On the record: Jessica Ennis

Sport: Athletics (heptathlon).

Record holder? Ennis broke the British record of Denise Lewis in her only heptathlon of the season to lay down an impressive marker to her rivals for Olympic gold. Her score of 6,906 points saw her win the Hypo meeting in Gotzis, Austria, by 132 points over Tatyana Chernova, who had denied Ennis gold at last year’s World Championships. En route to the total, she set personal bests in the 200m, long jump and javelin, the event that effectively cost her gold at the aforementioned worlds, all the more impressive after the bizarre accusations of being fat levelled at her preceding the competition.

Off the record: Ennis’s big focus next year is wedding bells. She plans to marry construction worker boyfriend Andy Hill, who proposed to her on Christmas Eve 2010.

Chance of an Olympic record? Ennis had come second in her last two major heptathlons but the win in Gotzis could not be better timed. She also knows her score can improve. Her high jump, normally one of her best events, was below par and she will now be confident in the build-up to London.