Great Britain ’s Jessica Ennis has been selected as one of the European Athletes of the Month for May. Ennis was voted the European Athletics Rising Star in 2007 after the then 21-year-old achieved an incredible performance to finish 4th in the heptathlon at the IAAF World Athletics Championships in Osaka.
The British High Jump Record Holder missed out on Olympic glory in 2008 due to a serious ankle injury but came back with force in May this season winning the IAAF Combined Events Challenge in Desenzano del Garda. She has a new world leading score of 6,587 points to put herself firmly in the favourite’s position in the lead up to the IAAF World Athletics Championships in Berlin in August.
Seven days after her winning score she won the 100m Hurdles in the prestigious Loughborough International and two weeks later she threw a javelin PB of 44.18m to top off an unbelievable month.
The European Athlete of the Month initiative began in January 2007 with the aim of recognising outstanding performers at all levels of the sport in Europe.
European Athletics will name a male and female winner each month and feature the athlete on the European Athletics website. Selections are based on votes by the public, the media and a panel of European Athletics experts with each counting for 33.3% of the final vote.
Catherine Challen, Sportsister
The Women’s Sports Magazine
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