2020 VISION
Finally a golden girl, Johnson-Thompson targets Olympic glory
AFTER untying the anchor that has weighed on her neck throughout her senior career, Katarina Johnson Thompson has set her intentions on replacing it with an Olympic heptathlon gold medal.
It will be a hard task in the era of the brilliant Belgian Nafissatou Thiam, but there can be no doubting that Johnson-Thompson’s hopes look brighter than they have in years.
That is the upshot of her pentathlon gold at the World Indoor Championships in Birmingham on Friday, where she finally broke her medal duck on the global stage and also left with a renewed belief that she can get the job done when it matters.
Such confidence has not always seemed obvious in an athlete who has boundless talent yet has often appeared temperamentally suspect on the biggest stage.
The 25-year-old even admitted to that shortcoming as she reflected on her breakthrough moment, saying mental weaknesses have previously hindered her in a career that has yielded finishes of 14th, 5th, 28th, 6th and 5th in her five heptathlons at world and Olympic level.
But the feeling after taking gold is that she will now be psychologically tougher when it comes to facing down the likes of Thiam, the reigning Olympic and world outdoor champion.
She will need to be, and a better thrower as well. This win ought to at least help in the first of those areas.
‘A weight has been lifted,’ said Johnson-Thompson. ‘I have an indoor gold medal, I just need an outdoor one for the worlds. I want more. I just want this to be the start of it.
‘It’s been a difficult couple of years for me, especially in Rio (when she finished sixth in the 2016 Olympics) and in London last year (when she finished only fifth in the world championships). I’m just happy I was able to do it on the day.
‘I know I’ve got the talent and one of these days it will come out. It’s just perseverance. I’ve been unlucky at times; not good enough at others.
‘Hopefully, this is the start of something now.’
When asked about the 2020 Olympics and the challenge of beating Thiam, who she will face at the European Championships later this year, Johnson-Thompson said: ‘The Olympics is one of my goals. I think every sports person wants that Olympic title.
‘I’ve got two years to get myself up to that standard. I believe in myself. I just need one of those runs where I get it all together and I believe I’m capable of being competitive at the highest level.
‘I don’t believe anyone is unbeatable. I feel everyone can have good and bad days and that means they are beatable.’
There’s no doubt Johnson-Thompson was helped by facing none of the medallists from last year’s world championships. But you can only beat what is in front of you and she did so.
In the aftermath, she was honest in accepting that mental doubts have affected her at big moments in the past, saying: ‘I knew it was mental in the fact that sometimes in my training I was a lot better than I was in competition. And still to this day it’s the case. But it’s sort of not giving up after one throw and knowing I can work on this and I can get better. Just believing in myself.’
This success serves as vindication of Johnson-Thompson’s decision 16 months ago to leave home in Liverpool to train in Montpellier with a new coach, Bertrand Valcin.
She said: ‘I went in December 2016 and it sort of messed up my year last year. I didn’t have a place to live properly for a while, I was unsettled learning new techniques, not really understanding anything, people talking French, being on my own after being mothered all my life.
‘But I’ve really grown up this last year. I had a full winter of training, building on what I had learnt, and it has paid off. I can see a path now.’
LAST night’s action in Birmingham saw Laura Muir win a silver medal in the 1,500m and Eilidh Doyle claim bronze in the 400m for a notable Scottish double.
Muir finished in 4mins 06.23 secs behind gold medallist Genzebe Dibaba and ahead of Holland’s Sifan Hassan, who took bronze.
Doyle ran a season’s best of 51.60 seconds to come third behind a USA one-two of Courtney Okolo and Shakima Wimbley. She said afterwards: ‘I knew I had another chance and I’m just delighted I was able to do that.’
Elliot Giles was promoted to bronze in the men’s 800m after a disqualification.