Daily Mirror (Northern Ireland)
COUNTDOWN TO GO L D MIND
KJT heads to Euros on a high after beating her demons by learning how to deal with pressure 0845-3004267
KATARINA Johnson-thompson heads to the European Championships revealing how she put her demons to bed.
Disappointment at the Rio Olympics and the last two World Championships placed a question mark over the Liverpudlian heptathlete’s ability to translate considerable talent into results.
Her emphatic response has been back-to-back wins at this year’s World
Indoors and Commonwealth Games and she goes to Berlin with her mojo back.
“Everyone has seen me go through difficulties,” she said.
“Highs early on then straight into horrible lows – I’ve been through everything.
“Through those experiences however I’ve gained some perspective and taught myself to see expectation not as pressure but support.”
She tells a story about last summer’s Worlds in London, the first major championships her friends were able to get to and watch.
“I was disappointed with my fifth place and a bit upset afterwards,” Johnson-thompson recalled. “Then I saw my friends and they were blown away by it.
“So in Birmingham at the World Indoors my mindset changed. There was attention but all I felt was the warmth of the crowd. I felt everyone was there to support me, not there just expecting me to win.”
Contrast that more relaxed approach to the 2015 Worlds in Beijing (below) where pressure told as she failed to register a distance in the long jump when in the medals.
Or Rio a year later where she jumped higher than any woman at those Olympics yet drew a blank – as she was in the heptathlon rather than the high jump and her other events let down her 1.98metre clearance.
Success this year helped erase those memories but now for the real test as the Berlin competition is far stronger than those she won in Birmingham and Gold Coast. Johnson-thompson’s Commonwealth score of 6,255 points places her only sixth in this year’s rankings, with world No.1 Nafi Thiam (6,806) miles in front.
But she knows it came unusually early in the year and better performances from rivals were registered in May and June, when she too would expect more of herself.
“Berlin will definitely be a stepup,” conceded Kat, 25. “But all you can do is your best. Luckily I think my best is good enough to win.” A fantastic mobile phone for those looking for a loud and clear yet easy to use Bluetooth mobile phone. This phone gives a crystal-clear sound even at its highest volume setting. The flip design helps avoiding accidental dialling. Dialling is easy thanks to a large keypad and display. The phone also has a speakerphone, SOS functionality, while a vibrating ringer alerts you of incoming calls.
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