzano event, with a total of 6,587 points, putting her third on the British all-time list, behind Lewis and Judy Simpson.
August 16 - Wins gold medal at World Championships in Berlin, with a new lifetime best of 6,731 points, putting her second, behind Lewis, on the British all-time list.
December - Comes third in the BBC Sports Personality of the Year and is named 'Sportswoman of the Year' by the British Sports Journalists' Association.
2010: March - Wins pentathlon gold at the World Indoor Championships in Doha in a new British and Championship record of 4,937 points.
July 31 - Wins gold in the heptathlon at the European Championships in Barcelona with a new personal best of 6,823 points.
December - Comes third in the BBC Sports Personality of the Year and named the SJA's 'Sportswoman of the Year', both for the second year running.
2011: February - Withdraws from European Indoor Championships in Paris with an ankle injury.
June - Appointed MBE in the Queen's Birthday Honours list.
August - Loses her world heptathlon title as she has to settle for silver behind Tatyana Chernova in Daegu, finishing 129 points adrift of the Russian.
2012: March - Loses her world pentathlon title in Istanbul, her new British record of 4,965 points only good enough for silver as Ukraine's Nataliya Dobrynska sets a new world record of 5,013 points.
May 25 - Laughs off reports a senior figure at UK Athletics described her as fat.
May 27 - Breaks Lewis' British record to win the Hypo-Meeting in Gotzis by racking up a total of 6,906 points, 75 more than Lewis' mark of 6,831 set in 2000.
August 4 - Wins London 2012 gold medal with 6955 points.
2006: March - Wins a bronze medal in her first professional and senior tournament at the Melbourne Commonwealth Games.
2007: May - Equals the 25-year-old British high jump record for women by jumping 1.95metres.
2007: May - Breaks Denise Lewis's under-23 British record for the heptathlon by scoring 6,388 at the IAAF Combined Events Challenge in Dezenzano, Italy. In doing so she successfully reaches the standard for qualifying for the Beijing Olympic Games in 2008.
2008: June - It is revealed after a scan that Ennis has broken her right ankle and will not compete at Beijing.
2009: May - Ennis puts the difficult year behind her by winning the Dezenzano event, with a total of 6,587 points, putting her third on the British all-time list, behind Lewis and Judy Simpson.
August 16 - Wins gold medal at World Championships in Berlin, with a new lifetime best of 6,731 points, putting her second, behind Lewis, on the British all-time list.
December - Comes third in the BBC Sports Personality of the Year and is named 'Sportswoman of the Year' by the British Sports Journalists' Association.
2010: March - Wins pentathlon gold at the World Indoor Championships in Doha in a new British and Championship record of 4,937 points.
July 31 - Wins gold in the heptathlon at the European Championships in Barcelona with a new personal best of 6,823 points.
December - Comes third in the BBC Sports Personality of the Year and named the SJA's 'Sportswoman of the Year', both for the second year running.
2011: February - Withdraws from European Indoor Championships in Paris with an ankle injury.
June - Appointed MBE in the Queen's Birthday Honours list.
August - Loses her world heptathlon title as she has to settle for silver behind Tatyana Chernova in Daegu, finishing 129 points adrift of the Russian.
2012: March - Loses her world pentathlon title in Istanbul, her new British record of 4,965 points only good enough for silver as Ukraine's Nataliya Dobrynska sets a new world record of 5,013 points.
May 25 - Laughs off reports a senior figure at UK Athletics described her as fat.
May 27 - Breaks Lewis' British record to win the Hypo-Meeting in Gotzis by racking up a total of 6,906 points, 75 more than Lewis' mark of 6,831 set in 2000.
August 4 - Wins London 2012 gold medal with 6955 points.
Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sport/olympics/article-2183764/London-2012-Olympics-Jessica-Ennis-wins-heptathlon-gold-medal.html#ixzz22cO6aLVC
