Katarina Johnson-Thompson denied Olympic gold medal in excruciatingly tight heptathlon – but seals medal pride
Team GB's Katarina Johnson-Thompson claimed her first ever Olympic medal with a brilliant silver in the women's heptathlon in Paris.
The 2023 world heptathlon champion just missed out on goal in a thrilling finale on Friday night, with two days of drama culminating in the 800m.
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Johnson-Thompson recorded a personal best time of 2:04.90 as she finished second in the final event.
But it wasn't enough to claim gold and beat overall event leader Nafissatou Thiam.
The GB star needed to beat Thiam by 8.5 seconds or more in the 800m event to take gold off her hands.
However, she fell agonisingly short of doing so, taking silver and allowing the Belgian to claim the top prize.
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2016 and 2020 Olympic heptathlon champion Thiam finished with a time of 2:10:62.
That means KJT missed out on gold by roughly two seconds.
Speaking exclusively to talkSPORT about her silver medal, Johnson-Thompson said: “It means everything to me.
“It’s been such a hard fight the last three or four years, so to get back to this point and have the two years I’ve had, I’m just so lucky and so blessed that able to finish this cycle like this.”
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Speaking to talkSPORT again on Saturday morning, she said: “It’s definitely a really nice way to finish this Olympic cycle with this medal around my neck."
After reaching 6.40m in the long jump on Friday, the 31-year-old retained first place before the javelin throw.
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Then, Johnson-Thompson only earned 773 points following a throw of 45.49m in Group A, with Belgium's Thiam surpassing her to take the lead and go on to hold on to top spot until the end.
But despite not being crowned Olympic champion, she will leave with Paris 2024 with plenty of pride.
The 31-year-old is the first woman to claim a medal in a multi-event since Jessica Ennis-Hill in 2016.
KJT finished 13th at London 2012, sixth at Rio 2016 and struggled with a ruptured Achilles tendon at Tokyo 2020.
She shared a touching moment with Denise Lewis, the 2004 heptathlon Olympic champion, who has been an inspiration for Johnson-Thompson.
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She told talkSPORT: “Denise is invaluable to me. She’s been like a guardian angel to me my whole life. Even post-Rome, coming into these Olympics, she was there and persistent in making sure I was sticking to my goals and targets.
“I was so glad we were able to share a moment last night."
Lewis is not the only source of inspiration for her, with Johnson-Thompson admitted she looks to Liverpool for motivation too.
She added: “I always draw inspiration from Liverpool. I was very sad to see Jurgen Klopp leave because he’s the master motivator.
“Liverpool instilled that never give up, underdog mentality that I’ve got and I’m very much looking forward to next season."
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Meanwhile, Great Britain's Jade O'Dowda came in 10th.
Belgium's Noor Vidts took home the bronze.
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