Jessica Ennis-Hill on what it takes to win Olympic gold: "I was in the best shape of my life"

With the memory of Super Saturday still so strong and emblematic in the minds of athletic fans and beyond, it’s satisfying to find that, for Ennis-Hill, the date is equally emblazoned on her own consciousness.

"Pure relief" is her strongest memory of beating a strong field to win the women’s heptathlon.

"I didn’t go into the stadium at all before the Olympics started, as I wanted it to feel fresh," she remembers. "When I went out to do the hurdles, it was my first taste of it. The sun was shining; GB flags were everywhere; I was in the best shape of my life and so ready to start. That memory will always be ingrained in me."

Twelve years later, aged 38, she sounds almost as excited about events in the Olympic village in Paris.

After staying in the UK for commentary duties at the Tokyo Olympics in 2021, this will be her first foray back into this unique club since her retirement after Rio 2016.

What makes the Games so special? "It’s the ultimate in so many sports. The individual events have their championships, but the Olympics opens it up to everyone, and that’s really special. You feel connected."

She says that connection is particularly strong among her fellow heptathletes. "Even though we’re rivals, there’s camaraderie, more than in any other track or field events, because you have total respect for what everyone’s enduring over those two long days."

Ennis-Hill will be covering athletics for the BBC in Paris, but hopes to make time for other events with her family. She has already booked seats for diving and beach volleyball. "None of us have seen the volleyball live, so that’s exciting, and we’re big tennis fans."

She married her childhood sweetheart Andy Hill a year after London 2012, and they now have two children, 10-year-old Reggie and six-year-old Olivia.

Frequent mention of her family underlines her palpable contentment eight years into her retirement. Besides occasional TV work, she has remained involved in sport, through advertising deals, developing fitness training apps and charity work.

"It’s a tough time, it’s an unknown," she reflects now on that shift between chapters. "I never allowed myself to plan too much about retirement, as it would take my mind off competing, then I knew I wanted to stay connected to sport. I’m very selective. I only pick things that I think have the right values."

One huge factor in her extraordinary record (as well as her Olympic gold and three world titles, she previously held the British record in the 100m hurdles and equalled it in the high jump) was her fitness.

During her time as the poster girl for British athletics, magazine spreads were devoted to pictures with arrows pointing everywhere from her defined abs to her sculpted arms and legs. If that was a fitness regime turned up to 10, where does she sit now?

"I’m probably a seven," she says. "I don’t do the level of intensity I did, but as an athlete, I had to motivate myself a lot of the time and I can still do that. I push myself hard on a tough run; I can lift heavy weights; I do circuits.

"I enjoy it and I want to stay strong. But if I don’t feel like a session, I don’t make myself."

Ennis-Hill’s era coincided with a golden age for athletics. How can we ensure this continues for Team GB? She is philosophical. "It goes through waves. When I was a young athlete, I looked up to Denise Lewis, then recently I was watching an interview with a young tennis player and she said she was inspired by what I had achieved.

"Role models are created off the back of each Olympics, and that brings new people through. You have to create those moments that young kids can connect with."

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