Jessica Ennis

The World Heptathlon Champion, and one of the favourites to be crowned the BBC’s Sports Personality of the Year


To be named even in the shortlist of ten for the BBC Sports Personality of the Year awards is a great honour and something I would not have dreamt was possible this time last year.

I keep reading and hearing how I am one of the favourites to win although, despite being the competitive animal I am, I’d be more than made up to make the top three, I really would. I reckon the likes of Jenson Button and Andrew Strauss, let alone Ryan Giggs, David Haye, my own British athletics teammate and fellow world champion Phillips Idowu and all the others on the list may have a say or two in this. It appears to me to be particularly wide open this year.

It would be the icing on a particularly delicious cake for me, especially as the awards are being staged in my home city of Sheffield. I am a proud Sheffielder – I support the Blades and it’s great to be able to train in such fantastic facilities such as the Don Valley Stadium and the Institute of Sport right on my doorstep – and with the Ponds Forge swimming pool, the Sheffield Arena where the BBC awards will be staged, the Peak District and all the advantages a big city can provide, I have everything I could possibly need right here.

Twelve months ago I was some way into my rehab programme having contracted a stress fracture of my ankle. The injury not only ruled me out of the Beijing Olympics but, for a while, it was even career-threatening. It was, to put it mildly, a very upsetting time for me.

Maybe it put everything into perspective, maybe it made me realise how much I wanted to be a successful athlete because what I love doing the most was taken away from me, or maybe the enforced rest made me fresh for the world championships last August but, whatever the reason, I returned home with the world title and a gold medal and, ever since then, my world’s gone a bit crazy.

I’ll give you some examples. Back in September the city of Sheffield celebrated my achievement in the Peace Gardens. I was really nervous that no-one would turn up, especially as it was lashing down with rain. Fortunately loads came with their flags and banners. I made a small speech on the stage and was given a cutlery set made out of Sheffield’s famous steel. Better still, I also got a Mulberry handbag.

Then it was off to Glasgow to present the best album award at the MOBO’s (Music of Black Origin). Now this was really nerve-wracking, partly because I was way out of my comfort zone, but mainly because as I walked out on to stage in front of thousands of people, there sitting in the front row were Latoya and Jermaine Jackson. Once I’d given out the award, though, I relaxed and had my picture taken with the Jacksons, plus JLS and Lemar. I didn’t expect any of them to know who I was but Lemar, in particular, told me how much he’d enjoyed watching me win the gold medal.

There have been a few TV appearances as well, notably “A Question of Sport” and “Something for the Weekend.” It was the second time I’d done “AQOS” but I was still nervous. Andy, my boyfriend, has Sky Sports News permanently on the TV back at home and he suggested I should study it closely the night before I went on the show, but I’d rather sit and read a good women’s magazine. I was on Matt Dawson’s team and one of my teammates was the cricketer, Graeme Swann, who was hilarious. I managed to get my two “Home” questions right, which were on the heptathlon and the 100 metres, but didn’t contribute much else.

On “Something for the Weekend” I was interviewed about my success but the really enjoyable part was when I was asked to do some cooking. I love to cook and believe I’m good at it. Gordon Ramsay’s one of my heroes and I really like watching all his programmes on TV, especially “The “F” Word.” On the show I rustled up a Blackberry and Apple Pastry, which is one of my specialities. I strongly recommend it.

I’ve also attended a couple of awards functions in which I have been nominated in. The first was The Sunday Times Sportswoman of the Year in which I came second to the world triathlon champion, Chrissie Wellington. I know people who don’t win say these things but I was delighted for Chrissie because I admire what she does so much, she is in a sport that does not often get a high profile, and she was welling up as she went up on stage to receive her well-deserved prize.

The second was the Cosmopolitan Ultimate Awards night where I was voted the Ultimate Sportswoman of the Year. I really enjoyed the evening, and not just because I won. I met Vernon Kay – he’s really nice and really tall (or am I short?) – and also Fern Cotton, who was also very pleasant and complimented me on my dress.

The next morning all the winners were invited for breakfast at 10, Downing Street with Sarah Brown. The PM’s wife was really nice, seemed to know all about me, and asked me all questions all about the heptathlon. We also had a tour of the building, taking in the portraits of the Prime Ministers up the staircase and Winston Churchill’s famous armchair, with his scratch marks still clear in the arms. The likes of Danni Minogue and Kimberley Walsh were also there, as was my friend Charlotte, who had the best couple of days she’d had in a long time.

As you can tell it’s all been great fun and I wouldn’t have missed it for the world, but I’m back in training and, once the BBC awards are done and dusted with, I’m going to make sure everything calms down and I can focus fully on what I’m best at.

This means training and making sure that this year is only the start, not the end. There’s so much more I want to achieve as an athlete and, although my schedule will not include the Commonwealth Games next year, it definitely does include the European Championships next summer.

I’ll be training on Christmas Eve and on Boxing Day but, you know what? I’ll be taking Christmas Day off like everyone else. It’s my favourite day of the year so, apart from taking my 10-month old Chocolate Labrador, Myla, for a walk, I’ll be putting my feet up and making the most of it. That’s my Christmas present to myself, that and the world heptathlon gold medal!