AFTER almost 18 months away from heptathlon, Jessica Ennis-Hill is back in familiar territory, leading a major championships at the end of the first day and sending reminders of her enduring qualities.
The Olympic champion tried to play down her chances of winning a second world title in the lead-up to these championships, but motherhood has not drained her competitive spirit one bit.
With no real form or confidence to work with, Ennis-Hill relied heavily on experience and sheer guts to emerge from a hot and tough opening day with 4,005 points, giving her an 80-point lead over her teammate Katarina Johnson-Thompson, who had a topsy-turvy day, and a more comfortable cushion over Nadine Visser of Holland in third.
With the long jump, Johnson-Thompson’s best event, to come this morning, and the javelin, which neither of the British women enjoys, their duel could come down to a mental and physical slog over the 800m, the seventh and most gruelling event in the heptathlon. The good news for both is that Brianne Theisen-Eaton, the strong favourite for gold, had a wretched time in the high jump. By her own reckoning, the Canadian has slipped too far off the pace to challenge for the gold today.
“I’d like to think it’s a British playoff,” said Johnson-Thompson. “But you don’t underestimate anyone. Anything can happen.”
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Ennis-Hill, 29, admitted that one of the hardest aspects of coming back into training after having her son, Reggie, was accepting lower standards. It was typical of her champion’s mentality that a vague sense of disappointment lingered over her first day back in a major championships since London 2012.
“I’m really happy to be first,” said Ennis-Hill. “There was nothing amazing today, I was just solid. I have this weird feeling of slight disappointment. I feel I can be better, but I’ve got to accept that it’s not going to happen this year. I’m still surprised to be first after four events. But it’s a nice position to be in. I can go and recover knowing that I’ve got a bit of a cushion.
“Kat’s doing amazing, she’s doing personal bests, so it’s definitely going to be a battle and hopefully we’ll get a couple of medals.”
The source of Ennis-Hill’s frustration, perhaps, could be a relatively lacklustre time in the 100m hurdles, at least for her, and the abiding belief that in the form she showed at London 2012 she could leave this field standing.
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One of the reasons behind the last-minute decision to come here was the current lack of depth in the heptathlon. Theisen-Eaton, wife of Ashton Eaton, the world and Olympic decathlon champion, has been the class act so far this season, but she is unproven at this level. Ennis-Hill feels she has the Canadian’s measure — and proved it yesterday — and with Johnson-Thompson short of competitive fitness a medal was well within her grasp. But Ennis-Hill, who has spent much time since London enjoying a new role as a mother, did not expect the field to open up so invitingly.
While Ennis-Hill produced three season bests, in shot, high jump and 200m, her lead was based on minimising mistakes. Johnson-Thompson came within one jump of meltdown in the high jump, opened with a personal best in the 100m hurdles, followed it up with another PB in the shot and ran for her life in the 200m, the final event of the day.
Ennis-Hill’s first two events, usually two of her best, were solid rather than spectacular. The 100m hurdles has long been the barometer of her confidence and overall performance. In London 2012, the momentum gained from running the fastest time of her life proved unstoppable, so clocking 12.91sec, a slower time than in the Anniversary Games in London last month, was slightly dispiriting. Johnson-Thompson, not a natural hurdler, ran 13.37sec, a career best, in her heat.
In contrast, the high jump was a revelation for both British women. Ennis-Hill jumped 1.86m, a 2015 best, to finish second behind Johnson-Thompson, whose progress was nothing if not dramatic. In danger of not recording a jump at all in one of her banker events when she failed twice at her opening height of 1.80m, Johnson-Thompson soared over 1.86, then took three attempts to clear 1.89m before narrowly failing to clear 1.92m.
“The high jump was a bit shaky, it was a real emotional rollercoaster,” said the 22-year-old Liverpudlian. “When I had two no-jumps I didn’t know what I was feeling. I’ve been fighting to be here all season and I didn’t want it to end that way.”
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She had to overcome a marked stutter in her run-up to win the competition, just ahead of a posse of athletes on 1.86m, including Ennis-Hill. The key, though, was that both British athletes gained significant points over Theisen-Eaton, who followed a personal best in the hurdles with a disappointing 1.80m in the high jump. The Canadian never really recovered and ended the day in fourth place, 140 points adrift of the leader.
Like all great champions, Ennis-Hill will not forfeit a lead lightly. Johnson-Thompson’s superior long jump, though, can edge the young pretender closer to the champion this morning. “I knew it was going to happen like that,” said Johnson-Thompson. “I don’t want to battle it out with Jess in the 800m because neither of us will give up and she’s the Olympic champion. But I think the 800m could be very special.”