Ennis-Hill, by contrast, has been relentlessly consistent – a solid 12.91secs in the 100m hurdles, an equal season’s best with 1.86m in the high jump, 13.73m in the shot put and 23.42 seconds in the 200m. “If she gets pregnant again I know what I am doing… not that I am encouraging that”.
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Ennis-Hill won her 800m heat in a time of 2m 10.13s to seal a comprehensive victory in Beijing, having led the standings after the first day’s events.
The 22-year-old was left stunned by a red flag following her third and final jump, which would have been the biggest of the event and put her in a strong position to challenge her compatriot for gold.
The 29-year-old, competing in her first major championships since the London Olympics, said she had taken her first tentative steps back into competition by using an exercise bike in her garage gym after giving birth to Reggie, now 13 months old.
“At that point, it was all-or-nothing for me and I had to give it my all”. When the moment beckoned, Johnson-Thompson could not produce a measurable jump, bouncing herself off the podium. In an instant, the contest turned.
But nothing should detract from Ennis-Hill’s extraordinary effort given that as recently as November she was unable to lift a 20-kilo bar above her head as her body had still to recover from the rigours of childbirth. And he still finished in 9.77 seconds, a time Bolt has not come close to this year. Latvia’s Laura Ikauniece-Admidina was 38 points further back in bronze.
The 29-year-old claimed the comprehensive win after going into the final race with an 86 point lead. As her opponents fell away through pressure or imperfection, she was virtually home and dry.
“Incredible”, Ennis-Hill told Sky Sports headquarters.
“There were doubts before the Anniversary Games, but performing in London showed me I was making progress”.
Ahead of his campaign which starts with the heats on Wednesday, Farah said: “Hopefully it didn’t take too much out of me”. As it turns out, this remarkable sportswoman will return with a gold around her neck.
Johnson-Thompson became tearful as she finished an interview with BBC reporter Phil Jones after the 800m.
Johnson-Thompson endured entirely contrasting emotions as the youngster jogged around the two laps of the track after her long jump disaster ensured she plummeted down the standings and out of contention.
“I was a little conservative, but just enough to win”.
She added: “It was just a massive surprise to even be here to be honest”.
“I’m lost for words”.
“We spoke about a bronze medal – that would be wonderful – and a silver medal, but we never spoke about a gold medal”.
“It’s really hard but they’re definitely like that”, she said, holding her hands together level. This time previous year I just had my son and now I’m world champion.
“Everything has been so hard”.
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“I had to compete the 800m if I wanted to go to the long jump”.
