Two days, seven events but one aim for our golden girl

The world titles, the European honours, the television adverts, the posters around Sheffield and down in London.

All deserved and creditable, but they all point to one thing – the Olympics.

Great sportsmen and women are measured on how they perform on the grandest stage of all.

Win gold over the next two days of heptathlon competition here in London and Ennis will be revered for ever as an Olympic champion.

She will be lauded by her peers, cheered by her country and swept along on a metaphorical wave of emotion in the Olympic Stadium on Saturday night.

Miss out and there will forever be an asterisk beside her name.

A superb competitor, a great champion, but...

So it all comes down to two days.

The future direction of Ennis’s life will be decided in the next 48 hours.

And if we are seeking greatness in our sporting stars, that is how it should be.

For this is sport at its highest level.

Its demands are exacting. Under the highest of pressure, only maximum effort, maximum focus and maximum performance will be rewarded.

Ennis is at her peak; she has been forged like a bullet at the English Institute of Sport in Sheffield and at Leeds Metropolitan University to come flying out of the barrel this morning.

Everything over the past four years, her life in sport, has been about August 3 and 4, 2012.

The seven events of the heptathlon are the ultimate test.

Sprint hurdles and high jump this morning, shot put and 200m tonight.

Long jump and javelin tomorrow morning, then the closing 800m – when there is little left except sheer bloody mindedness – in the evening.

As well as being physically strong over those seven events, Ennis must remain mentally sharp between events.

“It’s something I get used to,” she said.

“You have to take the experience of the last event into the next event.

“You have to keep going, but at the end you are absolutely exhausted. It is the adrenaline that keeps you going.”

Of paramount importance over the coming days will be her ability to keep her emotions on an even keel.

Acclimatising herself to the Olympic Stadium earlier this week was wise, but there can be no preparation for the reception she will get when she walks out for the 100m hurdles shortly before 10am.

British crowds have shattered decibel levels all over London this week, from the 10-deep throng lining the streets for the road cycling, to the 17,000 screaming fans who have raised the roof in acknowledgement of every stroke of the home swimmers.

For someone sat in the stands, the noise is spine tingling, hair raising, lump-in-the-throat inducing.

When that is aimed in Ennis’s direction today, from 80,000 fans, it will be all of the above and more, not just for us but for the subject of that acclaim.

Ennis can allow herself only the briefest of moments to let that wash over her, to savour the moment, and then turn the power of the crowd to her advantage.

“I think they can lift me, they will definitely help,” she said.

“The bit before the 800m (final event) begins is the most nerve-wracking moment ever.

“You are kind of in a bubble but you are aware of the crowd. It does sound really cheesy but it does help you and give you a lift.”

Each event is vitally important. Having worked tirelessly with head coach Toni Minichiello, Ennis has paid strict attention to every facet of what is required of her.

The javelin that was her undoing in Daegu last year has been worked on with former Olympian Mick Hill.

There remains doubt, though, over her long jump ability.

It was her undoing in Istanbul when she ceded her world indoor title, and she fouled three times at the trials in Birmingham six weeks ago.

With long jump up first tomorrow morning, it increases the importance of exceptional performances in today’s four events.

And if that all adds up to her leading after day one, keeping expectations under control will be the next hurdle to overcome.

“You do think about it a bit if you’re in the lead but it’s such a long day,” she said.

“Once you have your treatment, have recovered, got back to the hotel, it’s sometimes midnight, so it’s eat and then to bed.

“You just want to get to sleep because you know you have to get up again and get straight on it again.”

If anyone can do it, Ennis is the woman. Will power and determination will see her through.

She has already suffered one Olympic heartbreak when she missed out on Beijing through injury. Do not expect her to suffer again.

That anguish of Gotzis four years ago has been a driving force ever since. That the world titles of 2009 (outdoor in Berlin) and 2010 (indoor in Doha) were taken from her inside seven months this past year, has at least tempered expectations.

Russia’s Tatyana Chernova and the Ukraine’s Nataliya Dobrynska pose the biggest threats.

American Hyleas Fountain can never be discounted, nor can the unexpected charge of a hitherto perceived also-ran, who the fates have decreed will produce the greatest two days of competition they have mustered.

To ensure no such flash in the pan deprives her of her destiny, Ennis must make certain that the person who excels is her.

If someone is to beat you, make them break a world record to do so.

Greatness beckons.

What to expect step by step in heptathlon

Yorkshire Athletics expert Roger Norton gives an event-by-event analysis of Jessica Ennis’s heptathlon chances.

100m hurdles

This is the first event and is Ennis’s best discipline which should put her opponents on the back foot. Her best time of 12.79secs would give her a massive score of 1,156. Such has been her form that it would be no surprise to see her run faster in the Olympics.

High jump

Ennis is joint UK record holder at 1.95m. That would give her 1,171 points. However, this is one event where she is not improving. She has set personal bests in four events this year and in two last year. By contrast, her high jump PB was recorded back in 2007.

Shot

Her best is 14.79m (indoors), good enough for 847 points. Considering her small stature, she does well in this event and usually produces the goods when it matters.

200m

This is the final event on the first day and it is a ‘banker’ for Ennis. She has run 22.88secs which equates to 1,091. She ranks second this year in the UK.

Long jump

This opens the second day’s competition and it has been somewhat of a problem event for Ennis and will be pivotal in her quest for the title. In one respect she is inconsistent, her performances this year ranging from a personal best of 6.51m (1,010) to a modest 6.19m (908), a significant points difference. Yet she is consistent in that she has jumped 6.51m for the last three years and has an all-time best of 6.54m, wind assisted. Perhaps the most nerve-racking event of the seven.

Javelin

It was this event which cost Ennis the world title in 2011. Her best is 47.11m giving her 804 points. Under the guidance of Mick Hill she is now much more consistent with less than three metres between her best and worst throws this year. More of the same should be good enough.

800m

All heptathletes hate the 800m and Ennis is no exception. Ideally the title will be out of reach for the rest by now but, if not, Ennis has the ability to deal with it.

Overall

Equalling her personal best in every event would give Ennis 7,076 points and a certain gold medal.