KJT looks for new coach after splitting from Valcin

KATARINA Johnson-Thompson is looking for a new coach after parting with the Frenchman who helped transform her career. Bertrand Valcin has overseen JohnsonThompson’s astonishing resurrection following her disappointment at the 2016 Olympics, with the Brit going on to win the World Championships in 2019 on the back of golds at the World Indoors, European Indoors and Commonwealth Games during their partnership. However, following a working relationship of almost five years, Sportsmail can reveal JohnsonThompson (above), 28, is now searching for a new setup after Valcin’s commitments with the French Athletics Federation meant he could no longer oversee her day-to-day training in Montpellier. It is understood she had the option of continuing to work with Valcin on a more remote basis but will instead pursue a more conventional set-up elsewhere as she builds towards next year’s title defence at the World Championships in the US. Johnson-Thompson is on holiday before stepping up her preparations next month, having recovered from the calf injury that wrecked her Tokyo Olympics. She almost delivered an extraordinary comeback in Japan, having ruptured her achilles in December. On the back of only a handful of low-key warm-up appearances, she was in serious medal contention after three events on day one, until she suffered a new injury to her calf, forcing her withdrawal.