Katarina Johnson-Thompson’s medal credentials continue to be questioned after another modest result in her final warm-up competition before Tokyo Olympics… with heptathlon starting in little more than two weeks
Questions around Katarina Johnson-Thompson’s Olympic medal credentials are intensifying after modest results in her final competition before flying to Tokyo.
The heptathlon world champion contested her third event in the space of three weeks at a small meet in France on Saturday as she belatedly chases form following the immense setback of rupturing her Achilles at the end of 2020.
She clocked 13.55sec in the 100m hurdles, which is almost half a second down on her personal best, as well as only 1.80m in the high jump and 12.6m in the shot put.
Katarina Johnson-Thompson’s medal credentials are the Tokyo Olympics are being questioned; the heptathlete has been in modest form after recovering from an Achilles injury
Those results followed a respectable 1.84m high jump in her first outing in 10 months at the end of June.
The Liverpool-born 28-year-old subsequently achieved a long jump result of just 6.10m in Gateshead last week.
It is understood that Johnson-Thompson has been instructed by her coach Bertrand Valcin to limit her intensity in these final warm-up events after such a serious injury.
The heptathlon world champion, 28, insisted that getting on the podium remains her chief aim
But nonetheless the task of getting up to medal standard appears increasingly difficult with a little more than two weeks until the heptathlon commences in Japan.
Speaking last week, Johnson-Thompson, 28, insisted that getting on the podium remained her aim, saying: ‘My goals haven’t changed, but circumstances have changed.
‘I just know I’m pushing every day to still achieve my targets.’