Joe McConnell
Katarina Johnson-Thompson admitted she had her “best day” in a long time as the Briton led the Olympic heptathlon after the first day of competition at the Stade de France.
The Liverpool champion got off to a great start on Thursday morning and topped the field after the 100m hurdles and high jump in the morning session, edging out her main rival Nafissatou Thiam.
The Belgian and the Briton briefly swapped places after the evening shot put session, but Johnson-Thompson regained her lead after clocking 23.44 seconds in the 200 metres.
She begins the second day with a total of 4055 points, 48 more than Thiam and 99 ahead of American Anna Hall, who finished third on Thursday.
Johnson-Thompson said: “It’s been a good day, the best I’ve had in a long time. A couple of really good signals and a couple of good events, so I’m really pleased with what I’ve put together.
“I said that the training sessions went very well, I have not had any injuries since Rome [European Championships]So I put together weeks and weeks of training.
“You never know what to expect when you don’t compete much, but I’m really happy that I was able to give my best in training.
“It’s one of the best places I’ve ever been before an Olympics. It feels like a combination of everything I’ve learned, so I’m trying to put it together.”
Johnson-Thompson begins day two with a total of 4055 points, 48 more than Nafissatou Thiam and 99 more than Anna Hall
Thiam briefly took a 50-point lead in the shot put, tying his personal best of 15.54, producing the best throw of the night.
Johnson-Thompson’s time of 14.44 seconds was also a personal best, but it was only enough to place fifth.
The heptathlete told the BBC: “That was all for Denise Lewis sitting in the studio, probably the best thing I’ve ever done in my career, and I jumped 1.98 [before]. That one topped it all. A little shot put from 14 meters.”
Johnson-Thompson’s high jump was her best in five years, while she ran a season-best 100-meter hurdles time of 13.40.
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