Top county facilities offer Ennis ideal preparation for the long season ahead

NEW Great Britain captain Jessica Ennis has hailed the impact of the training facilities on her doorstep in Yorkshire as being key to her development towards the world title in Berlin last summer.

The Sheffield heptathlete, who turns 24 tomorrow and will lead the GB side at an indoor international in Glasgow on Saturday, announced her arrival as a global star when she led the seven-discipline event at the World Championships last August from start to finish.

The manner in which she was crowned world champion, less than 12 months after missing out on an Olympic debut because of a shattering injury, have led many to label the determined young woman as the face of London 2012.

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And if she is to achieve her Olympic ambition, it will be in no small part to the amount of hours she puts in at two top-class facilities in Sheffield and Leeds.

Ennis trains six days a week, splitting her time between the two Yorkshire cities as she bids to add the world indoor crown and the European outdoor title to her Berlin gold.

Four days are spent with her long-time coach Tony Minichiello at the English Institute of Sport near her home in Sheffield, and for the other two days she is at Leeds Metropolitan University, honing her javelin skills with former Olympian Mick Hill.

"I'm so lucky to have all this on my doorstep," said Ennis yesterday at the official opening of Leeds Met's refurbished gym at the Carnegie Sports Centre.

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"It's a half-hour drive to the Institute for me and then an hour up here to Leeds – they're both amazing facilities.

"I do a lot of my work with Mick here and obviously now the gym has been refurbished, it's made it a really top-class facility.

"I'm lucky it's all in Yorkshire for me."

Ennis is strengthening her javelin arm for the outdoor season and in particular the European Championships in Barcelona when she hopes to prove Berlin was no one-off.

Prior to that, the focus is on the World Indoor Championships in Doha in March.

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Preparations have already begun with Ennis picking up where she left off last year by setting three personal bests at a meeting in Loughborough earlier this month.

One new mark was set in the 60m hurdles which she will look to lower again on Saturday at the Aviva International Match when her Great Britain side challenge USA, Germany, Sweden and a Commonwealth select team.

"The hurdles will be really quick," said Ennis who will also contest the high jump.

"It's a world class field so it'll be tough but I'm feeling good.

"And being captain is a nice honour, it'll be nice to get involved with the team that way."