Ennis aiming to emulate Kluft with world record in 2010

From David Jordan, Sportsbeat, in Doha

 JESSICA Ennis believes the only way she can strike fear into the hearts of her rivals is by breaking Carolina Kluft's heptathlon world record.

 
ROOM FOR IMPROVEMENT: Jess Ennis is going for pentathlon gold at the World Indoor Athletics Championships in Doha as she aims to cement herself as the world's best (Getty Images)

After shaking off a foot injury the 24-year-old will line-up at the World Indoor Championships in Doha this weekend as hot favourite to claim pentathlon gold.

Ennis announced herself as a global star when she topped the heptathlon podium at the World Indoor Championships in Berlin last summer, with a lifetime best total of 6,731 points, which put her second in the all-time British rankings behind Denise Lewis.

But with her best still 301 points short of the mark set by Swedish Olympic champion Kluft, Ennis admits she still has a long way to go before she can prove she is here to stay as the world's number one.

"It's not like it was with Carolina Kluft where she was winning everything," said Ennis, who will start and finish her campaign on Saturday.

"I'm sure the other girls will want to win so from that point of view they will want to take me down but I don't think I will be their only target.

"They will want to bring me down but I will be giving it everything to try and stay at the top.

"I know there are a few girls in good shape and despite what I've been through in I'm in good shape too.

"I think it is going to be a great competition out there, I really do.  I'd love to go there and win it but really it is going to be very tough.

"I was going really well at the start of the year but I'm not worried about losing any momentum due to the foot injury because when you are going so well at the start of the season you can sometimes peak too early.

"I don't think I'll have lost anything, I just think I'll have that extra little bit of freshness."

Ennis missed the Aviva World Indoor Trials Sheffield last month after she suffered strained ligaments in her foot in Glasgow at the end of January.

The injury was in the same foot that caused her to miss the Beijing Olympics with multiple stress fractures - a coincidence that left Ennis fearing the worst.

"Although it didn't feel like it did before, it is always a little worrying when I feel anything in that foot and I tend to get worried," added Ennis, who broke the British 60m hurdles record earlier this year with a run of 7.95 seconds at the Aviva International Match in Glasgow.

"It was a massive relief to find out there was nothing wrong with it.

"I just had to stay away from the high impact training, like the high jump and the hurdling and I did a lot of work on the bike.

"It's not the preparation I had planned, I wanted to continue training and continue what I was doing last year but I'm happy with what I have done and I can't wait to get out and perform in Doha.

"I think there are people expecting me to do really well in Doha and I know I'm in good shape.

"It is my main goal to keep winning, I know you can't win everything but I hope to be in the top five in major championships and hopefully be in the medals.

"It is always about maintaining fitness and being injury free and to do that for the next couple of years up to 2012."

Aviva has been proud to have helped and supported the Aviva GB & NI junior, senior and disability teams as they prepare for all major events and championships since 1999. Visit www.aviva.co.uk/athletics for more information