Jessica Ennis-Hill: On being the poster girl at a home Olympics

The Game Changers

As we look forward to Paris 2024, we're sharing this previous episode with Olympian Dame Jess Ennis-Hill which was released on October 27, 2020.
In this episode, Dame Jessica Ennis-Hill explores her incredible journey from an enthusiastic young girl at a summer camp to becoming Olympic and three-time World Champion in Heptathlon.

It was a privilege to talk to one of Britain’s greatest all-time athletes as she took us through her early days, remembering the excitement of school competitions and the challenge of balancing her sporting career with life as a young woman.

Jess talks about the athlete-coach relationship that propelled her to winning ways, their contrasting personalities and communication styles, along with the patience required for long term success.
Talking candidly about the physical and mental challenges of being a full-time athlete and a university student, Jess reflects on how a devastating injury before the Beijing Olympics became a turning point in her career and how sports psychology played a pivotal role in her recovery and continued success.
Jess shares her extraordinary career's emotional highs and lows, from the intense pressure of being the poster girl for London 2012 to the joy of winning her gold medal on ‘Super Saturday’. She also opens up about balancing motherhood with elite training, and the extraordinary motivation her son Reggie provided for her comeback at the Beijing World Championships.

Thank you to Sport England who support The Game Changers Podcast with a National Lottery award.
Find out more about The Game Changers podcast here: https://www.fearlesswomen.co.uk/thegamechangers

Hosted by Sue Anstiss
Produced by Sam Walker, What Goes On Media
A Fearless Women production

Chapters

1. Female Athlete's Sports Journey (00:00:00)

2. Athlete-Coach Relationship and Overcoming Challenges (00:09:42)

3. Olympic Gold Medalist Reflects (00:20:31)

4. Olympic Champion Reflects on Career (00:28:05)

5. Retired Athlete Reflects on Career (00:36:19)

6. Game Changers (00:43:53)