‘Push through the pain barrier’: KJT and coach reveal her golden training runs

Katarina Johnson-Thompson said she would sometimes throw up on the track in training for the 800m. Photograph: David J Phillip/AP

Katarina Johnson-Thompson’s coach has revealed the brutal training sessions – and mind games – that occasionally made her sick but turned her into a heptathlon world‑beater again.

Most people had written off the 2019 world champion after serious achilles tendon and calf injuries in 2020 and 2021, while Johnson‑Thompson also feared she was destined to fade into irrelevance after being way off the pace last year. However, the 67‑year‑old veteran Aston Moore had other ideas.