KAT AND NOUS GAME
KJT plans to play it smart as she eyes her first European gold medal
KATARINA JohnsonThompson is more revved up than ever as she enters an Olympic summer injuryfree.
But the heptathlon world champion insists she is focusing on performance more than outcome heading into her latest clash with Nafi Thiam this weekend.
KJT has been served a golden opportunity to get one over her biggest rival at the European Championships, which begin today in Rome.
World-record holder Thiam is looking to qualify for the Olympics by completing her first heptathlon since winning the European title in August 2022. She pulled out of last year’s worlds because of injury, a title which KJT claimed in dramatic fashion by fending off American Anna Hall’s late challenge.
And the Belgian’s potential rustiness should be something to exploit for JohnsonThompson, even if she insists the next two days are more about her own performance than the colour of medal.
“I’m feeling really motivated, probably more motivated than ever coming off the back of last year,” KJT said. “Now I want to put out a good performance.
“I want to feel like I can enjoy it. I don’t like to get too caught up in the outcome.” Thiam has not competed at all since the Belgian championships last July but she has spent the winter training in South Africa and should comfortably accrue the 6,480 points needed to seal her place in Paris.
KJT, meanwhile, produced the second best javelin throw of her career in Austria last month.
And to record a 44.88m effort this early in the season has boosted her confidence in an event that has not historically been her strong suit.
Yesterday she described the heptathlon as “spinning plates” and, as usual, feels some events are more comfortable than others but she “just wants to put it all together and see what I can get from it.”
Thiam has won the past two Euros with KJT’s best return at these championships a silver in 2018.
“It’s a title I haven’t won. It’s a title I would like to have,” she added. “But I know so much can go right, so much can go wrong, so much can happen on the day, so much can happen in the lead-up.”
There is another reason to be optimistic of a good outing – the organisers’ decision to start the second day of competition at lunchtime.
That will afford the athletes more rest after completing four events today. And for KJT, being able to approach the long jump marginally less exhausted is a big deal.
“The timetable is so great,” she added.
“They need to do this for heptathletes and decathletes because it will get the best performances out of us.
“We get a nice lie-in so I’m really excited. It’s going to set the summer up really well.”
CJ Ujah is a last-minute addition to compete in the men’s 100m tonight. It will be his first individual event in a GB vest since serving a 22-month doping ban that saw the 4x100m relay team stripped of Olympic gold in Tokyo.