My sporting hero: Eve Muirhead on Jessica Ennis

Almost every sportsperson who has reached the top of their field was inspired by an athlete that came before them. Often it鈥檚 one from their own sport, but sometimes that inspiration can come from an entirely different discipline. In this series, 成人快手 Sport Scotland speaks to Scottish sporting stars about some of those heroes.

This week, Olympic curler Eve Muirhead talks about her sporting hero - Jessica Ennis, a gold medalist in the heptathlon at the 2012 London Olympics and a three-time world champion.

Image source, Getty/成人快手

I was fortunate enough to be in the Olympic Stadium for Jessica Ennis鈥 finest hour, winning heptathlon gold on that unforgettable 鈥楽uper Saturday鈥 at London 2012.

The atmosphere was just unbelievable. Unless you were there it鈥檚 really hard to describe. I remember her running that last 800m, the crowd going mental and I don鈥檛 imagine she would have been able to hear herself think.

I just remember thinking how much pressure was on her that evening. There was so much expectation for her to win the gold medal. She was the poster girl of the Games and for her to deliver under that pressure is something I鈥檝e always admired and thought was pretty amazing from her. It was phenomenal.

I was very sporty growing up and any sport I got the chance to try or take part in I was first there. I鈥檝e got a very competitive nature as well so I wasn鈥檛 just first there, I always wanted to win as well. I鈥檝e always had an interest in athletics, always enjoy watching it on TV and seeing all the different events. It鈥檚 something that I鈥檓 still really into.

Jess always comes across as very humble and I know she is like that. I don鈥檛 think she ever tries to be someone that she isn鈥檛. Now that she is retired what I like is she is now trying to help the next generation. That鈥檚 what we need in Great Britain, to try and bring young athletes through to follow in these superstars鈥 footsteps.

We remember Jess now as a highly-successful athlete, the golden girl of London 2012 who delivered when it mattered most. But every athlete goes through highs and lows and she was no different. There are very few athletes who stay at the top consistently winning golds and world championships. It鈥檚 almost impossible.

Jess had a huge setback when she missed the Beijing Olympics in 2008 through injury. When she came back for the 2012 Games, she had all the pressure in the world on her shoulders and delivered the gold medal.

It鈥檚 something I鈥檝e been through myself on a smaller scale. I had a setback last year when I had my hip surgery and it takes a huge amount of time and effort to get back to being fully fit and on good form. A lot of people think it just happens but it doesn鈥檛. It takes a lot of blood, sweat and tears behind the scenes.

That鈥檚 something that I know Jess showed a lot of courage with, a lot of grit and determination to come back even stronger.

I've always really admired heptathletes. It鈥檚 not just one event they have to focus on, they鈥檝e got seven events they need to practice and be very good at. I know what it takes to train for one event in curling, but to have another six must be so difficult and so different to your normal athlete. I can only imagine what it must be like for the coaches and all the support staff around them trying to plan that time and fit in training for all these different disciplines. That鈥檚 something I really do take my hat off to.

If I was to choose another sport that I would love to do, I think the heptathlon is something that I would love to try. It doesn鈥檛 require just one skill, it requires lots of skills and it takes a lot of determination, a lot of focus and a lot of time to accomplish great things.

I鈥檝e never had the opportunity to meet Jessica, but I would love to. The closest I came was when she tweeted me a good luck message before our bronze medal game at the Sochi Olympics in 2014. That was pretty cool.

Eve Muirhead was talking to 成人快手 Scotland's Andy Burke.