After the first day, Ennis had built up a considerable lead, winning three of the four events and ending the day more than three hundred points ahead of second-ranked Dobrynska.[2] Ennis' first day total of 4124 points was the third highest ever first day score in the heptathlon, behind Kluft and world record holder Jackie Joyner-Kersee.[3] On the second day, unusually for a heptathlon competition, Linda Züblin set a Swiss record in the javelin throw.[4] Ennis maintained her lead with competitive marks in the long jump and javelin throw (her weaker events) and she won the final 800 metres race, gaining her first major championship gold medal and setting a world leading mark and much improved personal best of 6731 points to win by 238 points. Olympic champion Dobrynska faded into fourth place on the final day, while Jennifer Oeser set a personal best for the silver medal and Kamila Chudzik took bronze, Poland's first ever heptathlon medal at the competition.[5][6]
The competition represented a breakthrough for Ennis, who had missed the 2008 Beijing Olympics through injury and whose previous best result was fourth place at the 2007 World Championships. She was Great Britain's first gold medallist of the tournament, and she became the country's third woman multi-eventer to win a major global championship, after former Olympic champions Mary Peters and Denise Lewis.[6]
Medalists
Jessica Ennis also had the world-leading mark before the Championships
