For Kelly Sotherton, Britain’s No 1 heptathlete, memories of her Olympic bronze medal in Athens three years ago will always be tarnished by the scolding she received from Charles van Commenee, her coach, for easing up in the final event, the 800 metres, to concede second place. Tearfully, Sotherton acknowledged that Van Commenee had been right.

When Jessica Ennis, next in line as the nation’s queen of multi-events, left the Commonwealth Games in Melbourne last March, she knew too that a medal of greater value than the bronze she had won might have been hers. Ennis, though, had no regrets.

In the high jump discipline, Ennis cleared a height good enough for victory in the individual event. A chance missed? “Gold would have been lovely but my main focus is the hep-tathlon and I did a personal best in that,” she said.

Ennis, 21, made sufficient progress last year not to worry about the one that got away. She followed her podium place in Melbourne by threatening to do the same in the European Championships in Gothenburg in August and, although she slipped to eighth on the second day, she again improved her best score.

Fourth on the British all-time list with 6,287 points, behind Denise Lewis (6,831), Judy Simpson (6,623) and Sotherton (6,547), Ennis is seeking further progress in the summer through indoor competition now. Although her place in the pentathlon at the European Indoor Championships in Birmingham next month is assured, she will appear in the Norwich Union trials in Sheffield this weekend.

Ennis arrives for her interview with The Timesat the English Institute of Sport (EIS), where the trials will be held, and in the city where she was born and still lives, carrying her books. She is studying psychology and exams are imminent. Yet there is a confession. “I do put my athletics slightly ahead of my studies,” Ennis says.

The World Championships in Osaka, Japan, in August beckon, but, recognising a sporting career can be unpredictable and short-lived, she is pursuing her degree at the University of Sheffield should she need a safety net. Her parents are backing her every step of the way. “My mum was born in Derbyshire and my dad in Jamaica,” she says. “They are not married but have been together for 20-odd years. They have always supported me and they encouraged me to keep going when I might have given up.”

Ennis would like to change one thing about her place in the family, though. “My whole family is tall,” she says. Except her. “I would like to be taller. I am 5ft 5in but my mum is 5ft 11in, my dad 6ft 2in and my younger sister towers above me at about 5ft 10in.”

When Sotherton nicknamed Ennis “tadpole” before Melbourne, it wasn’t funny. “It does annoy me, but not too many people have called me it since,” Ennis says. And whoever heard of a tadpole with a six-pack? “It’s coming through at the top,” she admits, when she is asked whether she would like to develop the Lewis look. “I would like a six-pack, but not that defined.”

Ennis is one of heptathlon’s best vertical springers. Her clearance of 1.91 metres in Melbourne was more than ten inches above her own height and far higher than the markedly taller Lewis and Sotherton have recordeed. At the other end of the performance scale, the javelin is her weakest discipline but Ennis says she is progressing, as well as in the shot, her other low-scoring event. The long jump, too, should soon yield more points. Ennis has good speed and spring, but has not yet combined them to best effect.

Having been recognised by shoppers in her supermarket who watched her in Melbourne, Ennis can only imagine the attention she might receive if she achieves her goal of a gold medal at the 2012 London Olympics.

Asked on the EIS website who would play her in a movie about her life, Ennis picked Eva Longoria, the actress. “Loved her in Desperate Housewives,” the heptathlete said. For the former tadpole, hooking the actress would be quite a catch.

Jessica Ennis will compete at the Norwich Union European Trials and UK Championships at the Sheffield EIS on February 10-11. Tickets are available on 0870 4028000 or online at ukathletics.net

Report card: Denise Lewis, Olympic gold medal-winner, assesses the young pretender

At a petite 5ft 5in, Jessica does not have a typical heptathlete’s frame but what she lacks in stature, she makes up for with grit and determination. Some people have already made early comparison between Jessica’s performances at the age of 21 and mine at the same age (she has scored 500 more points).

What I would say to her is, it’s not the quality of the starting point but how far that journey takes you and how high. So far, Jess is definitely on the right path.

Strengths

Jessica’s high jumping is amazing and a sure banker for big points, but what makes her special is she has a good basic grasp of all the disciplines, which is essential for steady progression and to make it to the top in this event.

What I like most is watching her in the big arena, where she is completely unfazed. Like myself, she seems to relish the thrill of the competition but with the focus of a mature athlete. This quality will hold her in good stead for the future.

Areas to work on

For someone as quick and dynamic as Jessica, her long jumping is below par and she will need to address that this season.

Her throwing also needs attention but as she grows this should improve, along with her overall strength.

Targets

A medal at the European Indoors is well within her ability. She just needs things to go well on the day. Beyond that, she should aim to be in the top six at the World Championships in Osaka and finish the year with a new personal best score.