Icons are proud to have among its roster of sporting superstars some of the best performers from this summer’s London 2012 Olympic Games. Of course, no collection of Olympic heroes is complete without Jessica Ennis, winner of the women’s heptathlon and hailed by many as ‘the face of the Games’. But just who is she? With a number of items personally signed by the gold medal winner herself available now in the Icons online store through our partners Innovative Sports Ltd, we look back on Ennis’s glittering career to date.

The London 2012 Olympic Games made legends of many athletes but none quite as emphatically as Jessica Ennis. The 26-year-old ran, raced and leapt into the history books with a gold medal-winning performance in the women’s heptathlon that for many marked the pinnacle of the Games, her feats in the gruelling seven event spectacle capturing the imaginations of onlookers the world over.

Ennis delivered a series of personal bests en route to the podium, including a 100m hurdles time so strong it would have won gold in all but two Olympics. Competing on what was to become a tremendous night for British sport capped by gold medals for long distance runner Mo Farah and long jump specialist Greg Rutherford, the Sheffield athlete fought off a strong field of competitors including Russian world champion Tatyana Chernova and Germany's Lilli Schwarzkopf to claim her prize.

That Ennis won by a margin of 306 points that day does little to reflect the strength of her competition that day, but plenty to surmise the phenomenal athleticism and hardened determination at her core. The road to London 2012 was a long and arduous one for Ennis, who had had obstacles to hurdle in the run-up to the Games unlike the ones encountered on the track.

After winning bronze in the 2006 Commonwealth Games and European Under-23 Championships a year later, she was tipped for success at the 2008 Olympics only to be sidelined by a stress fracture in her right foot just two months before she was due to compete, forcing her to withdraw. Furthermore, despite becoming the world indoor pentathlon champion in 2010 and showing scintillating form on her return from a year on the sidelines, Ennis was made to endure speculation that she was overweight by the press and Olympic officials.

Already a proven world class athlete (prior to the Olympics, Ennis had claimed the European and World heptathlon titles and national British records in the indoor pentathlon, heptathlon, pentathlon and hurdles), the 26-year-old became a true superstar at London 2012, the enormity of her latest success made clear by appearances on the covers of magazines as disparate as Time and the Beano.

Despite her new found global acclaim, Ennis is not one to rest on her laurels and is reported to be already focused on bettering her incredible turn at the London Olympics at the 2014 Commonwealth Games. Her prowess on the track might have won her a place in British sporting history, but it’s this dedication, even in the face of adversity, that chimed so with the world at large, that made her description as ‘the face of the Games’ so much more than a media label.

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The London 2012 Olympic Games may have been drawn to a spectacular close last night but memory of the Games’ incredible performers will linger on for decades to come. Here at Icons we’re proud to have partnerships with some of many of the starring names of the past fortnight, with signed memorabilia from the following medal winners available from our online store now and over the coming weeks.

Tom Daley

Team GB’s Daley landed a bronze medal in Saturday’s dramatic men’s diving final after bursting onto the international sports scene four years ago at the Beijing Olympics, aged only fourteen.

Visit Tom Daley's Icons profile now.

Usain Bolt

What is there that hasn’t already been said about the Jamaican sprinter, who at London 2012 retained his 100m and 200m crowns, strengthening his very plausible claim to be “the greatest athlete to live.” Legend? You better believe it.

Visit Usain Bolt's Icons profile now.

Jessica Ennis

26-year-old Ennis ran, raced and leapt her way into the history books at London 2012 with a Gold-winning turn in the women’s heptathlon early on in the Games, setting the bar for her Team GB teammates.

Visit Jessica Ennis's Icons profile now.

Sir Chris Hoy

Cementing his place as one of the great British sportsmen of all time, track cyclist Hoy won Gold in the team sprint and Keirin at the Games, overtaking Sir Steve Redgrave to become the nation’s most successful Olympian of all time.

Visit Chris Hoy's Icons profile now.

Roger Federer

Seven-time Wimbledon champion Federer might have had to settle for a men’s singles Silver medal at this year’s Games, pipped to Gold by Andy Murray, but that won’t diminish his reputation as  one of the greatest tennis players of all time.

Visit Roger Federer's Icons profile now.

Victoria Pendleton

Retiring track cyclist Pendleton bowed out of the sport in emphatic fashion at the Games, winning Gold and Silver medals and setting new Olympic and World records.

Visit Victoria Pendleton's Icons profile now.

Bradley Wiggins

Another of Team GB’s record-breaking cyclists, Wiggins rode his way to legendary status this summer with wins at the Tour De France and Olympic Games.

Visit Bradley Wiggins' Icons profile now.

Rebecca Adlington

23-year-old Team GB swimmer Adlington, already a two-time Gold medal winner at the Beijing Olympics, added two bronzes to Team GB’s medal haul with brilliant performances in the women’s 400m and 800m freestyle at London 2012.

Visit Rebecca Adlington's Icons profile now.

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Not only home to signed memorabilia from the world’s best footballers, Icons also has a huge range of Olympic stars in its roster of names. With the London 2012 Olympic Games in full flow, our man Al Horner visited the Olympic Park to witness a morning session that featured qualification heats in men’s discus, women’s 200m hurdles and more. Here’s his report…

It couldn’t be more fitting that the London 2012 Olympic Games have been characterised by some incredible upsets and against the odds triumphs. After all, who would have predicted this time last year, with the capital engulfed in riots, that these Games would be as ceremonious a success as they have been so far. Londoners have watched the capital transformed into a lucid dreamland – its parks and pubs packed with whooping spectators, its tubes and buses brimming with excited tourists, its televisions screens filled with actual talent instead of the usual parade of reality TV stars.

After a weekend that saw thrilling wins from Jessica Ennis and Mo Farrah for Team GB, not to mention another storming victory for Usain Bolt in the 100m final, I was hoping for another exciting day in the Olympic Park as I made my way to Stratford on Monday morning (6 August).

As you enter the park you’re flanked by volunteer staff who despite the hour – I thought I could avoid the crowds if I got there at 7am. I was horribly, horribly wrong – are cheery and awake. The site itself is huge and impressive, its centrepiece a sort of gloomy Martian helter-skelter known as the Olympic Orbit tower. The stadium is also remarkable. For all the noise made about the Games’ corporate tie-ins, I half expected seats made of congealed Happy Meal toys and stairs lined with expired Visa debit cards. But inside, corporate branding is practically nowhere to be seen – and rightly so.

Also heartening was the attendance for the morning’s session, which in stark contrast to media reports about empty seats and unsold tickets, was almost entirely sold out. For a morning session made up of qualifying heats with few big name competitors, it was brilliant to see, even if it did mean practically having to crowd-surf my way to the loo in between heats.

Across two and a half hours, I witnessed women’s shotput, men’s discus, women’s 200m hurdles, women’s 1500m and an incredible men’s 800m performance by Kenyan middle distance runner David Rudisha, who of course has since gone on to win the 800m final and break Sebastian Coe’s record. By 400m, he was so far ahead of the pack he could have stopped to light a cigar on the Olympic torch and still eased to victory.

The undoubted highlight of the day, however, was Team GB discus thrower Lawrence Okoye, having struggled with his first and second attempts and facing stern opposition from German and Dutch competitors. But just as it looked not to be his day, Okoye threw an impressive 65.28m, catapulting him qualification and sending the stadium into a frenzy of celebration. He may not have fared too well in Tuesday’s final but he’ll never forget the electric atmosphere as his last gasp throw brought 80,000 people to their feet, capping an incredible morning.

When the Games draw to a close on Sunday, it’ll leave in its wake a number of questions. Will it, as the tag line goes, inspire a generation, ushering in a new era of British sporting success? Will anyone ever oust Usain Bolt as the greatest sprinter of all time? Will women’s sports like football and boxing now be elevated to the same status as their men’s iterations? One thing for sure is it’s been a fortnight few Brits will ever forget – and one I was glad to have witnessed first-hand.

By Al Horner