• Athletics

Sotherton backing Ennis to smash British record

ESPN staff
May 28, 2010
Jessica Ennis is in red-hot form © Getty Images
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Kelly Sotherton is backing Jessica Ennis to smash the British heptathlon record when she competes in Austria this weekend at the Hypo-Meeting.

Denise Lewis' record has set the standard for more than a decade, but 2009 world champion Ennis has been in imperious form of late.

She claimed the pentathlon world title in March, before displaying her sprint prowess in meets at Loughborough and Manchester.

Sotherton, who is out until next season due to a back injury, believes that it would be of benefit to Ennis if she could snatch the record before the European Championships in July.

"If the weather is good she can definitely do it," Sotherton told BBC Radio Five Live. "I think she will exceed Denise's record [6831 points] and might event touch 6900 or even 7000 points by the summer.

"She is definitely on for a personal best, in the last couple of meetings she has shown she is in much better shape than she was last year.

"But when she is so close to a record it would be nice to do it now so she doesn't have to worry about it in Barcelona."

© ESPN Sports Media Ltd.
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