Jessica Ennis will likely miss chance to compete in 100m hurdles at 2012 Olympics in London
Jessica Ennis’s hopes of winning two gold medals in the heptathlon and 100m hurdles at the 2012 Olympics have been crushed even before she’s had a chance to compete. The London organising committee (Locog)
wouldn’t do any favours for Ennis, and scheduled the first-round of the hurdles 36 hours after the end of the heptathlon.
“I hope they'll be able to pull a few strings to let it happen,” Ennis said in May regarding the Locog scheduling the hurdles late in the timetable. “If the timetable did permit and I keep on improving,
then I'd love to do it.”
A similar gap was scheduled between the two events at the World Championships in Berlin, and on the eve of the hurdles, Ennis pulled out because she was still tired from winning the heptathlon.
"It's incredibly tight," said Ennis’ coach, Toni Minichiello said according to the
Telegraph. "Because it's the same as the Berlin timetable, it's probably too tight. I don't want to rule it out because I need to have a discussion with Jess. It's certainly something we'll still consider but I'm not sure. It might just be too tight."
The request was not out of the ordinary. In 1996 in Atlanta, Michael Johnson’s request to have the 200m and the 400m scheduled in such a way that he could compete in both. His request was granted, and
the American runner won gold in both while setting a 200m world record.
Ennis’ chance to double gold is not completely out of the question, although she won’t be competing in the hurdles, she still has a chance to earn a spot on the 4x100m relay team. The first round of the
women’s 4x100m race is scheduled to take place five days after the heptathlon ends.
Earlier this week Ennis was named as a finalist for the IAAF’s Athlete of the Year. She won gold in the Pentathlin at the World Indoor Championships, and the European Championships earlier this year.
She missed the 2008 Olympics in Beijing due to a broken right foot.
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