Jessica Ennis-Hill: ‘I realised you can have a family & still compete at the highest level' | Ep.14

This is the business of sport, the show that takes you behind the scenes with the industry’s leading owners, operators, and athletes. Today, we are delighted to welcome British Olympic legend Dame Jessica Ennis-Hill. An Olympic gold and silver medallist, European champion and 3x world champion, Jess competed at the highest level in the heptathlon for over a decade. Under the pressure and expectation that came with being the face of London 2012, Jess’s gold medal at the Games will forever be one of the most iconic moments in British sporting history.
For all the achievements on the track and in the public eye, there is so much more to her story. From starting a family while still competing, to founding her business, Jennis, developed off the back of her experiences as an athlete, Jess demonstrates how the role of the modern sportsperson is increasingly about far more than records, medals, and trophies.
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Timestamps:
(00:00:48) Intro
(00:00:56) Childhood in Heptathlon
(00:08:19) Coach & Parent Roles
(00:10:34) Overcoming Failure
(00:12:36) Multi vs. Single Event Athletes
(00:14:59) First Major Medal 🔥
(00:17:49) 2012 Olympics Pressure
(00:22:56) Sport Psychologist Lessons
(00:24:20) Olympic Stadium Debut 🔥
(00:28:27) Super Saturday 2012 🔥
(00:30:38) Heptathlon Rivalries
(00:33:05) Post-Gold Fame
(00:37:32) Young Athlete Fame Management
(00:42:29) Media & Athletes
(00:46:08) Parenting as an Athlete
(00:52:01) Women Athletes' Challenges
(01:09:14) Quick-Fire Round
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In today’s show, we discuss:
1. The focus of the athlete:
- From starting out in athletics camps to elite competition, how the origin story can shape the outcome
- Coping with pressure: what does it take to retain absolute control over performance when the outside noise gets louder
- An athlete's relationship with winning and managing the disappointments when the result doesn’t go your way. From winning a first major medal at the 2006 Commonwealth Games to the disappointment of missing the Beijing Olympics through injury
- London 2012 - from face of the games to winning gold, how did Jess deal with the pressure of public expectation while balancing the commercial duties that surrounded the build up to the Olympics
2. Motherhood & Athletics:
- Marriage, children, performance; how do you fit all these together while ensuring you don’t let the ball drop? Is it possible or do sacrifices need to be made?
- It is not expected that female athletes have children while competing, so what happens when you have a baby and don’t want to retire?
- What did Jess have to do to get back the elite level of performance she was so used to, and how did she have to adapt her regime to accommodate the changes she had gone through?
- The sports industry has a lot to learn when understanding the impact of pregnancy on the female body and challenges it presents when returning to elite competition. Why is this?
3. Modern day role of the athlete
- The value of the athlete has extended well beyond the field of play. How do professional sportspeople play an extended role in society today?
- How does Jennis seek to empower women at the elite end of sport and in the wider community? Why is it so important to build this education into the industry and beyond?
- The role of social media and exposure to brands is something that plays a significant part in the lives of the most successful athletes in today’s world. Is this something they just have to learn to deal with or do they need additional support to manage effectively?
- Seeking investment in companies around women’s health is a tough business, and educating the financial community on the opportunity to develop women’s healthtech is crucial.
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