Katerina Johnson-Thompson takes her second World Championships title in the heptathlon, by Cathal Dennehy

This is Cathal Dennehy’s piece for day 2, on Katerina Johnson-Thompson, who overcame many injuries and setbacks and has just won her second gold medal in the heptathlon. Anna Hall, her top competitor, moved from bronze to silver. And it all came down to the 800 meters, the seventh event in the heptathlon…

After the hardest years of her career, along came the “easiest race” of her life – a two-lap exhibition of grit, class, and courage, during which Katarina Johnson-Thompson said she was in “full robot mode.”

And with that, the 30-year-old Briton completed the “best day” of her life, reclaiming the world heptathlon title that she first won in 2019. Having ruptured her Achilles in 2020 and torn her calf at the Tokyo Olympics in 2021, did she think she could rise to the top of the world again?

“No, I didn’t,” she said in Budapest on Sunday night. “To not win because of injury is one thing, but to not win because of just bad performances is another thing. Last year I came eighth, and I wanted to medal. That’s the truth: I believed I could win. I just thought I’d fade into the background (then) and be one of those athletes who are just there to make up the numbers.”

But this was a new and improved Johnson-Thompson – stronger, wiser – and she was just as driven as ever. In truth, she went into these World Championships with little expectation (at least from external sources) that she would win. In recent weeks, Anna Hall looked the most likely champion, but the US star had to deal with something that plagued her British rival for so long: injury.

“I came in knowing I wasn’t in full health, and I didn’t feel prepared,” said Hall. “I’m 22, and having what feels like the weight of the world on your shoulders when you know you’re not 100% healthy is not easy. But I kept fighting.”

Hall had a training accident while long jumping a few weeks earlier, but she said she was still hoping to score 7,000 points. Did she ever think of not competing?

“There was a day last Monday I hadn’t figured out the knee thing, and I threw a little tantrum at practice; I threw the high jump…