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The brilliance of the Britons such as Jessica Ennis in Barcelona has led to a nice problem for Athletics Weekly
Potential coverstar? Jessica Ennis would grace the front of any magazine in the world, but she has competition this week for Athletics Weekly's front page
© Mark Shearman
GIVEN the huge number of British medals at the European Championships in Barcelona - 16 at the latest count - it is perhaps ironic that one of the most hard-earned was the gold by world champion Jessica Ennis in the heptathlon.
Leading the heptathlon by just 18 points going into the final event, she then suffered the mild indignity of seeing arch-rival Nataliya Dobrynska going past her down the back straight on the final lap of the 800m, before she firmly and emphatically put her in her place.
Of all the great medals and near misses from this excellent British team in Barcelona, Ennis’s performance was perhaps the one we cared about most. She is the golden girl of British athletics. The poster girl for athletics in 2012. And how could the world champion lose against mere European opposition, after all?
It leaves Athletics Weekly with what a football manager with an ultra-strong squad might typically describe as “a nice problem”. Namely, who to put on our front cover on Thursday.
Ennis aside, Phillips Idowu has delivered arguably the most world-class performance of the week so far with his 17.81m triple jump win. Andy Turner and Dai Greene were resplendent in their hurdles victories. Mo Farah was perhaps the most well received and brought the largest tingle down the spine to the biggest number of fans. Everyone, is has to be said, loves a great distance-running performance - and Farah has provided two of the best this week.
As a reminder, here are the British medallists so far, with one day of competition still to go, from Barcelona 2010.
Gold (6): Mo Farah (5000m and 10,000m), Phillips Idowu (triple jump), Andy Turner (110m hurdles), Dai Greene (400m hurdles), Jessica Ennis (hepathlon).
Silver (6): Chris Thompson (10,000), Mark Lewis-Francis (100m), Christian Malcolm (200m), Michael Bingham (400m), Michael Rimmer (800m), Rhys Williams (400m hurdles).
Bronze (4): Martyn Bernard (high jump), Martyn Rooney (400m), Perri Shakes-Drayton (400m hurdles), Jenny Meadows (800m).
Outside the British contingent, there are names such as Christophe Lemaitre – the Frenchman who has lit up the sprints at these championships. Or perhaps long jump winner Ineta Radevica, a former Playboy model.
That last idea was a joke, by the way. Fine athlete though she is.
Yet seriously, it is a big headache as there are so many deserving characters. So if you have any ideas, drop me a line at jason.henderson@athletics-weekly.com – let’s put it to the vote!
Anyone for Ennis?
* Jason Henderson is tweeting live from Barcelona at www.twitter.com/Jason _AW
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