Jessica Ennis: 'After I'd won, I sat back and watched Bolt run 100m in 9.58sec'

Continuing a series of interviews with the year's pace-setters, Simon Turnbull speaks to Jessica Ennis about swapping Olympic heartbreak for World Championship gold – and a new life on the red carpet

A twinkle appears in Jessica Ennis's eyes as she recalls how she came to have the best seat in the house for the headline event in track and field in 2009.

It just so happened that the lap of honour for achieving the highlight of her sporting life thus far – a runaway heptathlon victory at the World Championships at Berlin's Olympiastadion in August – coincided with the start of the men's 100 metres final. Ennis and her fellow heptathletes were only halfway round the sea-blue track, acknowledging the appreciation of their two-day efforts, when Usain Bolt, Tyson Gay and Co were asked to get to their marks at the head of the home straight.

"By the time we got that far, I was absolutely knackered," Ennis recalls, chuckling at the memory. "There were some seats next to the steeplechase water jump, so it was just nice to sit down and get my breath back – and then sit back and watch Usain Bolt break the 100m world record again. It was difficult to see the time on the trackside clock because everyone was going absolutely mental ,but I did see it eventually: 9.58sec.

"It was nice for me because I remembered the year before, sitting at home watching the Olympic 100m final on television, seeing him break the record and thinking, 'Ah, I would have been there, on the track after the final event of the heptathlon, the 800m.' I was gutted that I missed out on that, but then he did it again in Berlin. It was great to be there and be part of it this time. Our paths crossed when we were going to and from press conferences afterwards. Usain said, 'Congratulations,' and I congratulated him. We had a picture taken together."