10 Sporting Heroes Who Ruled 2012

5. Jessica Ennis

"I think it is a good thing to have home support, to have the crowd behind you. The crowd getting crazy €“ I know this sounds a bit cheesy €“ but it does carry you along. It helps a lot to have that support. I love it." Winning an Olympic medal in any multi-discipline event is a remarkable achievement by anybody's standards, as it requires more than being a "Jack-of-all-trades" - these athletes have to master numerous events in order to reach the podium. I have a special degree of respect to pentathletes, who have to contend with the craziest amalgamation of sports one could possibly imagine, including the reliance placed on a horse. However, all eyes at London 2012 were on Jessica Ennis in her home country. She was the poster girl of the games, her image was on every advert, the hopes of a nation pressing an immense weight on her shoulders. After being ruled out of the Beijing Olympics through injury, Ennis knew this was her best opportunity to win the heptathlon and seal a place in history. Leading after the first day of events, which included the fastest ever 100 metre hurdles run in a heptathlon, meant that she was able to confirm victory with style, winning the final event of the 800 metres and winning gold. Ennis' 100 metre hurdle time was so impressive that she would have finished fourth in the individual event, which is a remarkable achievement for a multi-discipline athlete, and hopefully Ennis will continue to garner success in a long career ahead of her. Standout Moment of 2012: Becoming the British record holder at the Heptathalon on her way to winning the gold medal with a score of 6,955 points.