Katarina Johnson-Thompson has a tall order to win gold in the heptathlon, having fallen behind rival Nafissatou Thiam of Belgium on the second day with just one event remaining.
With seven events remaining in the 800 meters on Friday night, Johnson-Thompson was 121 points behind the Belgian, who had a season’s best in the javelin to take the lead after six events. Switzerland’s Ann Kaelin showed resilience in the morning session with a strong long jump and a decent javelin to finish in third place.
Johnson-Thompson, who reclaimed the world title in Budapest last year, will need to take a sizable lead in the final race and finish eight seconds ahead of Thiam to win gold.
Thiam, who won gold medals in Tokyo and Rio, was 45 points behind Johnson-Thompson going into the javelin competition. Johnson-Thompson kept the pressure on the Belgian in the first heat, throwing a season-best 44.64 metres for 757 points. Her second throw was disqualified, but she improved again on her third throw to a 2024 best of 45.49 metres.
Thiam knew he had to perform at his best in his best event, so he didn’t settle for anything and threw an incredible 54.04 meters, beating his season’s best by more than a meter. His second throw was a foul, his third was 52.56 meters. But it didn’t matter: after the first throw, he had already put himself farther and further away from his rival.
The 31-year-old Johnson-Thompson put in a brave performance on the second day of the heptathlon after a shaky start in the long jump, the morning’s first event.
Johnson-Thompson, whose outdoor best in the event is 6.92m, managed just 4.65m on her first jump, 6.04m on her second and grimacing score, but a respectable 6.40m on her third. Thiam jumped 6.41m to close the 48-point gap between them to 45.
Johnson-Thompson began the day with a 48-point lead, with Thiam in second with 4,007 points and young American challenger Anna Hall in third with 3,956 points. The British athlete looked relaxed, confident and enjoying herself on the first day of the heptathlon, setting season’s bests in the high jump and 100m hurdles and a significant personal best in the shot put.
At the end of the first day she said, “It was a good day. A really good day. One of the best days I’ve had in a long time. There were some really good signs and some good things happening. I’m really, really happy.”
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But she stressed that her 48-point lead heading into the second day “doesn’t really mean anything,” adding, “I’m just happy that I did a good job and was able to address my weaknesses. Tomorrow is another day. It’s not over yet.”
She was forced to withdraw after three events at the European Championships in Rome in early June, but her entry into this Olympics was on track.
A silver medal would be a major achievement for the veteran athlete, who has won silver medals at two world championships, two Commonwealth championships and one European championship but has never proven herself at the Olympics: She placed 14th in her debut in 2012, sixth in 2016 and was unable to finish in Tokyo in 2021 due to injury.
If Thiam wins a third consecutive gold medal, she will solidify her status as one of the greatest athletes of our time.
