The progress of Great Britain’s Katarina Johnson-Thompson has been at a lightning pace, and now the woman she is looking to emulate believes this could be her summer of gold.
In Moscow last year, Johnson-Thompson - or KJT as she is becoming widely known - finished fifth in the heptathlon at the IAAF World Championships before winning silver in the long jump at the World Indoor Championships in Sopot in March. For an athlete who only turned 21 in January, these have been impressive performances.
She is next in the line of leading British multi-eventers who have gone all the way to the top and the athlete at the head of that list, Jessica Ennis, believes Johnson-Thompson can stake a major claim at the European Athletics Championships in Zurich and Commonwealth Games in Glasgow this summer.
Ennis told sportinglife.com: 'I honestly think that Katarina is in with an excellent chance. She's had a fantastic indoor season and I've seen some of her scores and events and they are going really well. I think she's going to be a real contender for gold.”
Ennis is the Olympic champion and she will no doubt watch with interest as she intends to be back for the 2016 Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro.
'I'm sad to be missing this year but very much looking forward to supporting the team.'
“From a career point of view I am 100 per cent 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,” Ennis said.
No British teams have been announced for either of these competitions, but it is likely that Johnson-Thompson will compete in the heptathlon at one of the championships and the long jump at the other.
Johnson-Thompson ended last year fifth on the European Athletics heptathlon rankings and in Moscow, her score of 6449 was just 28 points behind bronze medallist Dafne Schippers of the Netherlands.
The heptathlon has a glorious legacy in Britain, with Ennis winning Olympic gold in London in 2012 having become European Athletics champion in Barcelona in 2010.
She succeeded Olympic multi-event champions Dame Mary Peters and Denise Lewis and while Johnson-Thompson is making superb strides on the senior stage, she is now being followed herself by fellow Briton Morgan Lake, 17, who is top of the European Athletics junior heptathlon rankings with 5896 from earlier this month.
Ennis added: 'It just shows you how strong the event is, it's always been a strong event in our country, and you can see from the youngsters that are coming through and what Kat's doing that it will continue to be a strong event.'