Tokyo 2020 - Katarina Johnson-Thompson third in heptathlon, Andrew Pozzi into 110m hurdles final
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ByEurosport
Updated 04/08/2021 at 05:45 GMT
It's been an injury-ravaged season for Katarina Johnson-Thompson, but the Team GB heptathlete has got her Tokyo 2020 Olympics campaign off to a fine start with positive results in the 100m hurdles and high jump. You want it? We have it. Stream every Olympic event live on discovery+.
‘She won’t be thrilled but…’ – Rutherford after KJT showing in high jump
Katarina Johnson-Thompson has made a strong start to her Olympics heptathlon campaign, currently sitting in third after the first two disciplines.
Johnson-Thompson went head-to-head against defending champion and rival Nafissatau Thiam of Belgium in both the 100m hurdles and the long jump.
Johnson-Thompson was the stronger of the two in the 100m hurdles, but Thiam edged ahead thanks to her high jump performance.
The Belgian has 2176 points while KJT is on 2138 at the end of the morning session. USA's Erica Bougard is second on 2,157.
"Brilliant news for Johnson-Thompson," Greg Rutherford said afterwards.
"She’s come out of the high jump looking relatively unscathed. She won’t be thrilled with the height because she is an absolutely fantastic athlete who has done remarkable things, especially in the high jump, but after the injury she has had, to be back out here and jumping at that level, that’s what we like to see.
"I had a quick word with her, I asked if she was okay, she said yes. I think she just wanted to get back to her coach and her physio, get herself going again.
It’s a tough event the heptathlon, when you’ve had the underlying issues with your body you want to make sure it’s firing as well as possible.
Johnson-Thompson was expected to beat the Belgian in the hurdles and she did so in style, winning it in a season best time of 13.27 to register 1084 points, 40 ahead of Thiam who came third in a time of 13.54.
Rutherford said: "To come out here and register a season best score of over 1000 points in your first event is exactly how you want to set out a heptathlon."
Onto the high jump and Johnson-Thompson looked like she would take a points hit after failing on her first two attempts to clear 1.83m, but the 28-year-old could breathe a sigh of relief when she cleared it on her third go.
Momentum was with Johnson-Thompson, who cleared 1.95m on her way to the title in Doha at the World Championships in 2019, as she then completed 1.86m on her first attempt.
Thiam cleared every height on her first go and set the bar with a season best 1.89m. Johnson-Thompson was unable to clear it after three attempts so she had to settle on 1054 points.
Thiam was the last woman standing and looked to clear 1.95m, but she was unsuccessful. Nevertheless, Thiam has a 38 point lead over Johnson-Thompson with five disciplines still to go.
POZZI INTO 110M HURDLES FINAL
Great Britain’s Andrew Pozzi finished fourth in his 110m hurdles semi-final, but qualified to the final as a fastest loser.
Pozzi’s time was 13.32 seconds, meaning he faced a nervous wait to see if he would make it.
The 29-year-old's time had to be better than Shunsuke Izumiya, who finished third in the last semi, if he were to progress into the final and that was what happened with the Japanese finishing in 13.35 seconds.
Jamaica’s Ronald Levy topped Pozzi’s semi-final with a time of 13.23 seconds while France’s Pascal Martinot-Lagarde finished second (13.25).
Britain’s David King failed to qualify for the final. He had a big test if he was to stand a chance of going through to the 110m hurdles final with world number one Grant Holloway (USA) in his group.
Overwhelming favourite Holloway topped it in 13.13 seconds and Jamaica’s Hansle Parchment finished in 13.23 seconds. King came seventh in 13.67 seconds.
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