Athletics: Jessica Ennis keeps hometown composure

BRIEFLY yesterday, in front of her hometown crowd at the Aviva UK Indoor Championships, Jessica Ennis must have experienced the troubling sensation of déjà vu.

Trailing the unheralded Emma Perkins in the high jump, an event at which she excels, memories drifted by of her dethronement at last year’s world championships at the hands of her great rival Tatyana Chernova.

Losing that title did nothing to extinguish the competitive fire that burns within the 26-year-old. Matching Perkins’ clearance of 1.89 metres at the third and final attempt, she then turned the screw to win with a leap two centimetres greater.

Four weeks away from the defence of her world indoor crown in Istanbul, it was just the test Ennis would have wished for.

“It’s always good to have a battle because then I’m in a heptathlon and pentathlon,” she said. “There are some really good high jump girls there and we push one another so it’s good to have that kind of competition at home.”

Ennis, who also came sixth in the shot putt, will compete in the long jump and 60 metres hurdles today but she is among only a handful of Great Britain’s other Olympic medal hopefuls who are tuning up indoors.

Fast-improving sprinter Margaret Adoye lowered her 200 metres best again to 23.36 seconds while Jonny Mellor took the 3,000m title, with Mark Mitchell of Forres Harriers in third.

Gregor Maclean added another ten centimetres to his Scottish pole vault record with a leap of 5.35 metres which was still only good enough for fifth place.

“I should definitely have gone over 5.45,” he claimed. “But I know now that if I’m healthy, 5.55 isn’t beyond me.”

Lasswade’s Guy Learmonth was the quickest qualifier for the 800m final while Edinburgh AC’s Kris Gauson moved into today’s 1500m final with victory in his heat in 3:49.51.

“I’ll now be aiming to get in the top two and get the qualifying time for the world indoors,” he declared.