Jessica Ennis-Hill marked her return to the track with a third place finish in the Women’s 100m Hurdles at the Great City Games in Manchester on Saturday.
The Olympic heptathlon champion had not competed since the Anniversary Games in 2013, having taken time out to give birth to her now ten-month-old son Reggie.
British-American Tiffany Porter won the race with a time of 12.86 seconds, with fellow Briton Lucy Hatton second and Ennis-Hill finishing third after clipping a hurdle.
Speaking after the race, she said: “I am disappointed to hit a hurdle and not run a faster time but it’s a starting point, and I can go away and get race sharp and work on it, so I am happy to come away with that result.
“There is always the question of whether it is too early, but I just felt like I needed to get back out there. Now I can build on this and go away to get race sharp again.
“It’s nice to be back lining up, getting in the blocks and having that crowd behind you.”
Ennis-Hill, who last took part in the city’s games in 2012, the year that she won the famous Olympic gold in London, was greeted on Deansgate by a rapturous welcome from roughly 25,000 adoring fans.
She is targeting the defence of her Olympic title in Rio next year, but her preparations have been hampered by a recurring Achilles problem.
However, the Sheffield-born athlete was in high spirits, with son Reggie and husband Andy at trackside to cheer her on.
She said: “Reggie was at home with Andy last night so I got a great night’s sleep. I’m always nervous before a race but I need those nerves and that adrenaline, and I really enjoyed it out there today.
“I really have the best of both worlds now, and it’s nice to be able to talk about something beyond athletics, and something that brings so much joy to our lives.”
Image courtesy of BBC via YouTube, with thanks.
