It is 193 days until the opening of the Olympic Games and Jessica Ennis had better start readjusting her ambitions. She could not have asked for a better afternoon in Glasgow yesterday at the Norwich Union International, by equalling one personal best and breaking another, before then discovering that Swedish heptathlon star Carolina Kluft may opt out of the multi-events in Beijing.

London in 2012 had always been the serious target for Ennis, who is 22 tomorrow, in a career which has seen her progress from Commonwealth Games bronze two years ago to fourth at the world championships in Osaka last summer.

But Kluft’s indecision about whether she will defend her title in China now opens the way for Ennis, and her British teammate Kelly Sotherton, to seriously plot a path towards Olympic gold.

Kluft has not lost a heptathlon for six years, but her desire for the event is disappearing. As the Swede, who won her third world title in Osaka with a European record of 7,032 points, prepared for the Boston Indoor Games last night, she said: “I don’t have that motivation to compete in the heptathlon like I had before.

“But I’m not sure that’s [not] going to come back when I go through spring and train outside again. But I’m going to do what I feel for, and I’m going to do what my heart wants. I actually don’t know right now. It’s been many years for the heptathlon and after breaking that record, I felt empty.

“I’m not bored by the success. It’s more like in life, you need new challenges. I’ve been challenging myself in the heptathlon for many years in different competitions and different situations. I think I need new challenges. It could be after the Olympic Games, or it could be before.”

Ennis, who was 563 points behind Kluft in Osaka as Sotherton won bronze, is using the indoor season as a measure of her fitness, power and speed. It is going well. Even though she was last in the 60m hurdles – as European outdoor champion Susanna Kallur, of Sweden, won in 7.81sec - Ennis matched her best time of 8.18sec.

An hour later, she took a first-round lead in the long jump with 6.28m, a best by seven centimetres, before clearing 6.30m and then 6.33m to finish second behind Germany’s Bianca Kappler, who won with 6.37m.

“It has been a fantastic afternoon,” said Ennis. “Even though Carolina had said that she might not compete in the heptathlon in Beijing, I am going to focus my mind on her being there. I don’t quite know what to think. But if she does not do it, it will change the whole perspective of the event. She is one of the greatest of all time. I am not sure it means I can start thinking about gold.

There are a great deal of good athletes out there and gold is probably a bit too far out of my reach. I am not going to be thinking like that.”

Ennis will not compete at the world indoor championships in Valencia in March, choosing to concentrate on her training, and yesterday UK Athletics repeated their decision not to let Dwain Chambers be there either.

Drugs cheat Chambers is planning a second comeback, aiming to run for Britain at the championships. But UKA will prevent him making the team because he has not had a drugs tests since November 2006.

UKA chief executive Niels de Vos confirmed the governing body will review how they treat athletes who have returned after a ban. “It is absolutely essential for us to actively lead the fight against drugs,” he said. “We now need to ensure that when the system catches a cheat, we do not allow those cheats an easy way back into the sport.”

Chambers tested positive for Tetrahydrogestrinone (THG) in 2003, served a two year suspension and returned to help Britain’s men win the 4x100m relay at the European Championships in Gothenburg in 2006. Then he had a failed attempt ata career as an American footballer.

If he will not be in Spain, Craig Pickering, the European indoor silver medallist, will be, and he will be among Britain’s leading hopes for glory. Pickering looked impressive yesterday as he won the 60m in 6.57sec, beating British rivals Simeon William-son, who was second in 6.65sec, with Ryan Scott third in 6.69sec.

“It was my first race and a great way to start the season,” said Pickering.

Britain’s middle-distance runners looked impressive, with Jenny Meadows winning the 800m in 2min 2.89sec, Lisa Dobriskey finishing first in the 1500m in 4:16.30 and Katrina Wootton securing the qualifying time for Valencia with victory in the 3,000m in 9:3.87.

They were among seven victories as Britain won the match with 54 points, one ahead of the USA and Germany.