Great Britain has its defining moment of the 2012 Summer Olympics.
Great Britain’s Jessica Ennis Wins Heptathlon Gold
Jessica Ennis gave Great Britain its best moment of the Summer Olympics thus far, winning heptathlon Saturday night in London.
Jessica Ennis gave the host country its poster moment Saturday night on the track at the Olympic Stadium, winning gold in heptathlon. Ennis scored a total of 6955 points. Russia’s Tatyana Chernova won the silver with 6628 points and the Ukraine’s Lyudmyla Yosypenko came in third, with 6618 points.
As Ennis crossed the finish line to win the final event, the 800m, the stadium shook.
Heptathlon is a two-day competition consisting of seven events (in this order): 100m hurdles, high jump, shot put, 200m, long jump, javelin throw and 800m. Athletes are awarded points relative to their finish in each element, with those scores added up to determine the final standings.
Ennis placed first in in the 100m hurdles and Saturday’s 800m run, and was second-best in the 200m and long jump. The heptathlon gold was somewhat of a coronation for Ennis, the first British woman to win the event in the IAAF World Championships.
As the enormity of her achievement finally hit her, she sank to the ground in tears, the noise of the capacity crowd reverberating all around. It was a moment she can scarcely have dreamed of four years ago when she broke her right foot just two months before the Beijing Olympics and was told her athletics career could be over.
And to say her home country was expecting her to win might be an understatement -- shortly after winning, she was presented with a customized flag announcing her title.
For more on the Olympics, check out SB Nation’s London 2012 Olympics Hub.
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