Local heroine Jessica Ennis made a remarkable start to the heptathlon at the
London Olympics, clocking the fastest-ever 100m hurdles in the seven-discipline
event.
Ennis's winning time of 12.54 seconds on Friday equalled American Dawn
Harper's gold-medal time in the individual 100m hurdles at the 2008 Beijing
Olympics.
It was also faster than the 12.56 run by gold-medal favourite Sally Pearson
in her final pre-Games meet at Crystal Palace in mid-July.
Ennis, 26, won gold in the heptathlon at the 2009 world championships and
silver at the 2011 world titles in Daegu.
Her elevated status in Britain is similar to that of Cathy Freeman at the
2000 Sydney Games.
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