Katarina Johnson-Thompson struggled to hide her emotions after winning her first Olympic medal in the heptathlon on Friday night. The 31-year-old narrowly missed out on the gold medal, finishing 36 points behind German rival Nafi Thiam despite a personal-best run in the 800 metres.
Johnson-Thompson began the day with a 48-point lead but Thiam moved into pole position with a brilliant display in the javelin, throwing a huge 54.04m. It left the Team GB hopeful needing to beat Thiam by around eight seconds in the 800 metres but she was unable to create enough of a gap.
Speaking to the BBC after the end of the race, Johnson-Thompson fought back tears as she struggled to put her immediate thoughts into words after finally ending her wait for an Olympic medal.
“I can’t even describe the words of this weekend.” she said. “I am so relieved and happy, so happy I have an Olympic medal to add to my collection. It has been so hard getting back to this point. I don’t know what to say. I’m overwhelmed at the minute.
“In the lead-up to these Games all I’ve been saying is that’s what I want, obviously I wanted a medal but I just wanted to have a chance at the start of the 800 metres and that’s what I had.
“It was a very far-off chance, eight seconds, but that’s what this sport is. It’s about getting to this point and seeing who has got it at the end.”
Quizzed on how she was going to celebrate her achievement, Johnson-Thompson revealed that she was planning to indulge in a feast with her boyfriend, fellow athlete Andrew Pozzi.
“I’m scared because I don’t want to be put on the spot, the amount of names that have helped me get to this point now,” she said.
“They all know who they are. It has been a huge team effort and I wouldn’t have been able to make it through the last two seasons without them.
“It has taken a village [to get her there] and my boyfriend has a restaurant in mind and has done a big group meal. One of the restaurant owners called me over and was like: ‘That’s my restaurant, I’ll see you tomorrow’. I’m in for a big feed!”
