Jessica Ennis-Hill: ‘I was a classic driven, selfish athlete, but my kids changed me'

Telegraph

16-07-2025

Born in Sheffield in 1986, Ennis-Hill graduated from Sheffield University in 2007, a year after winning heptathlon bronze at the Melbourne Commonwealth Games. She went on to win three World Championships, one European Championship and most famously Olympic gold at the London Games in 2012. An athletics pundit for the BBC and a children's fiction author she lives in Sheffield with her husband Andy Hill and their two children, 10-year-old Reggie and seven-year-old Olivia.
Best parenting moment?
I'm an overthinking parent but probably the lessons that I teach the kids around sport are my proudest parenting achievements because I've been through it. I know the pressures and the things that I say to them about their mentality and the importance of when things go well and things don't go so well do get absorbed. I always find a way to reassure them, give them confidence, contribute to their mental strength and view situations in a positive light.
Best day of your life?
Apart from the births of my children, winning the Heptathlon at the London Olympics games in 2012 was 100 per cent the best day of my life. I remember the last 50 meters of the 800 where I just felt that I'd been holding my breath for the two days. Everything I'd done since starting athletics was about trying to get on the top of the podium. As an athlete you never know if it's going to work out how you'd anticipated.
The moment I crossed the line, I could not believe the adrenaline, the excitement, the disbelief, that I'd actually reached the absolute pinnacle of my career at a home Olympics with all my family and friends there. It was like a dream. Initially I felt an overwhelming relief that nothing had gone wrong, then the ecstasy followed. That high lasted for weeks and weeks. I lived in this crazy bubble where everyone wanted a piece of me… until I went back to the gruelling reality of winter training.
Best thing about life after athletics?
Without a doubt, my kids. I was that classic, very driven, quite selfish athlete but as soon as my kids arrived, I completely changed who I was as a person. Everything became about how I could be the best mum for them with the opportunities that they get.
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Best decision you ever made?
When I finished my A-levels, I was deciding whether to go to America to study or to stay where I was based in Sheffield. I wanted to move away and explore but also I had this thing that was actually going really well for me, and a great setup. I remember going looking at universities in America, but the decision to stay, where I was close to my family, the facilities that I had, the coach that I had, and stick with it, was a big turning point for me. I think things would have been quite different if I would have moved to the States.
Best advice you've ever received?
My parents always instilled in me the importance of balancing happiness with achievement. You've got to have drive and focus, and be ambitious, but I think at the core of that, you have to be in a really happy place and that's something that I've definitely seen have an impact on the way I performed, and it's been something that I've always been very conscious about.
Best moment as a TV pundit?
The Paris Olympics last year was a real high. I'd covered the Tokyo Olympics, but that was during COVID time, so we were broadcasting from Salford. Paris was the first Olympics that I'd been to as a spectator. Obviously, I was working, but I still got to go and watch some of the sports. I soaked up the Olympics from a completely different perspective. and got to be trackside to commentate on all the amazing performances and be part of it from that respect. So, for me, that was a massive high, a kind of full circle moment, being on the other side, but still very much part of it.
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Best celebrity encounter?
I was lucky enough to get into the Royal Box at Wimbledon, and one person that I've wanted to meet forever was Roger Federer. He happened to come in and I was very excited. I was with Denise Lewis as well and she was very excited too. We tried to be cool. He was just such a nice guy. Obviously, he's an incredible athlete, and what he's achieved, I have so much respect for him, but he was also a very grounded, normal man. He was just chatting away to us for ages. It was really lovely, and he also said he was a big fan of what I've achieved so there was a mutual respect and appreciation which was lovely.
Best you've ever felt about your body?
Standing on the start line for the hurdles in London. I remember my training partner sending me a message afterwards saying, 'your six pack was on fire'. He was like, 'I knew that you're either going to win or you're going to get injured, because you're in the best shape of your life'. And he was right. That was the best shape I'd ever been in.
Best personality trait?
My mindset. My ability to kind of not get too carried away with the highs, but not get too down with the lows, and just maintain that level. It's been really pivotal for me, and particularly in the heptathlon, there's so many highs and lows, and you have to be able to focus, refocus, and move on from disappointments. Over the years, my ability to do that has been the thing that has set me out from the rest.
Worst childhood memory?
I've got two quite nasty scars on my arm from an accident I had as a teenager. I was off to friend's house for a fancy dress party and one of my friends was standing on the road where we lived. She was running in to open our front door because she could hear some boys around the corner and I shut the door to stop her from coming in, and she pushed the glass through, which ended up slashing my arm. My parents weren't there, and my neighbour had to take us to A&E and I just remember that dread of thinking 'I'm going to be in so much trouble, but I've also really hurt myself.' In the end I didn't get told off too badly and I was just grateful I scarred my arm and not my face.
Worst moment of your life?
The biggest career heartbreak I'd ever experienced was breaking my foot in Berlin. I just thought that I'd done a bit of damage, and I'd probably have a couple of weeks off training, but I'd actually done a lot of damage. I had to fly back home in the middle of a competition and retire from the contest, which I never did, have some scans, and I found out that it was three stress fractures, one in my navicular bone, which was, like, the worst place you could have it because of blood supply. I was basically told I'd miss the Beijing Olympics in 2008, and that it might not heal properly, and I might not go on to compete again. That was the first big blow where I was like, 'Oh, the reality of this is pretty bad, and could set my life on a completely different trajectory.'
Worst personality trait?
My worst trait is questioning myself a little bit and being chronically indecisive. I'm so indecisive to the point where it actually drives me a bit mad. There's a reason I became a heptathlete doing seven events instead of just one.
Worst advice you've ever received?
My coach once said to me, 'if you're in sport all your relationships should be in sport. All your friends should be in athletics. It should be your whole world.' And I remember at the time thinking, 'No. I actually like the fact that I'm still really close to my school friends, and not all of them do sports. My husband plays sports, but he's not an athlete.' I love the fact that I had that ability to be able to switch off and things turned out pretty well in the end.
Worst thing that's ever been said about you?
The one time that probably sticks out in my mind was a year before the Olympics there was an article that went out saying that the Team GB performance director had said that I won my silver medal at the World Championships and not the gold, because I was fat and I was a bit overweight, so it became this 'fatgate' thing, and the article literally came out just before I was about to compete. It was so ridiculous. It's not something that you want to read and it's not something that shouldn't really be said. Firstly, I tried to just laugh it off but then at the same time when it's in lots of articles, and you've seen it everywhere, it's pretty upsetting. Especially when I was in intense training and had a six pack. The whole thing was ridiculous.
Worst decision you've ever made?
I've definitely made a few bad red-carpet decisions though. I wore this really sparkly dress to the BBC Sports Personality of the Year awards and had my hair really curly and up to one side and it was definitely not a good look for me.