Rio Olympics 2016: Jessica Ennis-Hill driven on to enjoy another Super Saturday by memories she will create for her son Reggie, two
JESSICA ENNIS-HILL wants to create some new Super Saturday memories — for son Reggie.
Ennis-Hill is bidding to become the first British female athlete to win back-to-back Olympic titles when she opens her heptathlon campaign in the 100m hurdles today.
The Sheffield star gave birth to Reggie in 2014 but produced an astonishing comeback last summer to clinch heptathlon gold at the World Championships.
Now she wants to make history in Rio.
Ennis-Hill, 30, whose husband Andy is back home in South Yorkshire looking after their son, said: “It has been an incredible journey since I had Reggie and it’s just so surreal to think this time four years ago I was winning my first Olympic gold medal. I didn’t think about what was going to happen after and I hadn’t thought about the next Olympics. It seemed so far away and out of reach but now I’m here again.
“I’d love to create some memories out here for Reggie to look at when he is old enough. Having all those images — the DVDs and pictures — and memories to take back with us will be really special.
“He is aware of everything now, he knows what mummy does and tries to copy what I do. He was at my training camp before I flew out here, coming down to the track with me and doing his little bit of hurdling alongside me. Every time I ran, he was saying ‘Mummy go, go, go’.
“I would love my performances to be great in Rio to show what his mum achieved just two years after he was born.
“It was tough saying goodbye to come out here but I know he is in safe hands. He’ll have an amazing time with daddy and I’ll see him in a couple of weeks.”
Ennis-Hill fired a major warning to her rivals in June by recording her best score since the personal best at London 2012 — and the second best in the world this year — in Germany when she notched up 6,733 points.
That tally in pouring rain was 64 points more than she scored in winning gold at the Bird’s Nest Stadium last August — ten months after she first got on an exercise bike in the garage of her Sheffield home to start the long road back to Rio when she became a mum.
And it put her among the favourites for the Olympic heptathlon title again.
She admitted: “I am aware no British woman has defended a title before in track and field and I know how difficult it’ll be.
“I see it as a massive challenge. Last year was a massive challenge too but I feel the odds are a little bit against me this time because it’s a huge thing to achieve.
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“But it’s a really amazing position to be in. It’s very unique and I’m relishing the opportunity to go out and see if I can do something really amazing at this stage in my career.”
Ennis-Hill, Mo Farah and Greg Rutherford all grabbed gold in the space of 44 mad minutes on August 4, 2012 — Team GB’s finest day of the London Games and forever to be known as Super Saturday.
The trio are all back in action tomorrow, hoping for another golden flourish and Ennis-Hill added: “It’s so exciting the timetable has fallen like that again and it will be really nice to be in the stadium together again.
“It’s going to be really tough but I’ve just got to hold it together. I know I’ve done this before and that I can do it again.”