Olympic Champion Jessica Ennis-Hill Pregnant, Misses Commonwealth Games

What's 'Exciting' Olympic Champion Jessica?
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Olympic heptathlon champion Jessica Ennis-Hill has announced she is pregnant and will miss this summer's Commonwealth Games.

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Jessica Ennis-Hill plans to return to athletics after her baby is born

Ennis said in a statement released by her management: "I have some very unexpected but exciting news to share - Andy and I are expecting a baby.

"We are completely overwhelmed, with excitement and a degree of anxiety that I am sure all first-time parents will relate to.

"My plans for 2014 have been completely turned upside down, but having had a couple of weeks to think about things from a career point of view I am 100% set on returning to full-time athletics once our baby is born and go for a second gold medal at the Rio Olympics in 2016 - that challenge really excites me.

"But in the short term I will make our baby a priority and enjoy the whole experience as much as possible.

"I am sorry I won't be in Glasgow for the Commonwealth Games, but know it will be an amazing occasion. I will be at home awaiting the arrival of a little Ennis-Hill."

The news that Ennis-Hill will miss the Commonwealth Games means the athletics crowds in Glasgow will be denied the sight of an athlete whose triumph at London 2012 proved one of the highlights of the last Olympics.

The world's leading all-round athlete claimed gold in dazzling fashion and was expected to repeat the feat in Glasgow, where she would have been seeking her first Commonwealth Games title.

She took bronze in Melbourne in 2006, when Kelly Sotherton won gold, but skipped the 2010 Games in Delhi where fellow English athlete Louise Hazel triumphed, preferring to compete at the European Championships.

Ennis-Hill landed the 2010 European gold before finishing second at the 2011 World Championships, behind Tatyana Chernova.

London was a different story, with Ennis-Hill a resounding winner with a personal best score for the seven-event competition.

However, she has barely competed since the Olympics, being forced to miss last summer's World Championships in Moscow due to an Achilles injury.