Let's see top Kat ..not scaredy Kat

CONFIDENCE IS KEY TO HEPTATHLON GLORY BID

- Mike Walters

GREAT BRITAIN'S greatest Olympian whistled through the national anthem and flirted irreverently with royalty.

When Daley Thompson was asked what Princess Anne had said to him when he was presented with his decathlon gold medal in Los Angeles 40 years ago, he replied: "She told me I was a damn good-looking guy."

Only po-faced hawks from the Ministry of Fun scowled at Thompson's glorious impudence.

For a decade, he was an unbeatable multi-tasker and, if our honours system has any enduring knighthood is in the post.

But nobody is better qualified than Thompson to assess the chances of a first Olympic gold for reigning heptathlon world champion Katarina Johnson-Thompson, right.

Thompson, now 65 but still as fit as a butcher's dog, said: "She is going to be a serious contender.

"Pulling out of the European Championships after three events [last month] won't have helped her.