The Courier & Advertiser (Fife Edition)
KJT backed to be next superstar of athletics
Dame Kelly Holmes says mental focus needed to harness talent
Dame Kelly Holmes believes Katarina Johnson-Thompson could replace Jessica Ennis-Hill as Team GB’s next golden girl – if she can get her head right.
Johnson-Thompson had high hopes of a medal at the Olympics in Rio but fell out of contention to finish sixth, behind runner-up Ennis-Hill and new champion Nafissatou Thiam.
Ennis-Hill last week called time on her glittering athletics career, having won Olympic heptathlon gold at London 2012 and silver in Rio as well as multiple world and European titles.
Johnson-Thompson clearly has the talent to challenge for gold at the Tokyo Games in four years, and double Olympic middle-distance champion Holmes says the 23-year-old just has to find the mental focus required if she is to fill the void left by Ennis-Hill.
“Katarina has to think and breathe and believe in being a champion and not just think of her obvious ability to be one,” Holmes told PA Sport.
“If she gets her head in the right space she could definitely be the next superstar in athletics.
“She’s clearly a massive talent. But she’s young. Some people can take all the attributes needed to be successful, and with others it takes a bit of time.
“You can see someone when they are in the zone and you can see someone who is fearful.
“Once she gets it all together she’ll be there, without a doubt.”
Holmes, whose double gold in the 800m and 1,500m made her the poster girl of Athens 2004, paid tribute to Ennis-Hill following her decision to hang up her spikes.
“To do seven disciplines at world-class level is so impressive, especially to come back after giving birth to win at the World Championships in 2015, and she only lost by 35 points in Rio,” she added.
“She’s done right to finish when she was ready. She would only have stayed on for the 2017 Worlds if she thought she could win gold.
“In London, how she handled that pressure of being the poster girl, I don’t know. In a high-profile sport she was the one who everyone was hanging the gold medal around her neck beforehand, and she pulled it off.
“Then to stay in the sport for another four years and to pull off another amazing result, good on her. Now she feels her time is right to retire.”
Like Ennis-Hill, an estimated 300 world-class funded athletes will retire this year, and Holmes has launched a More Than Medals campaign as part of the Dame Kelly Holmes Trust to help them prepare for life after sport.
Its message is based around both the duty of care to retiring athletes, and how much they can bring to society and business.
“You’re quite blinkered as an international athlete, just focused on winning medals,” said Holmes. “I know many who, when they had finished, literally had no idea of what to do.
“I realise now there is far more to an athlete’s career that can continue after their actual achievements. We want to find their other skills.”