A GOLDEN GIRL WHO GOES OUT ON A HIGH
Retiring Ennis-Hill conquered the world but stayed true to her roots
JESSICA ENNIS-HILL bowed out yesterday in her usual, understated fashion — posting a picture collage online showing the finest moments of her career. From a first world title in Berlin in 2009, to home gold at London 2012 and finally a silver at Rio 2016, two years after having her first child.
She always pledged to avoid the indignity of limping to the finish line through the persistent injuries that often dog older athletes and the inevitable waning of her competitive powers.
‘This has been one of the toughest decisions I’ve had to make,’ she said. ‘But I know retiring now is right. I’ve always said I want to leave my sport on a high and have no regrets.’
It had seemed her mind was made up the morning after she won silver in Rio two months ago, finishing behind Belgium’s Nafi Thiam, then 21. Gold had been the aim, as ever, for a woman so competitive she used to treat a game of throwing empty plastic bottles into a bin at training with the same seriousness as an Olympic final.
But perspective told her silver was a phenomenal achievement, given that she struggled to even lift a 2kg weight above her head in the early stages of her comeback after giving birth to son Reggie, now two. Toni Minichiello, who coached EnnisHill for 18 years, had hoped she might carry on to the London World Championships next year but conceded it was the right time to go. ‘Many sports people hold on too long. Jess has managed to avoid walking out of the stadium after failing a qualifying round,’ he wrote in his Coach To Rio blog. ‘ She’s walking out of the stadium by stepping off the podium. She’s one of our sporting greats. It seems fitting this way.’ Her retirement leaves a gaping hole at the pinnacle of British athletics. Phenomenal talent, gritty work ethic and an unusual ability to save her best performances for the biggest stage — setting four personal bests over two days to win at London 2012 — set her apart. But in a world where the term ‘ ambassador’ is overused, the 30-year- old was truly a leading light, particularly for young girls who love sport. Her influence on the current stable of British female athletes is obvious. Dina Asher-Smith, the fastest British woman in history, and Laviai Nielsen, one of our best young 400m runners, both carried her kit at London 2012 and refer to her as an idol. At a time when getting access to sports stars of her magnitude as a journalist usually involves jumping through hoops, Ennis- Hill was different. Earlier this year, I was one of three journalists who travelled to Ratingen, a small town in western Germany, to watch her compete in her final heptathlon before Rio. A delayed flight meant I was 20 minutes late for our allotted time. Ennis-Hill not only waited, she sat on a plastic chair in the stands of the stadium for as long as was needed, chatting about sport and life and proudly showing pictures on her phone of Reggie practising his golf swing with a plastic club.
Later that weekend, after exceeding all expectations, she stood in a bin full of ice doing interviews and signing autographs in the drizzle.
‘I don’t think she’s ever refused a kid an autograph,’ said Minichiello. ‘If you put it all together; performance, consistency, medals, returns from injury and pregnancy; how she’s represented and lifted the sport, the way she conducts herself away from the track, that’s what makes her the best ever.’
Jane Cowmeadow, who has been Ennis-Hill’s agent since early 2009, sums her up best as the ‘archetypal girl next door.’ Over the years her success, coupled with an enormous likeability, has brought her several lucrative endorsement deals.
On a couple of vital issues she has been admirably outspoken.
She is still waiting to be upgraded to the gold medal that is rightfully hers from the 2011 World Championships, where she was beaten by Russian drugs cheat Tatyana Chernova.
Her anger on the subject of doping is visceral. When Russia’s systematic doping programme was exposed, she was honest about her doubts that they could clean up in time for Rio. Her views counted towards the country receiving a blanket ban from athletics at the Games.
Ennis-Hill also risked a backlash in her hometown when she said she did not want a stand at Sheffield United to continue to bear her name if Ched Evans, a convicted rapist at the time, was invited back to train at the club.
It was a statement to reflect the strong moral values that have dictated her every major decision.
For that credit should probably go to her parents Vinnie and Alison, who first took her to a summer sport camp at the Don Valley Stadium when she was 11. Her talent was apparent, although some said she was too small to ever make it.
A form was republished yesterday in which the 15-year-old Ennis-Hill applied for financial support. One off the sections asked for her long-term sporting aims. In it, she simply wrote: ‘Compete in major championships.’
As ever, she truly did exceed all expectations.