Jessica Ennis-Hill not sure to return to Gotzis-Hypo Heptathlon

Ennis-Hill (L) and compatriot Tiffany Porter at the Great City Games in Manchester, 2015

Olympic gold winner, Briton Jessica Ennis-Hill returned to competitive sport after a 2 year hiatus, following injuries and the birth of her son. Participating in the Great City Games in Manchester, Ennis-Hill came in third, behind British athletes Tiffany Porter and Lucy Hatton.

Ennis is looking to repeat her 2012 London wins at the Olympics in Rio next year, but has faced constant trouble in the form of a recurrent Achilles Heel injury.

The Gotzis-Hypo athletic meet is due to be held in Austria at the end of May, and would be a stepping stone for Ennis in reaching the qualifying points tally she requires to compete in the 2016 Rio Olympics. However, Ennis’ coach, Toni Minichiello, is clear that Ennis should not take part in the meet just for the sake of participation, but to win, and achieve a stepping stone towards Rio.

Minichiello maintained that the duo had a “lot of work to do”, that there still remained “a few weeks of training” to be put in before they could properly assess whether Ennis could participate in the meet at Gotzis.

Liverpudlian Katarina Johnson-Thompson is the current record holder in Gotzis.