Silver for KJT after pushing Thiam to finish
British heptathlete shows she can rival best Thiam claims gold after thrilling finish in 800m
Katarina Johnson-thompson had to settle for European heptathlon silver last night but with two gold medals already in the bag this year, 2018 will forever go down as when it finally clicked for the Briton.
If her world indoor and Commonwealth titles had been close to walkovers against weak opposition, this latest medal was anything but.
Faced with the might of Olympic and world champion Nafi Thiam – who has not lost a heptathlon for more than two years – Johnson- Thompson pushed every step of the way.
There was even a glimmer of hope she could win gold going into the final 800metres discipline, but ultimately the 192-point lead Thiam had built up over the previous six events proved just enough.
Johnson-thompson’s winning time of 2min 9.84sec was hugely impressive, but she had needed to beat Thiam by 13.5sec to seize the title from the Belgian’s grasp and managed to do so by only 9.5.
Nonetheless, a silver medal is quite an achievement – particularly after the disappointment of missing out on the podium at the last two World Championships as well as the Rio Olympics.
Not a global competition in name, this was certainly comparable by virtue of competition strength. The three world medallists from last summer were in Berlin and Johnson-thompson managed to muscle her way above all but one of them.
Her final score of 6,759 points was a big personal best, as Thiam triumphed in 6,816 and Carolin Schafer took bronze in 6,602.
“Up until this point, these championships, I wasn’t as confident as I am coming out of them,” said Johnson-thompson. “Obviously, I had tougher opposition here. I was happy with my first two medals but this has a big significance factor for me. This has been one of my best performances ever. I’m satisfied with the performance but I definitely want more. I feel like I can do it – I believe in myself.”
Kicking off the second day with an 87-point lead, Johnson-thompson could not have wished for much more from her final three the Belgian events. She did everything right, but Thiam just did it better.
Johnson-thompson’s 6.68m long jump was close to her best in a heptathlon, but so, too, was Thiam’s effort of 6.60m.
The British athlete then confronted her notorious weak javelin and was elated to throw a personal best 42.16m with her first effort. If that applied any pressure on Thiam, the Belgian did not appear to feel it.
With the points gap between the pair looking like it would be close enough to make Johnson-thompson a marginal favourite going into the 800m, Thiam then launched her final throw, a huge 57.91m, effectively to seal the gold medal. It was the mark of a true champion.
“I’ve never really jumped that far in a heptathlon so to jump 6.68m under pressure in the third round of the long jump is something that I’m very proud of,” said Johnsonthompson. “And the javelin, I’m happy with my PB but I definitely threw better in the warm-up.
“I just know I can improve in loads of single events so I’m excited to get my head down and get going again next year.
“This shows I can against the world’s best.”
After the agony of years spent failing to live up to the hype heaped on her at such a young age, the dream is alive again – proof that Johnson-thompson can win medals with the best of them. perform