THE MAKING OF A CHAMPION
HERE’S HOW AW HAS DOCUMENTED JESSICA ENNIS-HILL’S JOURNEY TO BEING A BRITISH SPORTING ICON
PICTURES: MARK SHEARMAN
2004 Eighth place at the World Junior Championships in Grosseto
2008 Home favourite: the pride of Sheffield
2015 The comeback: a glorious return after pregnancy
2012 Moment of clarity: Ennis-Hill is struck by the realisation of her achievement upon becoming Olympic champion
2009 Winning her first global gold at the World Championships in Berlin
WITH A JAMAICAN father who did sprinting and an English mother who competed in high jump, it seems Jessica Ennis-Hill had the genes to compete well in multi-events. A great sprinter, she was a natural at the high jump too.
She was introduced to athletics at a Star:Track event at Don Valley Stadium when she was 10.
Ennis-Hill first appeared in Athletics Weekly at the age of 13 after finishing 10th in the high jump at the English Schools – albeit competing against some athletes who were in the year above her. The following year she won Schools junior gold in that event and did the same two years later at intermediate level.