Jessica Ennis (GBR) hurdling in Glasgow where she beat the national 60m Hurdles record (© Getty Images)
Reigning World Heptathlon champion Jessica Ennis got her season off to a great start with a series of indoor PBs. She first improved her 60m Hurdles PB from 8.18 to 8.12 during a domestic meeting in Loughborough, breaking the British indoor record held by Sarah Claxton by 0.01 sec. It’s momentum she hopes to carry through the World Indoor Championships and again through her summer campaign.
Jess, as she is nicknamed by her friends, also set two more indoor PBs in the same Loughborogh meet, in the Long Jump (6.37m) and the Shot Put (13.67m.). On 30 January the British Heptathlon star headlined the Aviva International Match at the Kelvin Hall in Glasgow by winning the 60m Hurdles in 7.95 over reigning World indoor champion Lolo Jones by 0.02.
“I hoped to achieve good results but I did not expect to win and set the British record. Beating a hurdle specialist like Lolo Jones was a big surprise. This gives me a lot of confidence. These are the indication that my preparation is going well. I am working especially on the Long Jump and throws this winter,” Ennis said.
Ennis also cleared an indoor PB of 1.94m in the High Jump, losing to former World bronze medallist Chaunte Howard only on the countback. She missed the British indoor record by just one centimetre and came very close to her outdoor PB of 1.95m set in Desenzano del Garda in 2007, her favourite IAAF Combined Events Challenge meeting.
A minor ligament strain sidelined Ennis for her domestic show at the UK Indoor Championships in her home-town Sheffield and the Birmingham Aviva British Grand Prix, but only as a precautionary measure in order not to put her gold ambition for Doha at risk. “I have been able to continue training and I am now back to full training,” she said last week.
World record assault in Doha?
At the Aspire Dome in Doha Ennis will face a strong challenge led by all 2008 Olympic medallists – winner Natalya Dobrynska, runner-up Hyleas Fountain and bronze medallist Tatyana Chernova. Russian Chernova leads the world seasonal best with 4855 points ahead of Dobrynska (4778) and Fountain (4731). The Doha competition has shaped up as a potential World record event. The current World record set by Russian Irina Belova who totalled 4981 points in 1992 is genuinely under threat.
“It’s going to be a very tough competition in Doha,” is all Ennis would say about her prospects at this weekend’s World Indoor Championships.
Doha is the first big step to another exciting season which will be focused on the European championships in Barcelona (27 July-1 August).
“The IAAF Combined Events meeting in Götzis will be hopefully my first outdoor meeting of the season. I will then take part in some individual meetings in the hurdles and in the high jump leading up to Barcelona. My focus is on the European Championships. It’s going to be a really strong competition and my priority is to peak in July.”
Ennis has taken the decision with her coach Toni Minichiello to skip the Commonwealth Games in New Delhi next October. “I sat down with my coach and we decided that the Commonwealth Games are not a good option. October is not a good period for me and it is difficult to peak twice in July and October. The Commonwealth Games take place when I normally start my winter preparation.”
Ennis admits that her life has changed in a positive way since her memorable triumph last summer at the Olympic Stadium in Berlin.
“I am busier. I have a lot of opportunities and media commitments but my life has definitely changed in a positive way. It’s nice to have a title but I am focused on my training. I have good people around me who can advise on the best things to do. Everyone is expecting I continue winning medals. I feel pressure but it is a nice pressure. I am ready and I am looking forward to this season.”
Diego Sampaolo for the IAAF
Jess, as she is nicknamed by her friends, also set two more indoor PBs in the same Loughborogh meet, in the Long Jump (6.37m) and the Shot Put (13.67m.). On 30 January the British Heptathlon star headlined the Aviva International Match at the Kelvin Hall in Glasgow by winning the 60m Hurdles in 7.95 over reigning World indoor champion Lolo Jones by 0.02.
“I hoped to achieve good results but I did not expect to win and set the British record. Beating a hurdle specialist like Lolo Jones was a big surprise. This gives me a lot of confidence. These are the indication that my preparation is going well. I am working especially on the Long Jump and throws this winter,” Ennis said.
Ennis also cleared an indoor PB of 1.94m in the High Jump, losing to former World bronze medallist Chaunte Howard only on the countback. She missed the British indoor record by just one centimetre and came very close to her outdoor PB of 1.95m set in Desenzano del Garda in 2007, her favourite IAAF Combined Events Challenge meeting.
A minor ligament strain sidelined Ennis for her domestic show at the UK Indoor Championships in her home-town Sheffield and the Birmingham Aviva British Grand Prix, but only as a precautionary measure in order not to put her gold ambition for Doha at risk. “I have been able to continue training and I am now back to full training,” she said last week.
World record assault in Doha?
At the Aspire Dome in Doha Ennis will face a strong challenge led by all 2008 Olympic medallists – winner Natalya Dobrynska, runner-up Hyleas Fountain and bronze medallist Tatyana Chernova. Russian Chernova leads the world seasonal best with 4855 points ahead of Dobrynska (4778) and Fountain (4731). The Doha competition has shaped up as a potential World record event. The current World record set by Russian Irina Belova who totalled 4981 points in 1992 is genuinely under threat.
“It’s going to be a very tough competition in Doha,” is all Ennis would say about her prospects at this weekend’s World Indoor Championships.
Doha is the first big step to another exciting season which will be focused on the European championships in Barcelona (27 July-1 August).
“The IAAF Combined Events meeting in Götzis will be hopefully my first outdoor meeting of the season. I will then take part in some individual meetings in the hurdles and in the high jump leading up to Barcelona. My focus is on the European Championships. It’s going to be a really strong competition and my priority is to peak in July.”
Ennis has taken the decision with her coach Toni Minichiello to skip the Commonwealth Games in New Delhi next October. “I sat down with my coach and we decided that the Commonwealth Games are not a good option. October is not a good period for me and it is difficult to peak twice in July and October. The Commonwealth Games take place when I normally start my winter preparation.”
Ennis admits that her life has changed in a positive way since her memorable triumph last summer at the Olympic Stadium in Berlin.
“I am busier. I have a lot of opportunities and media commitments but my life has definitely changed in a positive way. It’s nice to have a title but I am focused on my training. I have good people around me who can advise on the best things to do. Everyone is expecting I continue winning medals. I feel pressure but it is a nice pressure. I am ready and I am looking forward to this season.”
Diego Sampaolo for the IAAF
