Ennis looking good to finally claim elusive British heptathlon record

Posted: Saturday 26th May 2012 | 22:45

JESSICA Ennis remains on course for a third consecutive victory at the Hypo multi-event meeting in Gotzis - and has the elusive British record firmly in her sights.

ON COURSE: Jessica Ennis is ahead of schedule as she bids to erase the 12-year old Briitsh heptathlon record, set by 2000 Olympic champion Denise Lewis (Getty Images)

The former world champion scored 4,113 points from her opening four events and boasts a lead of 221 points over Lithuania's Austra Skujyte, with Tatyana Chernova, who took stripped Ennis of her world title in Daegu last year, lying third.

Ennis opened her day by clocking 12.81 seconds over the 100m hurdles, just two hundredths outside her personal best.

But she was off her top form by ten centimetres in the high jump and 16 cms in the shot, although rebounded to run a big personal best over 200m - clocking 22.88 secs to dip below 23 seconds for the first-time in her career.

And her halfway points total is 33 ahead of the mark she set when winning the European title in 2010, when she missed erasing Denise Lewis's 12-year national record by just eight points.

"I'm really happy with that 200m time because I've been working to run that for so long," said Ennis.

'It's a nice position to be in but I want to have a really good second day as well.

"I just need to come back and do what I know I'm capable of doing in the long jump, javelin and 800m.

"I'm not thinking about the British record. I'd love it obviously but this event is all about preparation for me."

Decathlete Ashley Bryant, who hopes to achieve the Olympic B standard this weekend, lies 16th after the opening five events.

Bryant set a personal best of 7789 when finishing fifth at last year's World Student Games but needs to improve that mark to 7950 to stand any chance of selection.

However, he's near the mark with 3965 points on the board ahead of the 110m hurdles, discus, pole vault, javelin and 1500m.