Golden homecoming: 10,000 fill Sheffield streets as Olympic champion Jessica Ennis gets freedom of home city
- Steel City star returns home to rapturous welcome
- Ennis claimed heptathlon gold for Britain during Olympic 'Super Saturday'
By DAVID WILKES
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The city of steel became the city of gold last night as thousands turned out to welcome Jessica Ennis back to Sheffield for the first time since her Olympic triumph.
Cheering fans braved heavy downpours as they waited for up to six hours to catch a glimpse of the 26-year-old and see her given the freedom of the city.
Miss Ennis, who won Britain’s first Olympic gold medal in the heptathlon for 12 years, was also presented with a golden Walk of Fame plaque.
Still smiling: Ennis beams with pride while showing off her Olympic handiwork in front of the crowd in Sheffield city centre
Happy return: Ennis waves a Union Jack with pride in front of her hometown Sheffield crowd this evening
Jess's gold medal brought out the sunshine after fans waited through heavy downpours for a glimpse of her
Council estimates put the homecoming crowd at 10,000 people waiting to greet the heptathlete
It will be set in the pavement outside the Town Hall alongside the plaques already there of 16 other of the city's luminaries including Olympics chief and former runner Sebastian Coe, Monty Python's Michael Palin, novelist Margaret Drabble, singer Joe Cocker, actor Sean Bean and rock band Def Leppard.
The crowd waiting outside City Hall numbered more than 10,000, according to the official council estimate last night.
They did their best to fulfil the instruction to wear something gold – some draped themselves in gold tinsel, while others waved gold balloons or simply wore the most ‘bling’ thing they could find in their wardrobe.
One man held up a sign saying, ‘marry me, Jess’. Some sang ‘Jess is coming home’ to the tune of Three Lions. There were Mexican waves. The sun even came out in time for her appearance as the feelgood factor went into overdrive.
At last their heroine arrived, wearing skin tight black jeans, a Team GB tracksuit top and wedge shoes, taking time to sign autographs for fans who had waited outside the back entrance to City Hall.
A deafening roar went up as she bounded on stage, smiling broadly and holding up her gold medal for all to see, telling them: ‘This is my home and this is the place that I love.’
‘I literally cannot believe how many people are here,’ she added. ‘It’s such an amazing feeling, to win a gold medal is enough but to have all you people supporting me is something else. I’m literally lost for words … it’s amazing.’
‘I can’t thank you enough for the support. Thank you so much everyone, if I could thank you all individually I would but there are so many of you.’
Asked what was next for her after her Olympics triumph, she said: ‘It’s hard. I think this is definitely going to be one of the greatest moments of my life and career.
‘I’m going to enjoy every minute before going back into training.’
Yesterday trees and lampposts along the approach to the City Hall where the civic reception was held were wrapped in gold sheets. A red post box had already been painted gold by the Royal Mail in her honour.
First to arrive and bag some of the best spots at the front of the stage - at 12.50pm, five hours and 40 minutes before Jessica Ennis was due to appear - were Phoebe Malone, 14, and her brother Joseph, 13, accompanied by their grandmother Mary Malone, 67.
'She's an inspiration,' said Phoebe. 'I do a bit of sport at school but I think I'll have a bit more of a go at athletics after Jess.
'I watched her on the telly at the Olympics and I think she's great.'
Ennis's gold in the heptathlon helped Yorkshire athletes finish with a total of seven gold, two silver and three bronze medals, placing the county twelfth in the medal table if it had been competing in its own right.
Some from God's own country, of course as so proud of their county they think it really should be regarded as an independent country. Many in the crowd yesterday had homespun theories for why Yorkshire produces so many top athletes.
Marlene Thompson, 65, a retired nursing assistant from Huddersfield who, said: 'It must be somat in the water, as they say. Or because you've got to walk up hills wherever you go here - Sheffield is surrounded by hills.
Thousands packed out a wet Sheffield city centre to catch a glimpse of the hometown Olympics champion
Flying the flag: The feelgood factor towards Team GB continued in South Yorkshire today ahead of Ennis's appearance
Famous face: A young fan in the large Sheffield crowd shows her admiration for Ennis with a specially-made face mask
Party atmosphere: The feel-good factor continued in Sheffield in ancicipation of Ennis's return, with locals sporting golden crowns and union jacks
Local favourite: Sheffield residents were out in force in the Steel City this afternoon to welcome back golden girl Jessica Ennis
Welcome back: Fans produced their own Ennis banners to commemorate their golden girl's homecoming
'Yorkshire people have no edge to them. Jess is a proper Yorkshire girl, down to earth and friendly. She is a symbol of all that is good about Yorkshire. She deserves all the luck in the world.
This is a big occasion and I wouldn't miss it for the world.' Ennis's popularity is doubtless boosted by being a 'reight bobby dazzler', to use the local dialect, who 'teks a good likeness' (or, for the benefit of Southerners, 'good looking' and 'photogenic').
Lee Carnall, 40, an engineer from Rotherham, who got in the spirit yesterday by wearing a glittery gold wig and a plastic gold medal, said: 'I'm on a big mission. It's my ambition to meet her, but just to see her and her gold medal up close will be enough.' By 'eck! But her legions of fans include plenty of females too.
Pride of Britain: Ennis shows off her heptathlon gold medal, which she clinched during Britain's 'Super Saturday' half way through the Olympics
Wearing cardboard Ennis masks, twins Imogen and Caitlin Parker and their friend Hannah Hills, all aged 15, danced with excitement and screamed 'Go Jess!' as a video of her previous achievements, including her world championship success, was played on a large screen before she arrived.
Amy Lincoln, 16, draped in a Union flag, said: 'She is an icon. What she's done makes young kids want to be like her. A lot of people from Sheffield don't end being any good, but she is an inspiration.'
Such is the incredible 'Ennis effect' that Fatmata Jalloh, 28, a college student, even suggested her two-year-old daughter Kaysho Stephen could be a contender for the 2028 Olympics.
'She likes running around. It may just be her age, but what Jess has done has got me thinking I should look out for what sports she likes doing and encourage her as much as I can,' said Miss Jalloh, who is originally from Sierra Leone and has lived in the UK for eight years.
'Times have been tough for people with the recession, but the Olympics have given everyone a lift and made us look to the future.' Ennis was first awarded a Sheffield 'Legends' plaque last year for her athletic prowess, and is now the first person to have hers given a golden hue.
She attended King Ecgbert School in Dore before going to the University of Sheffield, gaining a degree in psychology, and is a key member of the City of Sheffield Athletics Club. She will marry construction site manager Andy Hill, 29, in May.
Sheffield Lord Mayor John Campbell officially welcomed her home. 'Jessica is a true superstar. she has done her home city proud and stayed strong to her Sheffield roots,' he said.
Moment of glory: Ennis storms to victory in the 800m, which gave her gold in the heptathlon on August 4
Ennis's dominant performance secured Britain's first Olympic gold heptathlon gold in 12 years
Before the reception, Jessica, who will be the star guest on the sofa with Jonathan Ross when his chat show returns tonight, said: 'Winning the Olympics in Britain has exceeded everything I could have ever wished for - I am still in a state of disbelief.
'Being Olympic Champion is the best feeling ever and as an athlete the ultimate achievement.
'I have to say a big thank you to both the people of Sheffield who have believed in me and backed me over the years and to the people who were there in the stadium in London who really lifted me every step of the way.'
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