Women of steel
Jessica Ennis – World Heptathlon Champion 2009 – Made in Steel City Sheffield famous for the first production of stainless steel
I was made in Sheffield. From the Don Valley Stadium, where the smell of the track can still transport me back to being a ten-year-old girl sitting on the concrete steps, to the Peace Gardens, where I was presented with my own box of Sheffield steel after striking gold at the World Championships, this city is part of me.
It is where I am happiest, which is why, when UK Athletics were restructuring at the beginning of last year and wanted me to move to one of their centres of excellence in London, I found the situation very stressful.
I didn’t see any sense or logic. Things were going so well that I did not want to mess up the balance. I don’t like conflict and shirk away from it, but if it’s something I feel passionate about then I will stand my ground. When I did, Charles van Commenee, our head coach, totally understood. I am driven. Part of that is my personality, but part of it is down to where I grew up and the people and experiences that shaped me.
Vote for Jessica in the BBC sports personality of the year
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