With confidence growing and a smile becoming an increasingly regular presence, Katarina Johnson-Thompson believes the good times are back – and she intends to prove it by winning a world medal next month.
The former world heptathlon champion has endured frequent misery in recent years since winning a first global title in 2019. The pandemic robbed her of the chance of a quick follow-up at the Olympics before she sustained a serious achilles rupture at the end of 2020. Johnson-Thompson then failed to finish at the delayed Tokyo Games and aborted a new life in the US after just five months.
Now settled back in Britain, the 30‑year‑old athlete showed the fruits of her labours when leaping to a confidence-boosting best of 6.60m in the long jump at the London Stadium’s Diamond League meeting on Sunday. Next up are the world championships in Budapest, where Johnson-Thompson hopes to make the podium before an assault on gold at the Paris Olympics.
“I’d just like to win a medal [in Budapest],” she said. “A medal is a great stepping stone from where I was last year and where I want to be next year.
“For sure I want to be back to my best for the Olympics.
“I had a big dip in Covid year and achilles rupture year. Then there was last year. It’s been going down, my performances have been dipping. But I feel like towards the end of last year and the start of this year I’m slowly kicking back up, so hopefully Budapest can be a step in the right direction.”
Johnson-Thompson’s 6.60m effort on Sunday was a huge 23cm further than she has managed since rupturing the achilles on her take‑off foot. It also came after many months of gruelling work in training under her new coach, Aston Moore.
“It’s really encouraging,” Johnson‑Thompson said.
“The long jump is one of the hardest things that I’ve had to do post‑achilles rupture so I’m really, really encouraged to see 6.60m on the board. I’ve been really tired for months and months now, just asking [Moore]: ‘When’s the taper?’ And he’s just not giving it to me.
“I’ve had two days off this week for the first time in God knows how long and this [long jump] was a little glimmer of hopefully what I can do with fresh legs. So I’m really excited for what I can do in Budapest.”
