by Our Sports Desk

Jessica Ennis-Hill will this weekend compete in her first heptathlon since landing gold at London 2012 as she takes the first steps on a path she hopes will end in more glory in Rio next year.

The 29-year-old will bid to get the 6,200 points needed to qualify for the 2016 Olympics when she goes up against many of the world’s best multi-eventers at the Hypo-Meeting in Gotzis.

This morning, when she lines up in the opening event, the 100 metres hurdles, in Austria, it will have been 1029 days since she lit up the Olympic Stadium by crossing the line in the 800m to clinch victory.

On that night Ennis-Hill broke the British record as she amassed 6,955 points.

But she is a very different athlete now, having had to start almost from scratch again following the birth of her son Reggie last July.

“I do feel very different to how I’ve felt in previous years of competing,” she said recently. “Having Reggie in my life has changed my life completely — it’s an amazing feeling.

“I still have that anxious, nervous energy to compete and that competitive edge, but I feel like I can enjoy it a little bit more and not get too stressed with things not perhaps going to plan or where I am, where I want to be and that kind of thing.”