KATARINA THE GREAT
Johnson-Thompson grabs gold in Doha (and finally steps out of Jessica Ennis’s shadow)
KATARINA Johnson-Thompson raced into the record books last night by winning the heptathlon gold at the World Athletics Championships.
The overjoyed 26-year-old beat the Olympic and defending champion Nafi Thiam in the final event, completing the 800m in just two minutes and seven seconds.
The Liverpool-born athlete’s final score of 6,981 broke Jessica EnnisHill’s British record of 6,955.
It is the first global outdoor title for Miss Johnson-Thompson, who told the Daily Mail last year that her father’s death in 2017 had spurred her on to go for gold in competitions.
Last night she fell to her knees, lay on her back and put her head in her hands in relief following her stunning success in Doha, Qatar.
Miss Johnson-Thompson became tearful as she was congratulated by her opponents before wrapping a Union Jack flag around herself and grinning. Commentating on the event, Mrs Ennis-Hill said: ‘I know she is just going to be so, so happy. I’m so happy for her.’
Miss Johnson-Thompson spent the first year of her life in the Bahamas, her father’s home country.
But her parents split up with she was young and she was raised by her dancer mother, Tracey Thompson, who used to dance with the famous Bluebell Girls. Mrs Thompson tried to encourage her daughter to follow in her footsteps but Katarina was ‘too much of a tomboy to wear pink’ – opting instead to play football and wear her Liverpool FC shirt.
She started training in athletics because of a childhood feud with a girl at her school who she battled to be the fastest runner in their year.
She made her Olympic debut in London 2012 aged 19, finishing 15th in the heptathlon, which Mrs Ennisgiving Hill won. Her father Ricardo passed away in November 2017 aged 59. ‘What happened with my dad is why I have been so switched on in competitions,’ Miss Johnson-Thompson said last year.
‘He didn’t see me win and that has actually made me want to win in front of my mum even more, if that makes sense. She comes to see me in every single competition and I always feel for her when I don’t do well or I don’t reach my potential.
‘I really want to involve her and I want her to experience me winning and doing it.’ She added: ‘When you miss chances, you feel like you miss giving opportunities for your family to see you do well. Your family are proud of you anyway, obviously, but this is just something inside me that pushes me on a bit extra.’
In Doha last night she had a 137point lead ahead of the race having impressed in the long jump and javelin. Belgian Miss Thiam, 25, would have had to beat her by eight seconds to snatch the gold.
Miss Johnson-Thompson, who now lives in France, recorded 6.32m with her first long-jump attempt before improving to post 6.77m – the biggest leap of the competition.
Her no-jump on her third go did not matter as she comfortably had a better mark than Miss Thiam’s 6.40.
Then in the javelin, she recorded a personal-best 43.93 metres with her second effort to apply more pressure on Miss Thiam.
The Belgian fouled with her first throw and after registering 48.04m chose not to take her final effort as she walked off the track to prepare for the 800m.
Kat gets the cream – Back Page