It may be oversimplifying matters, but having been thrown a lifeline by the abdication of the queen of multi-taskers, it remains to be seen whether Kelly Sotherton can throw the javelin far enough to replace her.

Carolina Klüft's decision not to defend her Olympic heptathlon title in Beijing this summer opens the door for a British duel on the global stage between Sotherton and Jessica Ennis. The pair were third and fourth respectively at last year's World Championships in Osaka, Japan, where the Sweden superstar won a nineteenth successive heptathlon in a manner that suggested that she could win a gold medal while fermenting a herring.

Now that she has gone to the long and triple jumps in Beijing, Sotherton and Ennis will fancy their chances and the former may even be British athletics' best bet of a gold, ahead of Paula Radcliffe, the marathon runner. There are plenty of rivals in the heptathlon, but the much-heralded Tatyana Chernova, of Russia, dropped out before the end at the World Championships, while Lyudmila Blonska, the silver medal-winner in Osaka, was beaten in destructive fashion by Sotherton at the World Indoor Championships in Valencia, Spain, a fortnight ago.

Albeit that was a javelin-less pentathlon, the sight of Sotherton bouncing off the track with her silver medal as Blonska, the Ukrainian whom she labelled a cheat last year, lay stricken on the side of the track after the 800 metres will be a vivid memory for both. Tia Hellebaut, the indoor champion from Belgium, is expected to focus on the high jump in China.

“I am disappointed Carolina is not going to be competing in the heptathlon in Beijing,” Sotherton said, and she meant it. In recent months, as speculation over Klüft's future raged, Sotherton has repeatedly stated she wanted to become the best by beating the best. “Although it leaves it wide open, it takes away my chance to finally beat her,” Sotherton said. “It adds to the pressure on me, but my aim was to go out and win gold, so my goals and preparations won't be changing.”

Ennis, who at 22 is nine years Sotherton's junior, said: “I'm totally surprised as I'd had it in my head that Carolina would be there in Beijing. It's great news for everyone else in the heptathlon as well - it'll be exciting to see how this might mix things up.”

Klüft will be in Beijing, but after lamenting her lost motivation for an event that has netted her 14 gold medals at leading championships, she announced her decision yesterday. “It's a good move for her to go into another event and try to achieve what she has done in heptathlon,” Ennis said. “I'm sure she will do well.”

Ennis has made such rapid progress that she cannot be simply earmarked as a prospect for the London Olympics in 2012. She shot to prominence last year when she beat Denise Lewis's British under-23 record in Italy and then beat Sotherton in five out of seven events in Osaka, but she finished 41 points adrift of her team-mate. They are friendly and Sotherton has tipped Ennis as a future world and Olympic champion.

If Sotherton can cure her weak spot then she may start the Olympics as the favourite. However, she suffered a torrid early part to last summer, the nadir being a javelin throw of 29.59 metres in the European Cup of Combined Events in Poland. That prompted her to split from Mick Hill, the javelin coach, and tempt Mike McNeill, the former mentor of Goldie Sayers, the British record-holder, out of retirement. “I am pleased with how hard Kelly has worked this winter. I am sure it will pay off,” McNeill said.

By the time of the World Championships, the j-word had become a taboo subject. Sotherton's best throw there was 31.90, some 16 metres and 304 points adrift of Blonska. That she lost out on silver by 322 points shows how crucial the event will be come Beijing.

Everything else looks in good shape. “I want to have at least six fantastic events and one good one in Beijing,” Sotherton said while training in South Africa. “I don't think I can let myself down again. I haven't thrown a javelin yet, but I've done a lot of ball work to correct my positions and I'm not throwing like a girl any more.”

She threw 40.81metres in 2004 and says she wants to get back to that area again. Both she and Ennis have been clocking up personal bests during the indoor season and Sotherton believes a foot injury, which sidelined her for six weeks at the back end of last year, has proved “a massive blessing in disguise”. Now for the Achilles' heel...

Friendly rivals

Kelly Sotherton

Born: November 13, 1976

Club: Birchfield Harriers

Personal best (heptathlon): 6,547pts

Honours: Commonwealth gold, 2006; world indoors silver, 2008; Olympic bronze, 2004

Jessica Ennis

Born: January 28, 1986

Club: City of Sheffield

Personal best (heptathlon): 6,469

Honours: European Cup gold, 2007; European juniors gold, 2005; Commonwealth bronze, 2006

Head to head in heptathlon

Sotherton 3 Ennis 1