Katarina Johnson-Thompson's Euro Champs decision speaks volumes as rivals thrive

08 June 2024 , 14:55

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Katarina Johnson-Thompson competes in the women's heptathlon shot put at the European Championships in Rome.

Katarina Johnson-Thompson’s withdrawal three events into the heptathlon because of a niggle in her right leg was immediately described as precautionary.

But as she watched arch rival Nafi Thiam show few signs of rust in her first competition of any kind for 11 months, the world champion’s confidence must have taken a significant knock.

KJT arrived in Rome saying she felt healthy and more motivated than ever. She also stressed this weekend was above all about the performance with an eye already trained on the Olympics. “The heptathlon is like spinning plates,” she said. “You have to try and put them together.”

Except those plates started spinning out of control on Friday and it was not long before they were on the floor, smashed into pieces.

Her 13.66sec in the 100m hurdles was more than half a second off her best. She managed 1.83m in the high jump, way off her PB, and could only throw 12.44m in the shot put - an event that she has often struggled with but has improved greatly in the past 18 months.

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It was obvious that not all was right and, sitting ninth in the standings, the call was taken to pull out. Coach Aston Moore confirmed the decision was made “in light of the proximity of the Olympics,” adding: “We don’t want to risk losing any time from training.”

But if she was leading this competition the sense was that the call would likely have been different. By that point Thiam was enjoying a triple-digit lead and being pushed hard by team-mate Noor Vidts. The Belgian pair maintained their momentum heading into Saturday night.

Katarina Johnson-Thompson was some way off her best in the high jump.

And while KJT’s priority will be to get her body right and reflect on where this dress rehearsal went wrong, the steady performances of her rivals will have made the discomfort feel a whole lot worse less than nine weeks out from the big dance.

Meanwhile, Louie Hinchcliffe ran a stunning 9.95 to become the first European winner of the prestigious NCAA 100m title. That made the Sheffield-born student the sixth fastest Brit of all time as he staked a claim to be part of the Olympics squad.

Hinchcliffe, 21, will need to run in the trials at the end of this month. And after dominating the top American college prospects, he said: “This is what I’ve been working towards all year. This means a lot. I gave it everything I had. But the main job now is the Olympics. It’s time to forget about this and shift my focus to the trials.”

Hinchliffe is being coached by nine-time Olympic champion Carl Lewis at the University of Houston.

Alan Smith