Another day comes to an end. I’m still getting my head around that absolutely insane 400 metres race (48.14!) and the final two events from Niklas Kaul in the decathlon. However, one of the most significant moments came right at the end and off the track. Seconds after finally winning the title she has craved and failed to win for years, one of the first things on Katarina Johnson-Thompson’s mind: “I just want more.”
Bring on Tokyo. Good night.
Here’s Katarina Johnson-Thompson’s on her victory from the BBC:
It doesn’t make sense to me. Honestly, these whole two days have been so fast and it’s been at night time it’s actually felt like a dream and the lights and everything. It’s just been unbelievable and I can’t believe this is the result. It’s just been so many attempts to perform at this stage. I’m just so, so happy.
I could’ve done without [the disappointments] it’s traumatic enough, not gonna lie. I’m sure it would have been sweet in 2015 but here we are. No, you’re right. The low moments have obviously helped me come back and make the move. Try to look within myself. Yeah, I’m just so happy.
Yeah, this has been my dream. Obviously 7000 points, [as] I’ve spoken about in the past, is one of my main career goals. The thing called score calculator which adds up all the points, I’ve been doing different combinations of it for my entire life. For the last year or so I’ve chilled with these predictions. I’ve just tried to compete, I’ve tried to perform, I’ve just tried to beat myself and I think I’ve found a formula that works and I just want more.
Yeah, [Thiam is] a phenomenal athlete. She set the standard. Obviously there’s greats in the past like Kluft, but I witnessed 7k points first through her and she was the one who made that doable and who made that a requirement also in order to win. She’s definitely raised the bar and I’m just glad I’ve been able to follow and step up. And yeah, I’m just competitive.
Yeah, [moving to France has] definitely paid off. It’s been such a long road but I’m so glad that I’m coming to my best in these two big years.
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Kaul does it with the second-highest Day 2 decathlon score in history. 4,164 on Day 1, 4,527 on Day 2. Before today, Bob Mathias was the youngest (1948) and the second-youngest (1952) Olympic/world champion in the decathlon. How incredible was Mathias. https://t.co/SsgdRu183J
— Nick Zaccardi (@nzaccardi) October 3, 2019
Here is Sean Ingle on Katarina Johnson-Thompson’s historic win.
The final decathlon standings:
- Niklas Kaul 8691
- Maicel Uibo 8604
- Damian Warner 8529
What a smash and grab from the young German. He sat in sixth going into the final two events, far from the top. Then he produced a decathlon world record in the javelin throw and picked the field apart in the 1500 metres.
Niklas Kaul of Germany wins the men’s decathlon world title. What an incredible run from the 21 year-old, who absolutely destroyed the field with a run of 4:15.71. He is the youngest decathlon world champion ever.
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As things stand in the decathlon:
- Maicel Uibo 7869
- Damian Warner 7854
- Niklas Kaul 7850
- Ilya Shkurenyov 7826
- Pierce Lepage 7796
And now it’s time for the exhausting decathlon 1500m to end the day.
KATARINA JOHNSON-THOMPSON is SUPERWOMAN!!! World Champion and in a new British record 🏅 This has been a long time coming and I couldn’t be happier for one of my best friends in the sport (Just don’t hate me for the throwback picture choice🤣) pic.twitter.com/SPPTzHAsc1
— Adam Gemili (@Adam_Gemili) October 3, 2019
SO HAPPY FOR KAT!! @JohnsonThompson What a hero 😍😫
— Emily Diamond OLY (@EmilyDiamond11) October 3, 2019
Fantastic performance by Katarina Johnson-Thompson to win world championship heptathlon gold and beat Jess Ennis-Hill's GB record. Earlier this year KJT told us she suffered from Imposter Syndrome. Now even she must know she is the real deal.
— Sean Ingle (@seaningle) October 3, 2019
The final heptathlon standings:
- Katarina Johnson-Thompson (GBR) 6981
- Nafi Thiam (BEL) 6677
- Verena Preiner (AUT) 6560
After everything Johnson-Thompson has been through to win this first world gold medal, this must feel so sweet.
#WorldAthleticsChamps
— Chris Brown (@ChrisBrownSport) October 3, 2019
6981 points for KJT! Takes Jess's GB record & goes to 6th best of all-time.
Highest winning score at a major championships since Kluft in 2007.
That was a HUGE performance from Kat.
I doubt whether a fully fit Nafi would've beaten that. https://t.co/FpzPMg89Er
Johnson-Thompson wins the 800 metres with a personal best of 2:07.26. What a gutsy, gutsy race. She led from the front and pushed herself until the end. She takes the British heptathlon record with 6981 points.
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Katarina Johnson-Thompson is the heptathlon world champion! She breaks the British record.
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Reminder, Katarina Johnson-Thompson has a 10 second cushion on Nafi Thiam. There were many weary legs in the first heat, as you would expect after seven events. Let’s see what KJT has left.
Hanne Maudens of Belgium wins the first heptathlon heat in 2:12.98.
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A reminder of how things currently stand.
Remember these numbers 🧮
— IAAF (@iaaforg) October 3, 2019
After six events in the #WorldAthleticsChamps heptathlon @JohnsonThompson leads the field. If she runs faster than 2:09 in the 800m, she'll break the 🇬🇧 record that @J_Ennis set on her way to Olympic gold in 2012. pic.twitter.com/Xc4beR6hb2
Soon.
🚨 15-MINUTE KJT WARNING 🚨
— Team GB (@TeamGB) October 3, 2019
Find a screen and settle down to watch as @JohnsonThompson goes for heptathlon gold, she takes to the track in the 800m at 22.15 LIVE on @BBCTwo and the @BBCSport website #WorldAthleticsChamps pic.twitter.com/bd5X8m1CK6
The heptathletes are finally on the track for the 800 metres heats. Johnson-Thompson will start in the second heat.
#WorldAthleticsChamps
— Chris Brown (@ChrisBrownSport) October 3, 2019
Women's 400m was 🔥🔥🔥
1st) Naser 48.14s - 3rd fastest time in history
2nd) Miller-Uibo 48.37s - 6th fastest time in history
3rd) Jackson 49.47s - PB
4th) Jonathas 49.60s - PB
5th) Francis 49.61s - PB (defending champ!)
Only Koch & Kratochvilova quicker!
Quite extraordinary women's 400m. The pre-race favourite Shaunae Miller-Uibo beats her personal best in running 48.37 ... but she can only take silver after Salwa Eid Naser runs 48.14 sec. That's the third fastest of ALL TIME. And fastest since 1985.
— Sean Ingle (@seaningle) October 3, 2019
As Eid Naser takes her lap of honour, she is in complete shock. For good reason.
That was one of the fastest races of all time and it is hard to believe. Eid Naser absolutely exploded out of the blocks but, as she has done so often, she just kept such an even pace throughout. Eid Naser’s 48.14 is the third fastest time of all time. Miller-Uibo is 6th on the all time list. This is incredible.
Salwa Eid Naser wins the 400 metres world title in 48.14!! Astonishing. Shaunae Miller-Uibo ran 48.37 yet still lost.
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A very exciting women’s 400 metres is minutes away. Shaunae Miller-Uibo of The Bahamas arrives as the favourite and she has looked brilliant throughout, reaching the final with an easy 49.66. But the young Bahraini Salwa Eid Naser continues to nip at her heels, and also recorded an extremely relaxed 49.79. This could be incredibly fast.
Defending champion Lijiao Gong of China takes gold in the women’s shot put with a throw of 19.55m. Jamaica’s Danniel Thomas-Dodd takes silver with a brilliant final round throw of 19.47m. Christina Schwanitz of Germany, who is crying with joy, takes bronze with a 19.17m throw.
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In the decathlon javelin throw, Niklas Kaul throws an absurd 79.05. Kaul is the world U20 record holder but he is already making a move at the top of the sport. He sits in third place, just 19 points from Maicel Uibo in first place.
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Here’s Sean Ingle’s report on more fallout from Alberto Salazar’s ban.
Laura Muir moves into the 1500 metres final with a solid, controlled run. Like Hassan, Muir started the race at the back of the pack and waited to see how the chips fell. When Gudaf Tsegay burst ahead, Muir immediately responded and moved up the pack, powering into the final from the front. Jenny Simpson of the United States wins in 4:00.99. That was fast.
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Laura Muir will be running in the second 1500m semi-final. It has been a tough season with injuries. Let’s see what she’s got.
Sifan Hassan did what she always does in 1500m, biding her time at the back of the race and then easing past the entire field to the front. She takes the first 1500m semi-final in 4:14.69, which is not fast at all. Faith Kipyegon also survived but Sarah McDonald was run out in seventh.
It’s time for the semi-finals of the women’s 1500 metres. Sifan Hassan and defending champion Faith Kipyegon, who is returning after pregnancy, will be looking to advance. Britain’s Sarah McDonald also present.
The Brits are safely through! 🇬🇧@JakeSWightman, @joshk97 and @Neil_Gourley qualify to the semi-finals in the 1500m 👊#WorldAthleticsChamps pic.twitter.com/L1KXk939Wy
— Team GB (@TeamGB) October 3, 2019
Ayanleh Souleiman takes the third heat in 3:36.16. Britain’s Neil Gourley is comfortably through in fourth place.
More dramatically, the second heat is being looked at after Filip Ingebrigtsen seemed to impede Teddese Lemi of Ethiopia, who fell to the ground and then finished in 11th place. Michael Johnson seems convinced that Lemi will be reinstated for the semi-final, but will Filip Ingebrigtsen be disqualified?
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Timothy Cheruiyot takes the second 1500 metres heat in 3:36.82. But what a dramatic race! Australia’s Matthew Ramsden fell at the very beginning, then the race ended with far too much barging for a sport unrelated to the WWE. Britain’s Josh Kerr evades the drama, producing a very solid second place finish.
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In the second men’s 1500 metres heat, event favourite Timothy Cheruiyot will make his mark on the competition. Filip Ingebrigtsen, 2017 bronze medalist, is also a notable name. Britain’s Josh Kerr will be looking to continue his solid season with a semi-final. The top six advance.
Jakob Ingebrigtsen wins the first 1500 metres heat in 3:37.67. Britain’s Jake Wightman qualified well in fourth place. The big shock is Samuel Tefera of Ethiopia, one of the pre-event favourites, who finished in seventh place and faces a nervous wait to reach tomorrow’s semi-final as a fast loser.
It’s time for the men’s 1500 metres heats. Timothy Cheruiyot begins as the clear event favourite after his brilliant form and 3:28.77 world lead. The precocious Jakob Ingebrigtsen will be the most notable name in this opener.
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New Zealand’s Tomas Walsh qualifies for the men’s shot put final with a throw of 21.92.
The strength in depth in the men’s shot put is such that 20.75m wasn’t good enough to reach the final. Among those to miss out include European champion Michal Haratyk.
— Steven Mills (@Trackside2019) October 3, 2019
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So much love for this woman @dinaashersmith ❤️🥇 pic.twitter.com/yyewXJVLcB
— Gabby Logan (@GabbyLogan) October 3, 2019
Orlando Ortega of Spain has been awarded bronze medal after he was badly obstructed by Omar McLeod in the 110 metre hurdles final. If you remember, he was sitting in second place before McLeod stumbled into his lane. A good decision.
FLASH:
— IAAF (@iaaforg) October 3, 2019
The jury of appeal reconsidered the case in the 110m hurdles final and in view of the obstruction which impeded @110_ortega, the jury directs that a second 🥉medal be awarded to Ortega.#WorldAthleticsChamps pic.twitter.com/ICTREozU8U
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We’ll have to wait three hours for the climax but it should be worth it. Should Katarina Johnson-Thompson remain on Thiam’s shoulder to guarantee gold or push herself in pursuit of the British record? A silly question, of course. She always goes for it.
And now...
— Jon Mulkeen (@Statman_Jon) October 3, 2019
For 7000: 2:06.03
For =NR (6955): 2:09.00
KJT goes into the 800m with a 137pt lead over Thiam. Thiam would need to finish 9sec ahead of KJT to win gold. Her PB is 8sec slower....
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Standings after six events in the heptathlon at the #WorldAthleticsChamps.
— European Athletics (@EuroAthletics) October 3, 2019
🇬🇧 Johnson-Thompson 5976
🇧🇪 Thiam 5839
🇦🇹 Preiner 5579
🇺🇸 Williams 5558
🇳🇱 Broersen 5541
🇳🇱 Vetter 5540 pic.twitter.com/gljm4TBt60
One more to go. Katarina Johnson-Thompson’s 800 metres personal best is 2:07.64 and her season best is 2:08.28. Nafi Thiam’s personal best is 2:15.24 and her season best is 2:20.46. All the Brit has to do is survive.
In the decathlon, Maicel Uibo jumps a 5.40 personal best on his second attempt. A very significant leap as it moves him up into joint third place, level on points with Damian Warner. With Mayer’s withdrawal, leader Pierce Lepage is only 24 points ahead of the pair in third place. This could be tight.
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Johnson-Thompson’s final throw comes in at 40.55. After two safer deliveries, she went for a far more aggressive run up and attempted to throw with all her might. But she ended up too close to the line. The good news is that there’s a lot more to come from her on this event in the future.
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Nafi Thiam has left the stadium without a third throw! So, Johnson-Thompson will go into the 800 metres with a lead of 137 points. Team KJT is laughing, and for good reason.
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Nafi Thiam throws 48.04 for a season best. An improvement, but it’s still not enough. As things stand, Johnson-Thompson holds 5976 points compared to Thiam’s 5839. A 137 point gap.
Katarina Johnson-Thompson throws a personal best of 43.93. Stunning.
Nafi Thiam attempts her first throw of the day. It flies to around the 42 metre mark, but Thiam deliberately steps beyond the boundary to register it as a foul. That throw is not useful to her. She needs more.
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As the BBC presenters noted, beyond the great performances from Johnson-Thompson, it’s just really pleasing to see her looking so relaxed. Of course she is nervous, but she is so much more confident in her ability to produce her best. No matter how this finishes, she has forced Thiam to come up with something special.
Katarina Johnson-Thompson starts in the javelin with a throw of 42.21. Not bad at all.
The heptathletes are preparing for the javelin throw now. Thiam’s personal best is a monster 59.32 with a season best of 47.25. Javelin is historically one of KJT’s worst events, but she threw a respectable personal best of 42.92 this year.
Targets for KJT in the jav and 800m
— Jon Mulkeen (@Statman_Jon) October 3, 2019
For 7000: 45m / 2:07.35
For NR (6956): 43m / 2:07.75
For PB (6814): 38.10m / 2:11.00
😶😶
What a shame to see Kevin Mayer unable to defend his decathlon title. Was bidding to become just the third man in history to successfully defend world title with world indoor in between. The fact are so few, shows what a big ask it was.
— Orla Chennaoui (@SportsOrla) October 3, 2019
Going into the pole vault, one of his best events, Kevin Mayer lead with 6310 points to Damian Warner’s 6254. 7 events down. All of that suffering for nothing. Brutal.
A tough, tough decathlon for defending champion and world record holder Kevin Mayer.
Reigning world decathlon champion Kevin Mayer has retired from the decathlon after two attempts at his opening height of 4.60m in the pole vault. 😢
— European Athletics (@EuroAthletics) October 3, 2019
Speedy recovery, champ! pic.twitter.com/nQpACPTExm
Chris Parker, via email, on the big battle for Heptathlon gold: “KJT can make up 100 points, maybe 130 on a good day in the 800m, so a 20/30 point lead from the long jump could be crucial. The javelin has typically been her problem, but yesterday’s shot put was a great sign of her improvement, hopefully she can do something similar in the javelin.”
And here is Dina with her medal.
The moment Dina Asher-Smith has been waiting for!
— BBC Sport (@BBCSport) October 3, 2019
🥇 200m champion 🥇#bbcathletics #worldathleticchamps pic.twitter.com/qS3TZm637O
Katarina Johnson-Thompson goes for broke on the final jump and records a foul. But the damage has been done and they will head to the penultimate event with Johnson-Thompson holding a lead of 216 points.
With her final jump, Thiam records an improved score of 6.40 metres, but it’s not enough. For the first time in the contest she is shaking her head. Johnson-Thompson has a pressure-free opportunity to see if she can extend her lead before the javelin.
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As things currently stand, Johnson-Thompson has moved up to 5233 points compared to Thiam’s haul of 5001. The Belgian’s final jump will likely have a huge impact on how this battle pans out.
Katarina Johnson-Thompson jumps 6.77!
A slight improvement for Thiam, who records a jump of 6.35m. Just three centimetres further. Will either heptathlete make their mark in this event?
Katarina Johnson-Thompson jumps 6.32 in the first round. She slightly extends her lead on Thiam, but the pair are in the same position and can do better. For reference, Thiam’s 2019 best is 6.86 and Johnson-Thompson’s is 6.85.
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Nafi Thiam’s first jump is 6.25m. She currently sits second behind her teammate Hanne Maudens’ effort of 6.41, but she will need much more than that.
And here are the full heptathlon standings with some fancy projections.
#WorldAthleticsChamps heptathlon time!
— IAAF (@iaaforg) October 3, 2019
Yesterday @JohnsonThompson moved to #4 on the all-time lists for day one scores.
Looking at season's and personal bests, this is how things could by the end of the night 👀
Listen live, follow the blog & results: https://t.co/L4yv1BKdAy pic.twitter.com/8Hj43v2D0r
The full schedule for today. GMT+2.
Day 7⃣ of the #WorldAthleticsChamps
— IAAFDoha2019 (@IAAFDoha2019) October 3, 2019
On Tonight...
✔️Four🥇 medals on offer
✔️The heptathlon and decathlon come to an end
✔️The women’s 400m is the only track event final pic.twitter.com/FR8AT04iRs
Preamble
Hello! Welcome to day 7 of our World Athletics Championships coverage. Today marks the second day of the mixed events as Britain’s Katarina Johnson-Thompson looks to continue her great form after finishing day one 96 points ahead of Nafi Thiam.
We will begin with the all important long jump, where ample points are on offer and both women are incredibly strong. Later on in the day, the heptathletes will take to the javelin throw and Thiam may look to stamp her authority on the competition. Finally, they will end with a brutal 800 metres to decide the world champion.
Meanwhile, Kevin Mayer will continue his attempts to hold off all challengers after finishing day one in third place. After the 110 metres hurdles earlier today and the ongoing discus throw, the decathletes will head to pole vault and javelin throw in the field events. A harrowing 1500 metres awaits at the end.
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