Britain's heptathlete Jessica Ennis-Hill and Jamaican’s sprinter Usain Bolt displayed a remarkable determination at the Beijing National Stadium on Sunday to become crowned world champions in their respective events; the pair gave the sport a needed boost after a series of doping allegations associated in the recent past with athletes and the International Association of Athletics Federations’ (IAAF) officials.
Ennis – Hill, the 2012 Olympic and the 2009 World heptathlon champion, got married in 2013 and gave birth to her son Reggie in July 2014; she only resumed training towards the end of last year.
On Sunday she achieved excellent results in the long jump and the javelin, which give her an 86 point lead over the second placed Dutch athlete Nadine Broersen. Jess then triumphed in the 800m race, by winning the event and securing her gold medal; her supporters were overwhelmed with her stunning comeback to the demanding multi-events arena.
The British Olympian, who earlier this year competed at the prestigious heptathlon Hypo-meeting in Götzis in Austria, also achieved the qualifying threshold for the 2016 Rio Olympics and could now start with preparations to defend her Olympic gold-medal next summer.
However, Sunday morning was devastating for another British heptathlete, Katarina Johnson-Thompson, who finished the competition as 28th, after she made three fouls in the long jump.
The 22- year-old from Liverpool had an excellent score during the first day events, when hopes for a medal looked real; however it all ended in tears for Johnson – Thompson.
The Jamaican sprinter Bolt was another golden star on Sunday, when he produced his best race of all times, as he defeated Justin Gatlin to hold his world 100m trophy.
The American sprinter, who had astonishing unbeaten run leading to Beijing, was previously associated with doping allegations, and it was felt that his victory would be a disaster for athletics.
Bolt’s result of 9.79 seconds, was a few seconds above his personal best, and only fractions better than Gatlin’s, but sufficient to give athletics a reason to celebrate.
