We admit it. We were sceptical that the Games in Rio could recapture the spirit of London 2012, but the past few weeks have proved us wrong. Britain has been swept up in Olympic fever, collectively willing Team GB to succeed on the track, in the pool and in the velodrome.
As the golden girl of the London Olympics, expectations were running high for heptathlete Jess Ennis-Hill, who went on to add a silver medal to her already impressive haul. The 30-year-old, who is an ambassador for P&G’s Thank You Mum campaign, welcomed her son Reggie in 2014. Speaking to Grazia from Rio, Jess described her win as ‘one of [her] greatest achievements,’ and revealed the ups and downs of her Olympic journey…
Jess said...
‘After my two days of competition, and all the emotions that come with it, I’m absolutely exhausted. But, despite a few negative headlines at the start, being here in the stadium and seeing the team winning so many medals, it’s really bringing people together. That’s what the Olympics is about.
It’s been such a journey this past couple of years. Coming back after injuries and having my son following that success in London - it wasn’t all planned, it just kind of happened. I didn’t realise how hard it would be to come back. There were a lot of points where I thought “I’ve already become Olympic champion, why am I putting myself through all this stress and pain again?” But everyone was supporting me, so I stuck with it. Now, having done it with a gold medal last year and the silver here in Rio, it’s one of my greatest achievements. And to have my son to witness that has just been brilliant.
With the Olympics, you work so hard for four years, have that big moment and then it’s over. Then you go back to that mundane life of training really hard for another four years. But this is definitely my last Olympics. I’m still making the decision as to whether I go on for one more year to the World Championships in London. I’m really happy with what I’ve achieved so far, but I’m happy to just push on a little bit more. You just want to do everyone proud.'
After her daughter's win in Rio, we spoke to Alison Powell about how her daughter balances motherhood with training, and why the Olympics has given Britain a boost post-Brexit...
‘I always miss Jess when she’s away, so I’ll be very glad to have her home after Rio. I get really anxious when she’s competing: she performs really well on big occasions but you don’t want anything to go wrong. I just want her to be happy with her performance and I know she was – it’s an amazing achievement.
Things are so different for Jess now that she’s a mum. When you have a child, it’s not all about you any more. She’s very focused and organised anyway, but she’s had to be ultra-organised. I don’t think she realised how tiring it would be to balance having a son with constant training, and she didn’t always know whether she’d made the right decision – but her success in Rio proves that she did.
I think Jess has always remained grounded despite her success and fame – she’s a home girl. We’ve never had to push her with training because she’s always wanted to be successful. When she was growing up, we didn’t have an awful lot of money, so it was hard for her when she was training at university, but she managed it so well.
Back in 2012, we thought nothing could beat London, but again Team GB has done amazingly. Everyone’s talking about it and has got behind the athletes. With all the political goings-on, things were a bit depressing – the Olympics were what the country needed.’
Jessica-Ennis Hill and her mother Alison Powell are ambassadors for P&G’s Thank You Mum campaign in the UK for the Rio 2016 Olympic Games. P&G owns household brands such as Pampers, Olay and Venus. For more information, visit www.supersavvyme.co.uk.
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