“I’m pretty emotional but these are happy tears”, said Ennis-Hill. It was her third fastest time since winning in London. This time it was pure torture.
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The Kenyan, whose world record run to win gold four years ago was one of the highlights of the Games, said: “I’m in good form, there’s no doubt about that”.
“I have a feeling in my mind about what I’m going to do, but it’s such a huge decision”, she added. “I think generally everyone didn’t run great times so yep – a mixed day but obviously glad to be leading after the first day”.
Afterwards Ennis-Hill refused to say whether it would be her last event, but it certainly sounded like it might be.
“I remember after London 2012, I couldn’t ever have imagined myself picking myself up for Rio and doing it all over again but I came here after four very different and interesting years and have come away with another Olympic medal”. “But I’ve now got a big decision to make”. “I wanted to be able to walk off the track knowing I went eyeballs out and gave it everything”, she said. I’ve had an awesome few years and achieved so much in the sport.
Thiam’s rise has been rapid and staggering. She had to beat Thiam in the 800m by nearly 10 seconds and only just missed out with a season best performance.
Throughout the two-day competition, Eaton supported his wife by wearing a red “Canada” hat.
Yet the Sheffield girl – a pin up of London and Rio games – remains a victor in all our hearts, To become a mum, then regain world and come so close to retaining her Olympic title puts her in Britain’s hall of fame forever.
The heptathlon is a seven-event competition held over two days.
At that stage she was second, 72 points behind Ennis-Hill and the Briton was clear favourite. Her son Reggie was born in 2014.
The 30-year-old put in a strong display on Friday, topping the 100m hurdles and finishing second and third in the 200m and high jump respectively.
Theisen-Eaton’s time of 13.18sec left her sixth place overall after the first event. Her first effort was just 36.36m, almost six metres below her personal best, while her second was so poor she purposely stepped over the line so it counted as foul.
The 23-year-old could only manage a best throw of 11.68m. She wished her shot put and 200 could have been better, though. And yet for her brilliant athleticism, success in both events still eludes her.
The sound levels inside the stadium reached a new high as Brazilian heptathlete, Vanessa Chefer, stormed to victory in her heat, leaving a considerable gap between herself and second place.
“I have every faith that she can score more and be on the podium”.
Nafissatou Thiam’s javelin throw was the decisive factor in her winning heptathlon gold.
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She said having her family in Rio made it even more special. “It’s a tough event and I’ve done it for so long… so… we’ll see”.
