London: As expected, one of Great Britain’s most popular athletes Jessica Ennis climbed her way to the top of the standings at the of the opening day in the women’s Heptathlon at the Olympic Stadium here late on Friday.
Running in the 200m, the fourth and final event of the first day of competition, Ennis clocked a personal best time of 22.83secs to finish joint first with Netherlands’ Schippers to record a total of 4,158 points – the highest-ever score recorded at the end of the first day of Heptathlon.
Going into the fourth event of the day, Ennis was placed third with 3,026 points, chasing Austra Skujyte of Lithuania who was at the top of the leaderboard after a fine effort of 17.31m in the shot put.
But a tremendous last burst in the 200m saw the British athlete earn maximum points and hoist herself to the top of the standings, 184 points adrift of second placed Skujyte. Canada’s Jessica Zelinka was in third a further 255 points behind with a total of 3,903.
“Stepping into the stadium this morning blew me away. I did not expect such a crowd,” Ennis said.
“I always felt ready for my event after all my hard work and training, but I didn’t think I would do that great,” she smiled.
However, she admitted to being nervous as well. “I was nervous, but strangely calm,” she admitted.
“I am not usually like this before major championships,” she added.
