6 June

European heptathlon Champion Jessica Ennis (Toni Minichiello) has confirmed that she will compete in four events in a demanding weekend at the Aviva 2012 Trials at the Birmingham Alexander Stadium.

Ennis, who will be aiming for heptathlon gold at London 2012, will compete in the 100m hurdles and high jump on Saturday 23 June, followed by the long jump and 200m on Sunday 24June.

Ennis hopes to capitalise on her current form which saw her break Denise Lewis’ British heptathlon record in Götzis, Austria, ten days ago, scoring 6,906 points.

“I’ve got a gruelling couple of days lined up on the Saturday and Sunday at the Aviva 2012 Trials. I want to use the meet to give myself a real physical test over two days, as I’ll be competing in two heats and four finals over the weekend. Everything is focused on London 2012 for me and a packed Birmingham Alexander Stadium will be the closest I’ll come to replicating that tough schedule and environment ahead of the Games.”

The 26-year-old will face some of Britain’s best athletes over the weekend and Ennis is particularly excited about facing GB teammates Tiffany Porter (James Henry) and Shara Proctor (Rana Reider) in the 100m hurdles and long jump respectively.

“There’s a challenge for me in all four events but Tiffany Porter and Shara Proctor stand out as world-class opposition. Tiffany has had a great start to the year and going up against her will definitely spur me on. Shara Proctor is also a tough opponent.”

The Sheffield star has enjoyed success at the Aviva UK Trials in years gone by and this year will see her defending her high jump national title that she won comfortably in 2011. Previous Trials victories include the 100m hurdles in 2007 as well as a hurdles and high jump double in 2009.

Ennis, who set a personal best in the 200m in Austria with a time of 22.88s, will also go head to head on Sunday afternoon with Commonwealth Games silver medallist Abi Oyepitan (Tony Lester), who secured the 200m Olympic A standard on Saturday in Germany, and reigning British Champion Anyika Onuora (Lloyd Cowan).

“The great thing about the Aviva 2012 Trials is that I’ll be taking on specialists in every event and they will all be fighting for Olympic spots. The competition will be tough and there will be no let-up over the two days. These are just the types of battles that I will find myself in in August and it should be a really exciting event for anyone who hasn’t been able to secure tickets for the Games.”

Jessica Ennis’ schedule at the Aviva 2012 Trials:

23rd June

1.51pm High Jump – Final

4.00pm 100m Hurdles – Heats

5.54pm 100m Hurdles – Final

24th June

2.10pm Long Jump – Final

4.30pm 200m – Heats

6.28pm 200m – Final  

The full timetable of events at the Aviva 2012 Trials can be found at: http://uka.org.uk/results/20120622_birmingham/timetable/index/index.html

Back the team and watch over 750 of Britain’s best athletes in action at the Aviva 2012 Trials at the Birmingham Alexander Stadium from 22nd-24th June. For tickets visit www.uka.org.uk/aviva-series or call 08000 55 60 56.