{"id":1039990218,"date":"2024-07-30T09:10:22","date_gmt":"2024-07-30T08:10:22","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/dev.athleticsweekly.com\/?p=1039990218"},"modified":"2025-02-18T08:51:58","modified_gmt":"2025-02-18T08:51:58","slug":"jessica-ennis-hill-backs-kjt-and-keely-hodgkinson-for-gold-in-paris","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/athleticsweekly.com\/news\/interviews\/jessica-ennis-hill-backs-kjt-and-keely-hodgkinson-for-gold-in-paris-1039990218\/","title":{"rendered":"Jessica Ennis-Hill backs KJT and Keely Hodgkinson for gold in Paris"},"content":{"rendered":"
As the athletics begins in Paris, the 2012 Olympic champion reflects on the French pressure and backs British gold hopes<\/h5>\n

The pressure of competing for an Olympic gold medal is challenging enough, but doing so in front of a home crowd adds an entirely different level of intensity.<\/p>\n

To heighten the nerves even further, heptathletes and decathletes face the additional stress of performing across multiple events, where there is so much room for mistakes.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt is an insane amount of pressure,\u201d says Jessica Ennis-Hill as she reflects on her London 2012 win. Never before has a British athlete faced such pressure going into an Olympic Games. She was the poster girl of London 2012 with her image plastered all over the city.<\/p>\n

But she did not let this pressure get to her. Instead she absorbed it and used it as her weapon during the two days of heptathlon. It wasn\u2019t a case of settling into things as she came out guns blazing on the opening day of the Games with a blistering 12.54 in the 100m hurdles \u2013 the fastest sprint hurdles ever during a heptathlon at the time. But how did she handle that pressure?<\/p>

\n
\n\n
<\/div>\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n<\/div><\/div>\n

\u201cYou\u2019ve just got to use that pressure and that energy to help you perform at your best,\u201d Ennis-Hill tells AW<\/em>. \u201cI had to drown out some of the noise in the stadium as much as I possibly could because there are lots of thoughts that creep into your mind when you are out there performing.<\/p>\n

\u201cThere can also be such a benefit when you are the home athlete because you get such a boost.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"\"
Jessica Ennis (Mark Shearman)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

It was all about focusing on the mental side for Ennis-Hill, no matter how fit and strong you are it\u2019s difficult to strive to the top without the mental preparation. \u201cYou can be the best physical athlete you can possibly be, but if your head is not in the right place and your mindset isn\u2019t, then you are not going to perform where you need to be,\u201d says Ennis-Hill. \u201cThere is a disconnect.\u201d<\/p>\n

Numerous French athletes will face the challenge of competing under the intense pressure of their home crowd in Paris, including Cyrena Samba-Mayela.<\/p>

\n
\n\n
<\/div>\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n<\/div><\/div>\n

Her remarkable performance in the women's 100m hurdles which secured her a European gold medal this summer has given the home crowd a lot to be excited about.<\/p>\n

She powered to victory in a championship record and world lead of 12.31 (0.8).<\/p>\n

Another gold medal that went to France during the European Championships was claimed by Gabriel Tual in the 800m. He recently shaved two seconds off his PB in Paris, running a national record of 1:41.61.<\/p>\n

Thibaut Collet will hope to win a medal in the pole vault as Alice Finot will hope to follow up her European win in the 3000m steeplechase with a French record in Paris.<\/p>

\n
\n\n
<\/div>\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n<\/div><\/div>\n

Another nation's favourite would have been decathlon world record-holder, Kevin Mayer. However it hasn't been an easy ride for the two-time world champion after pulling up with an injury during the 110m hurdles at the Paris Diamond League.<\/p>\n

His Olympic appearance is still unknown as he wrote on his Instagram account: \"Every day, the progress is surprising. There is no certainty of being at the start but I find myself imagining a miracle,\" he said.<\/p>\n

In that heptathlon, keep an eye on rising star Auriana Lazraq-Khlass. She stunned the nation at the European Championships by earning a silver medal and setting a personal best by 400 points. With the backing of the home crowd, she is poised to mount a significant challenge.<\/p>\n

\"\"
Auriana Lazraq-Khlass (Getty)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n

However, she will be competing against one of the strongest fields in the Games, including Great Britain's Katarina Johnson-Thompson.<\/p>\n

Johnson-Thompson last competed alongside Ennis-Hill at the latter\u2019s final Olympic Games in Rio 2016, where Ennis-Hill secured a silver medal and Johnson-Thompson finished sixth.<\/p>\n

The world indoor champion was unable to add a European medal to her collection this year after pulling out with a 'niggle' in her leg.<\/p>\n

\u201cI don\u2019t think we saw the best of Kat at the Europeans,\u201d says Ennis-Hill. \u201cI think she absolutely made the right decision because if you find any kind of niggle you have to stop.\u201d<\/p>\n

Although Johnson-Thompson is a two-time world champion, she has yet to achieve the goal of winning an Olympic gold medal. With Paris just a Eurostar ride away and with lots of British fans making the journey, the pressure will be on her.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

\"\"
Katarina Johnson-Thompson (Getty)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

The spotlight on the heptathlon is even brighter with recent stellar performances from two-time Olympic champion Belgium\u2019s Nafi Thiam and world silver medallist Anna Hall. Hall recently showcased her talent at the US Olympic Team Trials as she solidified the win with 6614 points.<\/p>\n

All eyes will be on this fiercely competitive event.<\/p>\n

\u201cThey will all be feeling the pressure. I absolutely think KJT is capable of a gold medal,\u201d says Ennis-Hill. \u201cShe has the fire in her belly that this will be her fourth Olympic games and she\u2019s had disappointments in the past so this time she will want to put it right.<\/p>\n

\u201cNafi Thiam is going for her third consecutive Olympic gold medal in an event which is so gruelling and throws so many injuries along the way which is incredible. She will always rise to the occasion if she can stay in one piece.<\/p>\n

\u201cAnna Hall has had her injuries but seeing her score 6614 gives us a good indication of where she is at. There is also another heptathlete who will sneak in out of nowhere just below those top three.\u201d<\/p>\n

Johnson-Thompson will be joined by Team GB team-mate, Jade O\u2019Dowda, who is making her Olympic debut. The 24-year-old climbed to sixth on the UK all-time list after finishing with 6314 points at the European Championships in Rome \u2013 finishing seventh overall. She also secured a bronze medal for Team England at the 2022 Commonwealth Games.<\/p>\n

\"\"
Jade O'Dowda (Bjorn Paree)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

\u201cShe had such a great performance at the Europeans, and she deserves to be on the team. You don\u2019t often get the chance to compete at an Olympic Games when you\u2019re in great shape and ready to compete but O\u2019Dowda has to take the opportunity and relish it. She is most definitely capable of doing that.\u201d<\/p>\n

However, O\u2019Dowda\u2019s rise in elite sport is hardly surprising as it quite literally is in her blood. Her brother, Callum plays football for Cardiff City and Republic of Ireland and will no doubt be watching next week.<\/p>\n

One out of the seven events that holds a special spot in Ennis-Hill\u2019s heart is the 800m. She only had to jog around those final two laps in London but instead blasted through the first lap in 61 seconds to take the win in 2:08.65 \u2013 resulting in an emotional finish as the gold medal began to sink in.<\/p>\n

\"\"
Keely Hodgkinson (Getty)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Therefore, it is no surprise that Ennis-Hill is keeping her eyes on Keely Hodgkinson this year. \u201cShe is a fierce competitor and she doesn\u2019t want to take the easy route.<\/p>\n

\u201cSome things are out of your control and she can\u2019t control if Athing Mu is there or not. She just needs to focus on her plan and go out there and deliver.<\/p>\n

READ MORE: Paris Olympics combined events previews<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

\u201cShe has a fantastic setup with Trevor and Jenny. I remember being on teams with Jenny and she has all that wisdom and experience to impart on Keely as well.\u201d<\/p>\n

Ennis-Hill is clearly sharing the nation\u2019s excitement for Paris, as she will be at the Team GB House<\/a> on July 30-31. She will take to the stage for an in-depth Q&A to complement two jam-packed evenings of live sport.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s where all the athletes can go to relax and be reunited with friends and family after competing,\u201d says Ennis-Hill. \u201cI have such great memories from being there at the Rio and London Olympics, but this year is their first time they are opening it to the public.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u00bb\u00a0<\/i><\/b>Subscribe to AW magazine\u00a0<\/i>here<\/i><\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

As the athletics begins in Paris, the 2012 Olympic champion reflects on the French pressure and backs British gold hopes<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":578457,"featured_media":1039929047,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_searchwp_excluded":"","inline_featured_image":false,"wds_primary_category":36,"wds_primary_championship":0,"wds_primary_country":0,"wds_primary_sports":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[36],"tags":[],"championship":[],"country":[],"sports":[36006],"class_list":["post-1039990218","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-interviews","sports-heptathlon"],"acf":[],"parsely":{"version":"1.1.0","canonical_url":"https:\/\/athleticsweekly.com\/news\/interviews\/jessica-ennis-hill-backs-kjt-and-keely-hodgkinson-for-gold-in-paris-1039990218\/","smart_links":{"inbound":0,"outbound":0},"traffic_boost_suggestions_count":0,"meta":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","headline":"Jessica Ennis-Hill backs KJT and Keely Hodgkinson for gold in Paris","url":"http:\/\/athleticsweekly.com\/news\/interviews\/jessica-ennis-hill-backs-kjt-and-keely-hodgkinson-for-gold-in-paris-1039990218\/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"http:\/\/athleticsweekly.com\/news\/interviews\/jessica-ennis-hill-backs-kjt-and-keely-hodgkinson-for-gold-in-paris-1039990218\/"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/athleticsweekly.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/03\/Jessica-Ennis-celebrates-at-London-2012-by-Mark-Shearman-200x118.jpg","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https:\/\/athleticsweekly.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/03\/Jessica-Ennis-celebrates-at-London-2012-by-Mark-Shearman.jpg"},"articleSection":"Interviews","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Jasmine Collett"}],"creator":["Jasmine Collett"],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Athletics Weekly","logo":"https:\/\/athleticsweekly.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/AW-logo_with-website.png"},"keywords":[],"dateCreated":"2024-07-30T08:10:22Z","datePublished":"2024-07-30T08:10:22Z","dateModified":"2025-02-18T08:51:58Z"},"rendered":"