NOW KJT EYES GOLDEN TREBLE
After a second triumph in 42 days...
THERE was something appropriate about Katarina Johnson-Thompson receiving her second major gold medal in the space of 42 days from the boss of a sticky plaster company.
Judging from the way she hobbled through the concluding 800metres of the heptathlon, and then her lap of honour, she requires some patching up.
But that’s just the way it is with her a lot of the time — a fine talent who rarely does it the easy way.
Sometimes it is the pressure, sometimes it is her throwing events, and sometimes, like at these Commonwealth Games, it is the body.
Her right calf started acting up after the final event of the first day, the 200m, and then became worse during the first of yesterday, the long jump. It was sufficiently concerning that she opted for only two attempts at the long jump instead of three and launched just one javelin.
‘I was just trying to protect my calf,’ she said. ‘I was trying to manage the heptathlon and get through to the end of it and not blow my load.’
Thankfully for the 25-year-old, there were no predators to prey on the weakness, and this was one of those rare medals of significance that could be won on one leg, owing to the paucity of talents to rival hers.
The disparity was such that the silver medallist, Nina Schultz of Canada, was ranked 40th in the world last year, and third-placed Niamh Emerson of England was 41st. Johnson-Thompson, for her part, was fourth in those standings.
That is not to undermine the achievement, because while the field was poor and her scores were on the low side — 6,255 points compared to a personal best of 6,691 — it was still 122 up on Schultz and a gold is a gold. A second in the space of six weeks after the World Indoors, and one that came on a reduced training schedule because of the rest period that followed her Birmingham win.
‘I haven’t set the world alight with my performances,’ she said, ‘but off not a lot of training I’ve got another gold medal. My aim this year was to build a winning habit. There are three major championships in 2018.
‘I learn something from every heptathlon I do and I’m on track hopefully. I know I’ve got a lot of work to do before the Europeans but I’m getting belief in myself, for sure.’
The European Championships in August are the key event, for not only are they the final stage of a possible treble, but they represent a massive step up in class and a proper test of where she stands. The best in the world are Europeans, and most notably they include Nafi Thiam of Belgium. To compete at that level, Johnson-Thompson needs a greater degree of mental toughness, so two gold medals will help.
‘It is really a big ask but I believe in myself,’ she said. ‘It’s all coming together and the more that I compete, the more I expose myself to things like this, the more I learn. I’ve got tough competition in the Europeans and I might not be going in as favourite but I’m a grafter.’
There was also a degree of hard work for Tom Daley and Dan Goodfellow, who trailed after four of six rounds in the 10m synchronised diving before taking gold.
Daley followed his fourth gold in three editions of these Games by speaking out strongly against anti-gay laws in Commonwealth nations. The 23-year-old, who is married to Hollywood screenwriter Dustin Lance Black, said: ‘I know this might sound a bit political but currently there are 37 countries in the Commonwealth where it’s illegal to be who I am. And hopefully we can reduce that number between now and the 2022 Games.
‘Coming to the Gold Coast and being able to live as an openly gay man is really important.
‘You want to feel comfortable in who you are when you are standing on that diving board and for 37 Commonwealth countries that are here participating, that is not the case.’
There was also a golden hat-trick for Jack Laugher, who followed titles in the 1m and 3m springboards by taking the 3m synchro title with Chris Mears. Meanwhile, England pulled off a major upset by beating Canada to qualify for the women’s basketball final against Australia.