Johnson-Thompson in medal hunt but Thiam withdraws

With only two events left in Tokyo, defending champion Katarina Johnson-Thompson is still in contention for a gold medal, but Nafi Thiam’s rival withdrew on Saturday.

Johnson-Thompson, who is competing for a third world title, will finish the competition in third place, 167 points ahead of Taliyah Brooks and 59 behind Anna Hall.

The 32-year-old completed her third and final long jump attempt to earn 4, 874 points before the javelin (11:00 BST) and the 800m events (13: 11). She set a record for 6.42m on Saturday, after slightly fouling on a much bigger leap with her third and final attempt.

Kate O’Connor from Ireland finished in fourth place, 50 points off the podium, while Jade O’Dowda from Great Britain finished in sixth.

Belgian Olympian Thiam finished the session eighth, but her coach later said she wouldn’t continue.

According to Belgium’s national press agency, “I withdrew her from the competition.”

Due to disagreement with Belgian Athletics, Thiam, who has won four world titles in the past four years, had a delayed start to the championships.

Her claims that she was barred from joining the team camp prior to the championships were refuted by the 31-year-old’s federation because she refused to sign its code of conduct in connection with a sponsor conflict.

Thiam stated in a statement to Belgian newspaper DH Les Sports+ that “it was challenging from the beginning.” I made an effort to overcome these difficulties, but it clearly doesn’t. It’s difficult for me to explain it.

Johnson-Thompson still managed to win the gold medal at Paris 2024 despite being only 36 points away from the medal at her fourth Games, which is equivalent to a two-second difference in the 800-meter race.

She returned to the stadium where she fell in love with the sport four years ago when a calf injury in the 200-meter race ruined her medal hopes.

Johnson-Thompson stated to BBC Sport that she was not seeking redemption in the Japanese capital, where she had already lost all of her points to the total she had won on her way to world gold in 2023.

Johnson-Thompson was pleased for Jade O’Dowda, who set a personal best of 13.34 seconds ahead of her British team-mate in a season-best 13.44.

With her third and final high jump attempt, she was relieved to stay in the sport, where she had previously surpassed Hall, who had already surpassed Hall by 1.89m.

And she won the 200-meter race on day one, moving up behind Hall and fellow Briton Abigail Pawlett, who recovered from a bad fall in the 100-meter race.

After making her third and final attempt, Johnson-Thompson was able to see what she might have been capable of doing in the long jump.

It was difficult to get started this morning because of how quickly things turned.

“I felt good, the body felt good, and I’m just really disappointed by that final no jump,” he declared.

It only illustrates the sport’s margins. You really can’t get any further. “

The American will be confident of retaining the gold because Hall and fourth-place O’Connor ran a faster 800m than the Briton, making better personal bests in the javelin than Johnson-Thompson.

After the two training partners made steady progress throughout the rounds, Great Britain’s Keely Hodgkinson and Georgia Hunter Bell will meet in the women’s 800-meter final on Sunday.

After Hodgkinson, the 800-meter champion, and Bell, the bronze medalist, won their heats on Thursday, they both managed to secure automatic qualification and place in the top two semi-finals.

Hunter Bell passed the line behind Kenya’s Mary Moraa, the reigning champion, in one minute and 57.53 seconds.

Since Christine Ohuruogu and Nicola Sanders did so in the women’s 400-meter race in the Japanese city of Osaka, they will attempt to become the first British athletes to do so at a global championships 18 years later.

Hodgkinson is the favorite, having come back from a 12-month injury-related absence to claim her first global title last summer and won the fastest time in the world so far this year.

I’m happy to be competing in my fifth consecutive world championship. I’m very happy to do that and to be a contender for another medal, Hodgkinson said.

Simply put, the journey here makes it that much sweeter than last year, which would mean more to me.

I’m just grateful to be running and want to put together a performance I’m proud of because it’s so difficult to get here anyway. I want to be able to say that I didn’t leave anything out.