Johnson-Thompson ends Olympic medal wait with silver

Great Britain’s Katarina Johnson-Thompson ended her long wait for an Olympic heptathlon medal but narrowly missed out on gold to history-maker Nafissatou Thiam in a dramatic concluding 800m in Paris.

Two-time world champion Johnson-Thompson set up a captivating finale by ensuring Belgium’s Thiam remained within 121 points – equating to roughly 8.5 seconds – before the decisive seventh event at the end of the two-day competition.

Johnson-Thompson, with a superior lifetime best by six seconds, opened a significant lead on Thiam and crossed the line in a personal best two minutes 4.90 seconds.

It was a gutsy performance from the Englishwoman, but Thiam followed her home with about two seconds to spare to win by 36 points and become the first woman to win three heptathlon titles.

Johnson-Thompson put together a superb competition at her fourth Games, recording the second best points total of an illustrious career which has delivered two global triumphs.

This emotional silver, no matter how close to gold, is one to be celebrated and savoured for Johnson-Thompson – her arduous pursuit of a first Olympic medal now complete after numerous setbacks.

Having earned the opportunity to chase the sport’s ultimate prize over two laps, three years after injury heartbreak in Tokyo, Johnson-Thompson gave everything in the 800m run of her life.

But it was Thiam – the heptathlon great of her generation – who added Paris gold to Olympic triumphs in Rio and Tokyo by finishing in 2:10.62.

“I can’t even describe the words that this week has taken. I’m just so relieved,” Johnson-Thompson told BBC Sport.

“I’m just so, so happy that I’ve got an Olympic medal to add to my collection.”

Thiam finished on 6,880 points – ahead of Johnson-Thompson on 6,844. Thiam’s compatriot Noor Vidts moved above Switzerland’s Annik Kaelin in the final event to take bronze.

Team GB’s Jade O’Dowda finished 10th overall, while Ireland’s Kate O’Connor was 14th.

As Johnson-Thompson crouched on the track, eyes fixed on the big screen which seemed to take an age to display the full results, she wore a look of acceptance – aware she had not quite been able to produce the sensational finish required for gold.

But when Thiam’s sixth-place finish flashed up, confirming the 29-year-old had done enough, it did not take long for Johnson-Thompson’s expression to change.

A beaming smile spread as a lifelong dream at last came true, Johnson-Thompson donning a silver tiara and waving her nation’s flag proudly above her head.

She had gritted her teeth through the final metres of the race, the lactic building with every stride, years of hurt channelled into every stride.

The gap would grow – just not enough.

Johnson-Thompson was always going to finish ahead of Thiam, but the margin required for victory seemed unlikely against a competitor of her opponent’s stature and experience.

Thiam became the youngest Olympic heptathlon gold medallist in history with her first triumph aged 21 and has now won 10 of the 11 international titles she has contested since that breakout triumph.

The one exception? Silver as Johnson-Thompson won the 2019 world title.

Johnson-Thompson has had to overcome a career-threatening Achilles rupture and a devastating mid-competition injury at the Tokyo Olympics, but in Thiam’s absence she returned to the top of the world last year to complete a remarkable turnaround in her career.

Fit and firing once again in Paris, she pushed Thiam all the way to have a chance of gold, and Olympic silver after world gold represents a fitting reward for her perseverance.

“I wanted to compete and I wanted to be able to respond. I knew coming into the champs I was in good shape – physically, mentally, emotionally,” Johnson-Thompson said.

“Today I proved to myself that I can have that competitive energy. Those third time jumps, third time throws and clearances. I’m just so happy with how everything went, I’ve got no complaints.”

Thiam prevailed despite bettering Johnson-Thompson in only three of the seven events.

The three-time European champion excels in the throwing events and topped the standings in both the shot put and javelin – crucially outperforming Johnson-Thompson by 166 points in the latter.

Johnson-Thompson said her magnificent shot put personal best on Thursday was “probably the best thing I’ve ever done in my career” as she limited her expected losses, and a season’s-best javelin performance kept her in contention after the penultimate on Friday morning.

It was in the 200m and long jump events where Johnson-Thompson will recognise missed opportunities to make greater gains.

Describing her 23.44 200m as frustrating, she still gained 98 points on Thiam to take the overnight lead.

Thiam leapt one centimetre further in the long jump on Friday morning as Johnson-Thompson landed a conservative second attempt after miscuing on her first, improving to 6.40m on her third despite a post-injury best 20cm further.

Those twists and turns left Johnson-Thompson facing a tall task – too tall, ultimately – in the finale.

However, in the context of her wider journey to this point, to get that close and achieve a first Olympic medal all the same, meant the moment was no less meaningful.