Katarina Johnson-Thompson admits she is still in awe of Jessica Ennis-Hill despite breaking her compatriot’s British pentathlon record on the way to winning a brilliant European Indoor championship gold in Prague. However, Johnson-Thompson believes the rivalry between the pair, and the fast-improving 17-year-old prodigy Morgan Lake, could help revitalise British athletics in the next few years.
“I heard BBC switched off the tennis to go to the athletics, which is insane,” said Johnson‑Thompson. “It’s great for the sport and if heptathlon can be the driving force to get people watching athletics then it will be nothing but positive. The rivalry will be good in the summer with the Olympic champion coming back and hopefully me and Morgan coming through. It’s great.”
But Johnson-Thompson shook her head when asked if she felt she was now on a level with Ennis-Hill. “She is the Olympic Champion and has the British record outdoors. She’s one of the people who inspired me to be an heptathlete, and I’ve seen her do it from a young age. I’m still in awe.”
Johnson-Thompson also admitted that the punishing schedule in Friday’s pentathlon, including a late switch which meant she had an hour less to recover before the final event, the 800m, could have cost her a world record - which she missed out on by 13 points. “I’ve never quite experienced anything like it, from event to event I didn’t get a break,” she said. “Most of the girls got a break after the high jump but because Morgan and I were out there for so long it was just pretty much like we had to go straight to the shot put. Before the long jump I was eating for the 800m so the long jump got affected too. It was quite crammed in.”
Her coach, Mike Holmes, however, was less convinced. “He told me I shouldn’t expect to have a world record with a 12.30m shot put,” she joked. And while Johnson-Thompson might be the favourite at this year’s world championships, the 22-year-old is coy about her chances. “It’s a huge step up from the European Indoor Championships to being a world outdoor gold medallist,” she warned. “But hopefully some sort of medal in Beijing is a realistic target.”
