Latest News Round Up
Every week we scour the internet for the latest news and views from the world of athletics. Containing key updates about Jessica's progress to London 2012 we hope you'll enjoy our latest news round up.
Olympic gold medal winner Jessica Ennis is to feature on the cover of children's comic the Beano. Publisher DC Thomson has confirmed that the 26-year-old heptathlete will appear as "Ennis the Menace," replacing famous cover-star Dennis the Menace, in a special Olympic issue.
The edition, which marks the success of Team GB at the London 2012 Olympic Games, sees Jessica taking part in the "Menace Heptathlon."
Maps showing competing countries from across the globe swelling in relation to their Olympic medal hauls have been created by a researcher from The University of Sheffield.
Bloating Great Britain beyond recognition, the overall medal map – which represents the total medals received at the London games – sees the UK dwarf Western Europe after Team GB’s 29 gold, 17 silver and 19 bronze medals.
The colourful maps offer an alternative way of viewing the medal count of Team GB, and the other 204 countries’ medal taking part in this year’s games.
Dr Benjamin Hennig, of the University of Sheffield’s Department of Geography and an expert in social and spatial inequalities, created the maps.
It seems that Jessica Ennis' achievements at the Olympics continue to inspire in many forms. Artists like Pete McKee have produced works in honour of Jess and so has Tom Hart, a 24 year old designer from Coventry.
Tom creates digital artworks of topical figures in pop culture. The digital artworks can take a day or two to complete depending on the complexity or level of detail and is basically a process of building an overall image out of random shapes, it was a technique he first did by hand in sketchbooks back in school. A couple years ago he stumbled across one of the old sketch books and felt he could evolve the idea which has grown from there.
GOLDEN girl Jessica Ennis greeted 20,000 Sheffield people with the words: “This is my home, this is the place I love.”
The Olympic champion turned the Steel City into a Golden City, as South Yorkshire turned out for a grand civic reception in Barker’s Pool. Jessica, appearing on stage with her hard-won medal, said: “This is definitely going to be one of the greatest moments of my life.
“Thank you so much to every single one of you here.
“You have always been there to support me - I can’t thank you enough.”
Jessica Ennis has thanked the people of Sheffield for backing her all the way to her momentous Olympic gold medal.
The 26-year-old heptathlete, whose achievements will be celebrated with a huge civic ceremony in the city centre on friday 17th August, said: “I have to say a big thank you to the people of Sheffield who have believed in me and backed me over the years - and to the people who were there in the stadium inLondon who really lifted me every step of the way.
“Winning the Olympics in Britain has exceeded everything I could have ever wished for – I am still in a state of disbelief.
“Being Olympic Champion is the best feeling ever and as an athlete the ultimate achievement.”
Thousands of people are expected to pour into Barker’s Pool, bedecked in gold to welcome Jessica home.
The celebrations will begin at 4pm when Balm Green, next to the City Hall, will be transformed into a mini athletics track where young people can try out their skills on some of the sporting disciplines of the heptathlon.
Sheffield band The Hot Soles and singer Sarah Mac will take to the Barker’s Pool stage from 5pm and Jessica’s journey to Olympic success will be shown on big screens alongside the stage and on Fargate near the Town Hall.
The ceremony will then begin on stage at 6.30pm, compered by comedian and broadcaster Toby Foster.
His band the Everly Pregnant Brothers will then perform a new song written in Jessica’s honour.
Jessica Ennis' Olympic feat should be recognised by having Sheffield's Don Valley Stadium renamed after her, former sports minister Richard Caborn has claimed.
Heptathlon champion Ennis uses the stadium as a training venue and Caborn, an ex-Sheffield MP, said renaming the stadium after her would help inspire young people to take up sport.
A fear of failure and a desire to win the one title missing from her collection will keep Jessica Ennis from giving up the heptathlon and becoming a specialist hurdler in the near future, the Olympic champion said.
Ennis's golden heptathlon campaign included a scorching 100 meters hurdles time of 12.54 seconds, the same time Dawn Harper ran to win 100 meters hurdles gold at the Beijing Olympics.
It prompted questions about whether the 26-year-old multi-eventer would chose to walk away from the physically punishing heptathlon to become a specialist hurdler.
"I have always said that I would like to give hurdles a go but I didn't want to go and do an event where I am not making semi-finals and finals and not being one of the best in the world," Ennis, who opted not to run the hurdles in London, told reporters.
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