Jessica Ennis kept her cool through a day when the mercury hit 88 degrees to win heptathlon gold at the World championships in Berlin yesterday.
Jessica Ennis kept her cool through a day when the mercury hit 88 degrees to win heptathlon gold at the World championships in Berlin yesterday.
The city is the home of an international centre for the brothers Jacob and Wilhelm Grimm, but the 23-year-old from Sheffield penned a fairytale of her own. She came back from a career-threatening injury which caused her to miss the Olympics last year, but was never headed as she won with a career-best total of 6731 points. Ennis won by one of the greatest margins ever, a massive 231-points from Germany's Jennifer Oeser.
Fifth after two events, and third after six, Oeser rode through the field like a Valkyrie, scoring 6493 points to claim silver, with Poland's Camila Chudzik another 22 points behind in third.
Both sneaked past the perceived favourite, Ukrainian Olympic champion Nataliya Dobrynska, relegating her to fourth on 6444.
The 5ft 4ins Ennis was dwarfed by many of her Amazon rivals, yet nowhere was her dominance more apparent than in the high jump, where she cleared 1.92 metres. That would have won the individual high jump at the Commonwealth Games in Melbourne by a centimetre.
Yet she recorded only one personal best (in the shot) "I was really pleased with the consistent, solid performances,"
she said. "I know I have a lot more to give in most of the events. I'm looking forward to next year and the year after."
"I was so worried about what happened last year. I didn't know how I was going to come back. I didn't know what kind of shape I'd be in, but this year's just gone from strength to strength, and now I'm world champion..."
She looked disbelieving.
"It will take some time to sink in."
Her parents were not present. "The reasons are mainly financial," she said. They booked travel and accommodation in China last year before she got injured, so another trip was beyond them.
Her biggest danger in the end, was her own enthusiasm - off at a suicidal pace in the final event, the 800m. "Pure nerves, pure adrenaline. I just needed to hang on and do enough to win the medal. I just went off too hard, basically."
UK head coach Charles Van Commenee paid tribute: "She's cool, calm and collected.
She does not let anything affect her."
It capped an outstanding start for the GB team. Three British women, Jemma Simpson, Jenny Meadows, and Marilyn Okoro advanced to the second round of the 800m, but it took the jury of appeal to continue the interest of defending champion Janeth Jepkoskei.
The Kenyan was brought crashing by this year's world No.1, South African Caster Semenya, who is just 18.
The robust Semenya hurdled clumsily over her fallen rival, twisting an ankle, recovering to win, but she sank to the track at the finish. "I can't feel my ankle...if it's not good, I'll quit," she said.
Just last October, she relegated Scotland's Lynsey Sharp to third in the final of the Commonwealth Youth Games in Pune. Now she is world No.1.
Two UK triple jumpers reached tonight's final. Phillips Idowu is second best qualifier (17.32m) behind Nelson Evora (17.44m), the Portuguese who denied him Olympic gold in Beijing. Nathan Douglas (17.00m) qualified ninth but Larry Achike, at 34, was robbed of a second World final place eight years after his first by the final jump. He missed out by two centimetres, with 16.94m.
Christine Ohuruogu, the Olympic and defending World champion, reached tomorrow's 400m final, but she's slowest of the finalists, with 50.35, her quickest this year.
Sanya Richards, still without a global title despite being World No.1 for four years, was in Ohuruogu's heat, and the American did just enough to win, in 50.21.
"One more to go," said Richards. "I'm excited! Now there is no more space for doubts, 2009 is going to be a great year for me."
It's already a great year for David Greene. The former Swansea City footballer ran the quickest 400m hurdles of his life, and will line up for tomorrow's final as third fastest after clocking 48.27, fourth fastest ever by a Briton. Former world champion Bershawn "Batman" Jackson headed Greene by just four hundredths in their heat.
Defending champion and Olympic silver medallist Kerron Stewart is fastest with 48.00.
