Katarina Johnson-Thompson admitted she was “grieving gold” but still celebrating after securing her first Olympic medal with heptathlon silver in Paris.
The Liverpudlian led the way for much of the two-day competition, but after the morning’s javelin throw found herself second to Nafissatou Thiam, needing to beat her Belgian rival by a margin of over eight seconds in the 800 metres.
The 31-year-old laid it all on the line and was second fastest in the final event with a personal best of 2:04.90 to finish nearly six seconds ahead of Thiam, who secured an unprecedented third Olympic heptathlon title by a mere 36 points.
It's been some journey! ❤️ pic.twitter.com/Uzz1hDMRxy
— Team GB (@TeamGB) August 9, 2024
Johnson-Thompson, the reigning world heptathlon champion, said: “I’m so grateful, emotional and overwhelmed. I’m just trying to live in the moment.
“Ultimate relief as I crossed the line. I was running for a gold, but to be honest I had such mixed emotions going into it because I was sort of grieving gold, but also wanting to fight for gold but also celebrating inside.
“I had so many different emotions crossing the line. Just being on the podium is a huge honour. Olympic cycles can be brutal and I know that more than anyone, so I’m so happy this cycle has worked out.”
A maiden Olympic medal has been a long time coming for Johnson-Thompson, who finished 13th on debut at London 2012, then sixth at the Rio 2016 Games.
The 31-year-old was then forced to pull out of the Tokyo 2020 Olympics after sustaining a calf injury in the 200m.
She said: “2016 was all mental I think, it was mental exhaustion, 2021 was physical.
“I feel like after both of them, I had to revamp and sort of change a lot of things to get into this next cycle, so I’m so happy with the three years and the team I’ve got around me. I wouldn’t be on the start line without them for sure and I’ve just got them to thank. It’s all down to them.”
“I’ve beat (Thiam) once before and I think I’m the only person who has done it. I got pretty close this time around. I’m so honoured to have a rivalry against one of the greatest of all time.”