‘Our baby wasn’t planned but he’s better than a gold medal’: Jessica Ennis-Hill opens up about motherhood, Rio and retirement
She makes juggling a toddler with winning Olympic titles look easy!
ATHLETES at the top of their game are used to planning their lives down to the finest detail.
So it should perhaps come as no surprise that Jessica Ennis-Hill appears to have taken the biggest challenge of all – motherhood – completely in her stride.
Even now with the little matter of Rio 2016 just around the corner, she seems remarkably unfazed – despite training for 22 hours a week while caring for her energetic son Reggie, who turns two next week.
“Reggie is my priority and everything has to fit around life with him,” she says.
“Athletics was my everything, whereas now it’s a huge part of my life, but Reggie is the most important thing.
“I suppose it’s like any mum who goes back to work – you have to be organised. Everything is planned and prepared so I’m ready in the morning and can give Reggie breakfast and get him sorted before getting myself to the track.”
While Jess trains, Reggie is looked after by her mum Alison, who works for an addiction treatment charity, or he goes to nursery.
Jess, 30, spends the afternoon with him, then once he goes to bed it’s time for yet another training session.
These days, however, she does give herself some time off on a Saturday, spending it with Reggie and her construction worker childhood sweetheart (now husband) Andy Hill, 33, rather than practising the javelin.
The fact that athletics is no longer her top priority yet she is still the reigning heptathlon world champion says all you need to know about Jess. Growing up in Sheffield, she was introduced to athletics aged 10 at a local sports club by Alison and her dad Vinnie, a painter and decorator. She had her first session with coach Toni Minichiello – who still trains her today – aged 13, and the rest, as they say, is history.
Since then, Jess has won two World Championships, plus golds in the 2010 Qatar World Indoor Championships and the 2010 Barcelona European Championships.
This is as well as smashing numerous British records.
Then, four years ago, she was the poster girl for London 2012 after sprinting, throwing and leaping her way to victory and straight into the nation’s hearts.
Nearly two years later, she struck gold again when Reggie was born in July 2014.
Surely it was a risky decision for her to have a baby at the height of her career?
“Well it wasn’t exactly planned that way,” she laughs.
“Babies come when they come, and I wouldn’t have it any other way. He came at a perfect time, and I’m fortunate that I was able to get back into athletics and juggle the both of them.”
That’s Jess all over. She positively revels in being challenged, and you know if she puts her mind to something she will try her damndest to achieve it.
Just listening to her day-to-day routine makes us want to break out in a sweat.
To get in shape for the Olympics in Brazil she trains six days a week for a total of 22 hours, starting at 9am.
But she says all the juggling she has to do is worth it.
“Reggie is better than any gold medal,” she confesses.
“He’s doing great. He’s now flat out running, jumping, throwing and trying to say a lot of different words.”
Clearly a chip off the old block.
However, dig a little deeper and you’ll find that things have not always run so smoothly.
Jess found the months after Reggie’s birth, when she had to get back to training and give up breastfeeding, incredibly tough – so much so that she even considered giving up athletics altogether.
Talking about that period is the only time when her breezy, cheery demeanour momentarily deserts her.
“I found it really hard and my body had changed so much,” she says.
“Your ligaments loosen and your body is stretched. Not having any sleep is the hardest thing.
“I was mentally fatigued. I was physically pushing my body, and doing those events after having a baby is a tough ask for your body. I was like: ‘This is so hard! I’m so tired!’ Obviously you don’t want to leave the baby, everything’s new and you have all these emotions. I definitely felt like I could stop.”
But Jess persevered, and a breakthrough came when Reggie started sleeping through the night at nine months.
Within a year, she was back to peak physical fitness.
It led to her winning gold at the World Championships in Beijing in 2015 which, with typical modesty, she says was a big surprise.
“I hadn’t expected it, as I didn’t set myself a target of getting there and winning it,” she says.
“I thought it was a little bit too far out of my reach at that stage.”
Jess credits the amazing support network of her nearest and dearest for getting her through the tough times.
With both her and Andy working full-time, Jess’ dad and Andy’s parents also pitch in looking after Reggie and bring him to the track to watch Mum train.
“I felt I had a little bit more I wanted to achieve in my career. I want Reggie to look back and be proud of what his mum’s achieved and know that he was part of the whole experience. Our family have been amazing – it’s just adjusting everything and making it work,” she says.
At 5ft 4in, Jess is smaller than you would imagine and is surprisingly comfortable in front of the camera.
It’s also very hard to tear your eyes away from her incredible physique.
With rock-solid abs, arms you wouldn’t mess with and not an inch of fat in sight, her body is a finely tuned machine – one that is designed
to compete in what must be one of the hardest events in athletics.
Seven disciplines in two days is brutal on the body, but Jess says it was pregnancy and giving birth that really made her appreciate what she could do.
“You see your body change so much when you’re pregnant and it can do some amazing things,” she says.
“It’s pretty incredible, to be honest.
“I put on about 2st and loved being pregnant. It was a wonderful experience to watch my baby grow.”
While she may now be adept at juggling her two worlds, Jess hasn’t quite managed to escape working-mum syndrome.
“I think as a mum you feel guilty all the time, but it’s normal,” she says.
“You just want to do everything right for your baby and to make sure they have the best start in life. I think coming back with a gold medal from Beijing made everything worthwhile.
“I’m also lucky that I don’t work nine-to-five in an office, where I can’t take my baby. I have an open track where Reggie can come and run around and play.”
She says the hardest thing about being an athlete is the time spent away from her family – she was in Beijing for two weeks during the World Championships.
Jess won’t elaborate on what her family plans for the Olympics are, and she won’t be drawn into the risks of the Zika virus, which has led to fellow Team GB athlete Greg Rutherford freezing his sperm as a precaution.
But if she does decide to go solo, then no doubt she will rely once again on daily FaceTime calls with her two special boys.
When it comes to Rio, Jess is cautiously optimistic about her chances for glory, and understandably so.
The Olympics only come around once every four years, and the expectation is huge.
“I’m trying to train as hard as I can and do all that I can,” she says.
“I feel very lucky and privileged to be an Olympic champion – that’s something I’ll have forever.
“At the same time, I would still love to retain my title. Not many athletes do back-to-back Olympics and win them. It’s going to be a challenge, but I’ll give it my best shot.”
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Despite the hype surrounding Rio, the world of athletics has been tinged with suspicion around doping.
The UK Anti-Doping watchdog launched an independent investigation in April after private British doctor Mark Bonar was secretly filmed by The Sunday Times claiming he had supplied performance-enhancing drugs to sports stars.
Bosses at the International Association of Athletics Federations even made the decision to ban Russia from competing in track and field sports after allegations that the country’s athletes were using state-sponsored performance aids.
It must sadden Jess to see her beloved sport brought into disrepute?
“I absolutely hate all the things I’m reading,” she nods.
“You put your trust in a federation to make sure that everything is being done properly, so to find out it’s not is really disheartening.
“As an athlete, it’s really unfair and disappointing because you train so hard and make sacrifices for so many years, and then you realise people have been cheating. I hope the sport can pick itself up and come out the other side.
“There are people who make honest mistakes, and as an athlete you have to be vigilant and check everything you take.”
Jess is clearly irked by the situation, and rightly so. As one of Britain’s most popular athletes, she’s become a role model to thousands of young women.
In a world where girls often look up to the likes of Kim Kardashian West and TOWIE stars, it’s refreshing.
But it’s another subject that Jess refuses to be drawn on.
While she’s perfectly nice when declining to answer questions, it can be a bit frustrating at times.
With lucrative sponsorship deals at stake, Jess is perhaps too scared to voice an opinion and chooses instead to toe the diplomatic line.
“I don’t think sportsmen and women are the only role models around,” she says.
“I think it’s about picking who works well for what you want to go out and achieve.
“To me, it’s not about celebrity status – it’s about working hard and achieving your goals and dreams. If girls are inspired by what I do, then that’s a really privileged position to be in.”
But maybe Jess will finally find her voice post-Brazil, which looks set to be her last-ever Olympics.
Not that she will be drawn on whether gold or no gold she’ll continue to the World Championships, which are taking place in London in 2017.
“I’m focusing on getting to the Olympics, and once they are done I’ll have a break and then make a decision as to whether I want to retire or continue for another year,” she admits.
“I have achieved everything I really wanted to, so anything now is a massive bonus.”
There are things she is certain of, though.
One is to give Reggie a brother or sister in the not-too-distant future, and the other is remaining a part of UK athletics for the rest of her life.
“When I’m retired and have a bit more time, I would definitely love another child,” she says.
“I’m always meeting young people who have been inspired by the Olympics and are now doing sports because they watched London 2012. A lot needs to be done continuously to keep that legacy going. I’m passionate about getting people fit and active, so I’d also love to get families involved.
“The opportunities, venues, clubs and classes need to be there on a plate for people to get stuck into. It makes it a lot easier for young girls, especially, to want to pick up a sport and get involved. But I definitely won’t miss all those horrible, gruelling training sessions in the winter, when it’s cold and raining. I’ll finally be able to stay in bed on a Sunday!”
Something tells us that whatever Jess does turn her hand to next, she’ll most certainly win.
Jessica Ennis-Hill models the new, lightweight adidas and Stella McCartney Team GB kit for Rio 2016. Adidas Team GB replica apparel and fan-wear is available at .