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Great Britain’s Katarina Johnson-Thompson ended her long wait for an Olympic heptathlon medal but narrowly missed out on gold to history-maker Nafissatou Thiam in a dramatic concluding 800m in Paris.<\/b><\/p>\n
Two-time world champion Johnson-Thompson set up a captivating finale by ensuring Belgium’s Thiam remained within 121 points – equating to roughly 8.5 seconds – before the decisive seventh event at the end of the two-day competition.<\/p>\n
Johnson-Thompson, with a superior lifetime best by six seconds, opened a significant lead on Thiam and crossed the line in a personal best two minutes 04.90 seconds.<\/p>\n
That gutsy performance from the 31-year-old meant Thiam took gold at the Stade de France by just 36 points to become the first woman to win three heptathlon titles.<\/p>\n
Johnson-Thompson put together a superb competition at her fourth Games, recording the second best points total of an illustrious career which has delivered two global triumphs.<\/p>\n
This emotional silver, no matter how close to gold, is one to be celebrated and savoured for Johnson-Thompson – her arduous pursuit of a first Olympic medal now complete after numerous setbacks.<\/p>\n
Having earned the opportunity to chase the sport’s ultimate prize over two laps, three years after suffering injury heartbreak in Tokyo, Johnson-Thompson gave everything in the 800m run of her life.<\/p>\n
But it was Thiam – the heptathlon great of her generation – who added Paris gold to Olympic triumphs in Rio and Tokyo by finishing in 2:10.62 – with about two seconds to spare.<\/p>\n
Thiam finished on 6,880 points – ahead of Johnson-Thompson on 6,844. Thiam’s compatriot Noor Vidts moved above Switzerland’s Annik Kaelin in the final event to take bronze.<\/p>\n
Team GB’s Jade O’Dowda finished 10th overall, while Ireland’s Kate O’Connor was 14th.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n