The electrifying performance in the final 800m event won a first medal at a Games for the 31-year-old double world champion and delivered a moment of joyous redemption after repeated Olympic disappointment.
It had followed relay sprints in which Britain's women's team pushed the US to the finish line and the men took bronze in the 4x100m behind Canada and South Africa, after the US favourites mangled a handover.
Johnson-Thompson, known as KJ-T, had set herself the task of running over eight seconds quicker than Nafissatou Thiam to take the Belgian's Olympic title. It was not to be on a track made slick by heavy drizzle in Paris but the performance earns her place alongside Jessica Ennis-Hill and Denis Lewis as among the British Olympic heptathlon greats With just the 800m race to go, she had found herself 121 points behind the Belgian, who had thrown a season-best in the javelin earlier yesterday.
The scintillating end to the seven-event discipline came as a teenager known as the Terminator claimed a shock Olympic gold for Britain in men's sport climbing and Team GB's sprinters teed up an exhilarating final night of athletics today in the the Stade de France.
This story is from the {{IssueName}} edition of {{MagazineName}}.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 9,000+ magazines and newspapers.
Already a subscriber ? Sign In
This story is from the {{IssueName}} edition of {{MagazineName}}.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 9,000+ magazines and newspapers.
Already a subscriber? Sign In
'Show your teeth' Arteta's message to players as Arsenal lose more ground
A disappointed Mikel Arteta told his players to \"show their teeth\" and said he was praying they remain injury-free during the international break after a 1-1 draw with Chelsea that meant Arsenal lost further ground in the title race.
Amorim hit by visa delay as he jets in to lead United
Rúben Amorim is yet to be granted a visa despite starting his first official day as Manchester United's head coach today and will not be able to take an opening training session.
Ødegaard brings clarity in the chaos but a few regrets too
On the plus side he notably improved the team. On the minus, well, there's only one of him
Neto makes point as Arsenal falter again
There were people on the pitch, Chelsea substitutes to be precise, the joy of everyone connected to the club overflowing. Pedro Neto had produced the equaliser with a vicious low drive from distance and if it did not turn out to be the statement victory that Enzo Maresca and his players wanted – a first against a so-called Big Six rival – they could see the merit in a battling draw.
Beaming McKenna savours Ipswich's winning moment
The away end's explosion of noise and limbs at full time left no question about what this meant to Ipswich.
United hit cruise control as Van Nistelrooy signs off
Eleven days after Manchester United routed Leicester under Ruud van Nistelrooy in the Carabao Cup here, the interim manager signed off with another easy-street win over the Foxes and so ends his four-game term unbeaten.
Campbell earns United the Sheffield bragging rights
The Steel City derby may not be played quite as regularly as some others or quite have the same pull on a national scale but there is no doubting that what you do in this fixture can make you a legend in this particular part of the world.
Bompastor keeps cool despite more perfection
Sonia Bompastor insisted her Chelsea team have won nothing yet and said she will keep their feet on the ground after the defending champions continued their strongest ever start to a Women's Super League season with a routine victory at Liverpool.
Barnes has last chop to cut down Forest
Nottingham Forest have been fishing in the waters Newcastle aspire to swim in. This season, Nuno Espírito Santo's team are the provincial outfit punching above their weight but in taking them down at the City Ground, Newcastle, now just a point behind Forest, showed they too possess the capability to join the throng.
WSL roundup Hayashi saves Everton but trouble looms
When the Crystal Palace midfielder My Cato found herself with the ball on the left, inside a minute at the VBS Community Stadium, the Everton defence followed, three of the back four shifting across and then looking back in horror as an unmarked Indiah-Paige Riley collected the pass from Cato in the middle before slotting home.
