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The multi-eventer's life is not a glamorous one. Much of their hard work is done during morning sessions, with only a smattering of the keenest fans in the stadium. With the opening ceremony not taking place until the evening, the heptathletes were a quarter of the way through their programme before the championships had even officially begun.

Despite the lack of atmosphere, Ennis was into her stride from the very start. Drawn in the first heat of the hurdles, one of her favourite events, she led from first barrier to last to clock a time more than half a second faster than any of her rivals. It was to prove an omen for what was to follow.

Calculators are never far away during the multi-events. The pre-competition sums had Ennis ahead of reigning by 94 points, should they both run personal bests, but her run actually gave her a lead of 135.

With the stadium's attention directed at the men's 100m heats, better followed in the high jump. Again, the PB sums suggested an advantage for the Briton of 117 points. While Ennis's 1.92 metres was fractionally down on her best, so was the Ukrainian's - an overall advantage of 251 points, with a lead of 181 over second-placed American Sharon Day.

A year ago, Ennis was watching at home, injured, as Dobrynska claimed the Olympic title in Beijing.

The experience had mixed effects on the Ennis family. Her parents, having splashed out on flights and hotels in China in advance only to see their investment go down the drain, have decided against coming out to Germany. Jess herself has used the disappointment to drive her through training ever since.

That hard work all paid off when she came under enormous pressure in the shot put, traditionally one of her weaker events.

Dobrynska, who began her career as a shot putter, nailed a season's best of 15.82m. With one attempt to come, Ennis's best was just 13.07m. But whereas at the last Worlds in Osaka she had managed just 11.93m, this time she powered out a massive PB of 14.14m.

You could sense the Dobrynska deflation. When Ennis ran a blistering 23.25 seconds in the 200m, 11 hours after her first event, the Olympic champion virtually capitulated.

The gap at the top had grown to almost unbelievable dimensions, and the woman nicknamed 'Tadpole' by for her diminutive size had taken giant strides towards her first major international medal.

"Jessica has been outstanding today," marvelled British record holder and former Olympic champion . "To produce your best with your final throw is fantastic, and it highlights the calibre she's moved into.

"It's very tough to come in as a favourite but she's dealt with that very well. She's come here not just to win this competition but to win it emphatically - possibly with a British record. She's put some very good heptathletes behind her."

Ennis was not the only British success story on a steaming first day in Berlin. David Greene looked fantastic in winning his 400m hurdles heat, James Brewer stormed through to the 1500m semis and Dwain Chambers made like a man a third of his size to party like it was 1999.

Chambers, world bronze medallist in Seville that year, has barely been taken seriously after announcing his plans for 'Project Bolt' despite being well beaten at the national trials, but he looked to be back close to world class as he ran a season's best to qualify for the semi-finals.

For a man excluded from most major meets as a result of his previous doping ban, he also seems to be relishing another chance to run on the big stage.

Gone is the morose man of the last three years, seen more often in a suit than spikes. He might jokingly complain that his "old" body can't handle the rounds like it used to, but Chambers looks like a sprinter enjoying an Indian summer so far.

Whether his big project can actually come to fruition is another matter altogether. Usain looked so untaxed in cruising through the first two rounds that he might have been strolling along a beach back home.

From the moment he entered the stadium complex, swinging his orange spikes in one hand and waving at anything that moved with his other, he was a walking definition of relaxation.

You're meant to feel nervous at a big event like a world championships. It's meant to be hard work. Instead, Bolt makes it all appear so much fun that his rivals could be forgiven for quietly hating his golden guts.

Tyson Gay has told us he can break Bolt's world record out here. He might do that, although the odds and his groin injury are against it. The trouble is, Bolt might beat him to it.

The weather forecast for Sunday evening's final is a sprinter's dream - warm, humidity not too high, barely a breath of wind. It's all in place.