European Athletics (EAA) - News - London's 2017 World Championships tempts heptathlon star Ennis
"But the fact that there will be now be a World Championships on home soil the following year will probably change my thinking," she added.
Jessica Ennis is reconsidering her retirement plans after London won the bid to stage the 2017 IAAF World Championships. ©EAA - European Athletics
Great Britain's Jessica Ennis, the 2010 European Athletics Championships heptathlon gold medallist and 2011 World Championships silver medallist, believes that London getting the 2017 World Championships could persuade her to stay in the sport for another year.
The 25-year-old from Sheffield has suggested in the past that she might be ready to retire after the 2016 Olympics Games in Rio de Janeiro but she confessed that she could now be tempted to carry on for another 12 months.
"I will be 31 and nearing retirement by the time the 2017 World Championships come around. I hope that is not too old and that there is still some life in my bones,” she told British newspaper The Times last Friday.
"What happened in Monaco (with London winning the 2017 bid) is certainly a major incentive to carry on for another year.
"In truth, I never saw myself doing much after the Olympic Games in Rio. The heptathlon is such a gruelling event and there are only so many years you can cope with waking up with your body screaming at you.
"But the fact that there will be now be a World Championships on home soil the following year will probably change my thinking," she added.
Ennis thinks that having the World Championships finally staged in Britain after several unsuccessful bids in the past will be a big boost to the sport after the Olympic Games have come and gone.
"Everything has been geared towards 2012 for so long. You read about it, see the billboards, watch it on TV and live, breathe and sleep it, but at the back of my mind is the fear that when the Games are over everything will stop.
"But when the Olympics come to a close, there will be another fantastic event on the horizon. That is going to be so special for the young athletes who are not going to make it to 2012. It gives people a goal and sport is all about setting goals,” commented Ennis, who has become the face of the 2012 Olympic Games.
European Athletics (EAA) - News
More articles
