Jessica Ennis celebrates a new Personal Best in the Shot Put event in the women's Heptathlon (© Getty Images)
Daegu, Korea - A big personal best Shot Put of 14.67 put Britain’s defending Heptathlon champion Jessica Ennis into the overall lead for the first time here on a total of 3026 points.
After failing to win her opening two events of the 100m Hurdles and High Jump, the 25-year-old Sheffield athlete needed something to hold off the expected surge of the two big hitters in the shot – Austra Skujyte and Natallia Dobrynska, who finished first and second with 16.71 and 16.14 respectively.
Those efforts were enough to lift Skujyte into second place with 3014, and the Ukraine athlete into third place, just one point behind.
Meanwhile Hyleas Fountain, whose victories in the high hurdles and High Jump had given her a 39 points overall lead from Ennis, slipped down to fifth place on 2902 after managing only 12.20 – well below her indoor and outdoor bests of 14.06 and 13.81.
Having equalled her 2010 personal best of 14.25 at the national trials in July, Ennis was clearly in good shape to do as well or better here, and she did not disappoint as she put her first firm marker on the competition by producing three efforts all well above that level, adding marks of 14.51 and 14.57 after her opening flourish.
Lilli Schwarzkopf also rose conspicuously to the occasion with a personal best of 14.89 that gave her fifth place in the event and left her in ninth place with 2860, one place behind her German compatriot, the 2009 silver medallist Jennifer Oeser, whose effort of 13.70 took her total to 2865.
Anna Bogdanova of Russia remained one place off the medal positions after a season’s best of 14.52 saw her amass a three-event total of 2904 points, one place above Fountain.
The Group B winner was Sharon Day of the United States, with a personal best of 14.28, with Russia’s Tatyana Chernova – second in this year’s world lists – finishing one place behind her with a season’s best of 14.17.
Third-place Lyudmyla Yosypenko also produced a personal best of 13.16. There was a season’s best of 12.36 from Britain’s Commonwealth champion Louise Hazel, who had produced personal bests in both of her opening events.
Mike Rowbottom for the IAAF
