title despair helped her refocus – coach

That is the view of the European heptathlon champion’s coach Toni Minichiello, who has seen Ennis forced to settle for silver in her last two major championships.

“I think it’s certainly made her more determined,” said Sheffield’s Minichiello. “What you have to put into context is that she’s not losing to the same person, it’s not the same rostrum every event.

“Tatyana Chernova won in Daegu at the world championships and was fifth in Istanbul at the world indoors. Nataliya Dobrynska was only fifth in Daegu but then broke the world pentathlon record in Istanbul.

“Jess has been consistent and they’ve peaked. I think the unfortunate thing is it just shows you cannot make a mistake at that level.

“And you are not trying to make a mistake. Jess’s performance in Istanbul is one of the best ever, better than Carolina Kluft ever scored.

“You kind of look at it and think ‘I just got beat by a 30-year-old on a really good day’. They are having to really buzz to beat her and Jess is making mistakes to get beaten. The aim is to make fewer mistakes.”

A bad performance in the javelin was costly for Ennis in Daegu, while it was a sub-par long jump which proved vital in Istanbul in March.

He added: “The reality is that anyone can lose, favourites or otherwise, so you do the best you can and put yourself in the best possible shape. It has made her a little more determined, she is working hard and what I’m seeing at the minute shows we are still making progress in training. I am happy she is going to be in really good shape as long as we remain injury free.”