Can Katerina Johnson-Thompson banish her Olympic bogeyman? After a supremely relaxed performance on the first day of the women's heptathlon he should be quaking in his boots.
Johnson-Thompson defied her injury-filled buildup to these Games to knockout season-bests in the high jump and 100m hurdles and a huge personal best in the shot put to place herself in pole position at the end of day one of the seven-discipline event.
"It was a good day, a very good day, one of the best I've had in a long time," she said. "There were a couple of really good signs and a good couple of events. I'm really, really pleased with it." With three events - the long jump, javelin and 800m - to come today Johnson-Thompson has an overnight lead of 48 points, with her long-time rival Nafissatou Thiam of Belgium in second with 4,007 and the younger American challenger Anna Hall in third with 3,956.
Throughout the day, Johnson Thompson was shoulder to shoulder with Thiam, the two taking it in turn to lead the field. As the evening session started Johnson-Thompson was in front by 24pts, when the athletes I came out on to the field for the shot put, one of her weaker events and one of Thiam's strongest.
This story is from the August 09, 2024 edition of The Guardian.
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This story is from the August 09, 2024 edition of The Guardian.
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