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Jessica Ennis named Laureus World Sportswoman of the Year 2013

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March 13, 2013
British athlete Jessica Ennis has been named the Laureus World Sportswoman of the Year 2013. The Award follows an incredible Olympic Games in 2012 where she won gold in the heptathlon event.
Jessica Ennis carried the hopes of the British nation in London. Despite the enormous pressure of being first on the track, she dominated the heptathlon and won the gold medal with a British record score of 6,955 pts. She was presented with the Laureus Statuette by Laureus World Sports Academy Member Nadia Comaneci at the globally televised Awards Ceremony in Rio de Janeiro.
At the Awards Ceremony in Rio, Jessica Ennis said: “It is so surreal to stand here in front of all these amazing sportsmen and sportswomen. As a 10-year-old I came into sport and dreamed of being an Olympian and an Olympic champion. I’ve finally done it and it is an incredible feeling.
“The pressure on me was a lot. But I had the great support of my friends and family, the support of an amazing team around me who encouraged me and believed in me, and thankfully I was able to realise my dream.”
Laureus World Sports Academy Member Daley Thompson, Britain’s greatest men’s multi-sport athlete, winner of two Olympic decathlon gold medals, said: “Jessica’s performance was majestic. She had the whole weight of the country’s expectations on her shoulders. Despite all that, she certainly delivered. She not only produced a wonderful display in her events but she gave the British team an enormous lift. Jessica showed she could win a gold medal, so everyone who followed her also felt they could do it as well. She was one of the many highlights of an amazing two weeks for British sport.”

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