New Take on Life

Is Sheffield Olympian Dame Jessica Ennis-Hill slowing down in retirement? No chance

- Jake Taylor

FUN-RUNNERS jogging round their local park don’t often get a chance to test themselves against a three-time heptathlon world champion, but a group in Sheffield did just that. And won.

‘I was determined to take it easy and just jogged round with my friend chatting most of the way,’ says Steel City superstar Jessica Ennis-Hill. ‘But there were loads of people on Twitter saying they’d just beaten an Olympic champion, and I was like, “I was only jogging, I wasn’t really trying!”.’ 

As a gold medal-winning Olympian, national record holder and – just for good measure – a Dame, she really has nothing left to prove. But it’s not always easy for athletes who have hit the heady heights to come back down to earth in retirement. For some, it’s a bit of a bumpy landing.

‘So many sportsmen and women struggle when they retire, and a lot of them get depressed because it is such a change in their lives,’ the 31-year-old explains. ‘When you’ve had that structure in your life, of training and competing for so many years, it’s such a massive change.’

Thankfully, Jessica has had plenty to keep her occupied, most notably her son Reggie, who keeps her on her toes from morning till night. Born in 2014 between her incredible 2012 Olympic victory in London and her exceptional comeback at the 2015 World Championships, this little bundle of energy has helped his mum avoid the pitfalls that so many recently retired athletes encounter.