Jessica Ennis-Hill and Usain Bolt came to the rescue of athletics yesterday, just when their sport needed them most.
Ennis-Hill regained her world heptathlon title at the Bird’s Nest Stadium in Beijing just 13 months after the birth of her son, Reggie, while Bolt defied the naysayers and all known form to run down Justin Gatlin, the two-time doping offender, to hold on to his 100 metres crown.
The success of Ennis-Hill was truly remarkable. Since winning her Olympic title in London in 2012, she lost most of the next year to injury and did not compete at all in 2014 because she was pregnant. This year had been seen as one of transition, with her only goal to qualify for next year’s Olympics in Rio.
She achieved that target in May and the decision to compete in Beijing was made less than four weeks ago. After winning a world title when not fully prepared, Ennis-Hill will be getting used to the idea that she may be even better as a mum.
“I hope so, it changes your whole life,” she said. “It definitely gives you perspective and you do things for a different reason, so I definitely think that’s going to help me.
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“I look at other mums, like Jo Pavey [who won the 10,000 metres gold at the European Championships last summer] and mums that go back to work and work incredibly hard. I have so much admiration and appreciation for how hard it is, so I hope that I am an inspiration for other mums that you can do it and go out and do both really well.
“This is definitely one of the greatest moments of my career. Me and Toni [Minichiello, her coach] spoke about coming here and we only wanted to come if I was able to compete for a medal. We spoke about the bronze medal and that it would be amazing for a silver medal, but we never spoke about gold. I thought it was a little beyond me this year.”
The World Championships began under a cloud, with athletics lurching from one doping crisis to another. It needed its biggest stars to perform and in two days they already have — Mo Farah winning a gold medal in the 10,000 metres on Saturday, followed by Ennis-Hill yesterday and then the biggest star of all, Bolt.
Gatlin had a two-year, 29-race unbeaten run going into yesterday’s final, but a victory for the 33-year-old American, who many believe should have been banned for life, would have been too much for some to bear.
But back on the track where the Bolt legend really began at the 2008 Olympic Games, the Jamaican delivered again.
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“It wasn’t the perfect race, but I got it done,” Bolt said. “I definitely think this was my hardest race. I’ve been through a lot this season, it’s been rough and Justin Gatlin has been running great.
“My aim is to be the best athlete ever, to be among the greats. To do that I have to keep winning and dominating my sport. I want more gold medals.”