• Athletics

Ennis in 'back garden' hunt for gold

ESPN staff
February 6, 2013
Jessica Ennis has toyed with the idea of running the 100m hurdles © PA Photos
Enlarge

Olympic heptathlon champion Jessica Ennis is planning a 'back garden' robbery of Russian Tatyana Chernova's world title in Moscow in August.

Ennis announced herself as a potential London 2012 champion by winning gold at the IAAF World Championships in Berlin in 2009.

Chernova finished eighth in the German capital but resolutely turned the tables on the world two years later in Daegu by taking the crown, forcing Ennis to settle for second.

While the 27-year-old from Sheffield proved she was the world's best by taking gold last summer she still has a desire to keep Chernova at a good arm's length by reclaiming the world title.

"It's a World Championships, it's in Moscow, Chernova's back garden, so it's going to be a great opportunity for her," Ennis told Sky Sports News. "But I'm going to do my best, and I really want to get that gold medal back."

Ennis also has a further aim for 2013; to break the 7,000-point barrier in competition. She came close in London with a final score of 6955 and if she does go 45 points better this year she will become only the fourth female athlete in history to do so.

In pursuit of her goals, Ennis is sacrificing the indoor season in favour of a longer training block for the outdoor season.

"We left our options open, and if things were going well we could have done the European indoors," Ennis explained. "At the moment I'm training hard and I feel in good shape, but I'm not quite ready to compete and it's more important to be ready for Moscow."

© ESPN Sports Media Ltd.
Close

ABOUT COOKIES

To help make this website better, to improve and personalize your experience and for advertising purposes, are you happy to accept cookies and other technologies.

More Info Here Cookie Choices