The British heptathlon record holder is not thinking about retirement any time soon as she hopes to win her first Olympic medal in Paris
Paris might mark Katarina Johnson-Thompson’s fourth appearance at the Olympic Games, and while some may speculate that she might retire afterward, we are fortunate that this isn’t the end of her journey.
The 2023 world champion will begin her two-day heptathlon cycle tomorrow morning (August 8) at the Stade de France, beginning with the 100m hurdles at 10:05 CET.
The 31-year-old first stepped on to the Olympic stage at the age of 19, finishing 14th in London 2012, where Jessica Ennis-Hill won gold in front of a home crowd.
She later placed sixth at Rio 2016 and, due to injury, did not complete the event in Tokyo three years ago.
Despite not yet securing an Olympic medal, Johnson-Thompson’s career is marked by significant successes, including gold medals at the World Championships in 2019 and 2023, as well as at the Commonwealth Games in 2018 and 2022.
Katarina Johnson-Thompson (Getty)
As she now aims for her first Olympic medal after a lengthy career this will not be the end of what we see from her.
“The phrase, ‘one last push’ doesn’t come to mind,” says Johnson-Thompson. “I feel like I’m growing into myself and the longer that I’ve been doing the sport, the more I know about myself and I know how to be ready for it.
“I understand what my body needs, what my mind needs, and how to get a good performance. I feel like I’m getting stronger in the sense of I know how to do it better than I did 10 years ago.
“It saddens me at the thought of having all this knowledge and then stopping. As long as I’m competitive, I will continue the sport.”
Her Olympic preparations faced a hurdle in June when she suffered an injury scare on the opening day of the European Championships in Rome. After competing in just three events she was forced to withdraw from the women’s heptathlon due to a “niggle in her right leg.”
At the time she was sitting in ninth place, 318 points behind leader Nafi Thiam from Belgium. Thiam went on to win the European title and will set out to defend her Olympic title after winning gold in both 2016 and 2021.
A similar setback occurred when Johnson-Thompson ruptured her achilles tendon in the build up to Tokyo 2021.
Katarina Johnson-Thompson (Getty)
Withdrawing early from the European Championships appeared to be a wise choice for Johnson-Thompson who holds the British heptathlon record, as she was…
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