Olympic champion Jessica Ennis-Hill, who only decided to compete four weeks ago, regained the heptathlon world title yesterday after what she described as her “hardest year ever”.
Ennis-Hill became a mother for the first time 13 months ago, and had originally intended for 2015 to be a “transition” year to prepare for the defence of the Olympic title in Rio de Janeiro.
The Briton’s victory followed a dramatic twist in the day’s first discipline, the long jump, when her closest rival, team mate Katarina Johnson-Thompson, scored zero points following three foul jumps.
Ennis-Hill jumped 6.43 metres and threw the javelin 42.51 metres to give her an 86-point lead before the final event, the 800 metres.
She put in a determined display, sprinting past the pre-championship favourite, Canada’s Brianne Theisen-Eaton, down the home straight to win in 2 minutes 10.13sec.
Ennis-Hill, who won the world title in Berlin in 2009, finished with 6,669 points.
Theisen-Eaton, who is married to American decathlon world record-holder Ashton Eaton, repeated her silver medal-winning performance at the 2013 world championships, with 6,554.
The bronze went to Laura Ikauniece-Admidina with a Latvian record 6,516 points.