Pawlett following in footsteps of heptathlon heroes

After winning her first World Athletics Championships, heptathlete Abigail Pawlett says it is her dream to bring home an Olympic medal.

After a long-awaited test to see if she would top the rankings high enough to fill her spot, Pawlett, 22, made her Tokyo debut in September.

She fell in her first competition event, the hurdles, before recovering and posting a personal best of 1.80m in the high jump, winning in the 200m heat.

Following the long jump on day two, she was forced to withdraw due to a delayed concussion.

The Welsh athlete believes she can inspire others to do the same with her heptathlon heroes Denise Lewis, Kelly Sotherton, Jessica Ennis-Hill, and Katarina Johnson-Thompson.

“Imagining what might come in the future is exciting,” said Pawlett.

Pawlett’s agonizing debut event fall put her in the spotlight, but it was her response that revealed the potential of her career.

The Welsh athlete claims that it was “get over the psychological block” for setting a new high jump personal best (PB) for the first time in six years.

Pawlett remarked, “It was bittersweet.” After falling on the obstacles, I first felt disbelief.

After the obstacles, Jade O’Dowda and Kat Johnson-Thompson [came over to me and kind of cocooned me from the cameras, which I really appreciated.

The Chester-born athlete added, “My first worry is that I won’t be able to text my parents to say I’m okay because they will be sat around the television.”

“Hopefully the high jump demonstrated that I’m okay; it marks my first personal best since I was 16 years old,” said the athlete.

Pawlett claims she was pleased to leave Tokyo with something to show for her efforts despite her disappointment over having to withdraw from the competition’s final two events.

“For that high jump record, I would have flown to Tokyo.”

Would I have gotten past 1.80 meters if I hadn’t fallen? Would that anger and desire to profit from it have been real? I’m not sure.

“I’ve at least shown myself that I’ve done it because going through six years of PB psychologically drains me.”

The reigning British indoor 60m hurdles champion was encouraged by more.

In the fourth round of the Tokyo competition, Pawlett’s 23.25s in the 200-meter dashed the fastest of any of the 22 heptathlon competitors.

I would have been second overnight if you had substituted in a regular hurdles from me this season, even with a subpar shot put and 200m.

“I know that there is a chance,” he said, “even though I didn’t actually put that score together.”

Johnson-Thompson won a dramatic bronze in Tokyo, but O’Dowda placed eighth overall.

They are competing, in Pawlett’s opinion, with her 26-year-old fellow Briton, who she believes is raising their standards.

She said, “Me and Jade are soaring above each other in the rankings.”

Pawlett, who had to compete after graduating from Loughborough University, took silver at the European Athletics U23 Championships in Bergen in July.

She paid the price, and the Welsh record-holder did it for a reason.

“I believe Bergen was the culmination of many years of diligent work and luck,” Bergen said.

I missed Covid, my world juniors, my foot, and a lot of my age-grade material.

“So my chances of winning age group medals were hindered by my injuries and the pandemic.

You never know what might happen, but when I look back at the world juniors, I’m certain that I’d win a medal.

Pawlett rates her Bergen medal as the highlight of 2025 despite being chosen for Tokyo, and it is obvious that she has an Olympic medal to focus on the future.

The ultimate objective of any sport, especially track and field, is to win the Olympics, according to Pawlett.

I’m certain that I’ll be able to win medals in the future. We’ve been using the calculator app, and I’m aware of what I can do and what my coach can do.

Only at the delayed Tokyo 2020 Olympics has there been a heptathlon podium without a Briton on it since the 1996 Olympics in Atlanta, where Lewis won the medal.

Lewis won back-to-back bronze medals in Beijing (2004) and Athens (2004), while Sotherton won back-to-back bronze medals in Atlanta and Sydney (2008).

Ennis-Hill is renowned for winning gold at Rio de Janeiro in 2016 and silver at London in 2012.

Johnson-Thompson won silver in Paris 2024 after being disqualified in Tokyo in the 200-meter race in 2021.

Without a doubt, the moment gave Pawlett’s desire to compete was one of heptathlon.

“Watching Jess Ennis-Hill compete in the hurdles in London and trying to imitate her was my first Olympic memory.”

It’s obvious that I want to win [Olympic gold] first, and then I want to join that group of British heptathletes.

You look at them and when they did their scores, and I still have a while to go to be so close to them now, at age 22.