Johnson-Thompson pulls out of European Championships in blow to Olympic hopes

Katarina Johnson-Thompson has battled injuries before the Olympics on multiple occasions. Photograph: Aleksandra Szmigiel/Reuters

Katarina Johnson-Thompson’s dreams of winning Olympic ­heptathlon gold in Paris next month have been thrown into uncertainty after she pulled out of the European ­Athletics Championships three events in due to injury.

At that point Johnson-Thompson, the reigning world champion, was struggling in ninth – 318 points behind the 2020 Olympic gold medallist Nafi Thiam. And while her team insisted afterwards that she had only suffered a niggle, it comes at the worst ­possible time for the 31-year-old.