Only the truest heptathlon queen could deny Katarina Johnson-Thompson Olympic gold... she earned closure with the race of her life - and her silver medal will have a lovely shine to it
Interview with Katarina Johnson-Thompson, who claimed her first Olympic medal with a silver in the heptathlon, where she clocked a personal best in the 800 metres.
She ran the race of her life and then she hugged the nemesis of her career. It wasn’t to be for Katarina Johnson-Thompson, but the silver lining came from knowing she finally owns an Olympic medal and only a true great kept her from the top step of the podium.
Of course, that would be Nafi Thiam, because gold is her colour. It was her colour at Rio 2016, Tokyo 2020 and, for an unprecedented third time, it was wrapped around her neck here at Paris 2024, too. A phenomenon, really, the jack of all trades and the truest queen of the heptathlon.
But what a battle this was and, maybe, second place will serve as a means of closure for Johnson-Thompson, as well.
For a woman who has won golds at world, European and Commonwealth level, it has always been wildly out of keeping with her talents that fitness, composure or bad luck have denied her a medal of any shade at three previous Games.
Gold would have been the perfect ending to the tale, but silver will have a lovely shine for a competitor who told Mail Sport just a few weeks she ‘just wanted to do herself justice’. By that she meant no breakdowns or wheelchairs, like Tokyo, and no capitulations, like Rio.
Interview with Katarina Johnson-Thompson, who claimed her first Olympic medal with a silver in the heptathlon, where she clocked a personal best in the 800 metres.
She ran the race of her life and then she hugged the nemesis of her career. It wasn’t to be for Katarina Johnson-Thompson, but the silver lining came from knowing she finally owns an Olympic medal and only a true great kept her from the top step of the podium.
Of course, that would be Nafi Thiam, because gold is her colour. It was her colour at Rio 2016, Tokyo 2020 and, for an unprecedented third time, it was wrapped around her neck here at Paris 2024, too. A phenomenon, really, the jack of all trades and the truest queen of the heptathlon.
But what a battle this was and, maybe, second place will serve as a means of closure for Johnson-Thompson, as well.
For a woman who has won golds at world, European and Commonwealth level, it has always been wildly out of keeping with her talents that fitness, composure or bad luck have denied her a medal of any shade at three previous Games.
Gold would have been the perfect ending to the tale, but silver will have a lovely shine for a competitor who told Mail Sport just a few weeks she ‘just wanted to do herself justice’. By that she meant no breakdowns or wheelchairs, like Tokyo, and no capitulations, like Rio.
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SportsTranscript
00:00It's been a long time coming. It's been a very short cycle, but it's my fourth Olympics so I'm really happy to add that medal to my collection.
00:15You truly left it all out there. You gave everything you could. You've got no regrets. You can't have any regrets. We all saw it.
00:29It's my second ever biggest score, and that's post-Achilles rupture. At my fourth Games, I managed to get two PBs, five season's bests, and I've got absolutely no regrets.
00:46I tried my absolute best, and my best on that day was second place by about 30 points. I was very close to an Olympic gold medal, and to me that's just validated our team's belief that it was possible.
01:02The journey hasn't been smooth as you spoke about yesterday. There's been some ups and downs. Talk about that. Were there times during that journey when you had the struggles? Did you at times doubt that you would ever be there, or did you always believe?
01:17No, I've had doubts all the time. Every athlete, I feel like, even if they don't admit it, always has doubts, crippling doubts. Luckily I've got a team around me that has the belief in me that I don't sometimes have in myself, and that leads me to do great things, and I'm so grateful to them.
01:39You're a proud Team GB member, but also a proud Liverpoolian as well. Describe what it means to the people of Liverpool, and potentially inspiring new athletes from that area as well.
01:51Liverpool is my home. It always is my home, even if I train and live elsewhere. I love the people of Liverpool, and I love what they stand for, and that shapes my character, that never-give-up attitude, and that underdog attitude. It means the world. I started my career at Liverpool Highers, and I'm indebted to them as well.
02:15Incredible. Just a final one from me. Looking ahead to the year and maybe the next cycle, what are your ambitions and hopes? Have you got one eye on LA potentially?
02:45We'll see what the next couple of years.