My pride for long distance daughter
BUBBLING over with excitement, Ricardo ‘Ricky’ Thompson was glued to his TV last night as the promising young heptathlete he calls the ‘light of my life’ stormed into her final event on the world’s biggest sporting stage.
‘I get so excited that I run out into the street and call everybody into the house,’ said the 57-year-old.
‘I point to my TV and shout to them, “Come in here, look!’”
Katarina Johnson-Thompson’s rivalry with fellow British poster girl Jessica Ennis-Hill has been one of the big stories of the Games so far. But while the heartfelt backing of Katarina’s mother in Liverpool has seized the headlines, little has been heard of Ricardo, the father who raised her during her first year of life.
Today in his first-ever interview, he speaks of his overwhelming pride at Katarina’s achievements – but also of his sadness at a family that was forced apart when his daughter was just aged one.
‘I always say a prayer before her competitions, “God protect her, make her strong,”’ he said.
His home in Nassau on the Bahamian island of New Providence is a world away from the feverish excitement of the packed Olympic stadium, but this weekend, father and his precious daughter are close at heart.
Inside his small apartment on a cobbled coastal road, Ricky hoards countless newspaper cuttings, as well as old photos, personal cards and drawings sent by Katarina as a child. Ricky, a production assistant for Bahamas’ national TV station ZNS, recalls, too, his romance with Moulin Rouge showgirl Tracey Johnson in the late 1980s.
It started in Nassau when he was working as a bellboy at the Palace Hotel and Casino and she was a cabaret dancer.
In spring 1992, and after five years together, Tracey became pregnant. Katarina was born back in the UK and not long afterwards Ricardo and Tracey married in a register office ceremony. Within months they returned to the island. ‘Katarina was such a lively baby, she was always active and always wanted to go and play.
‘From an early age, she was very strong-minded. When I’d tell her I had to go out she’d give me hell! She was definitely Daddy’s girl.’
But after just one year, the family’s world came crashing down.
The Crystal Palace Hotel and Casino closed down, laying off hun- dreds of staff including Ricky. ‘I lost my job and Tracey couldn’t work. She had to go back to England. I was devastated.’
‘But I knew it was the best thing for our baby. And it all worked out in the end for us. It’s thanks to Tracey that I would talk to Katarina regularly as she was growing up.
‘I’d ask her what she needed and send her money through Western Union every payday. ‘I’d take trips there every time I got vacation from work. She and Tracey would fly over here. It was so important for me to keep those ties. Katarina is my only child – she’s the light of my life.’ As Katarina’s childhood gradually gave way to her teenage years, the visits became less frequent. ‘Seeing Katarina’s success always gave me mixed emotions. I felt so happy but also sadness because I wanted to be there for her and I wasn’t, so I just couldn’t see it all. ‘It’s such an achievement for her and she’s done it all by herself. Watching her collect the gold on that podium would be amazing.’