British medal hopeful Katerina Johnson-Thompson withdraws from European Championships with 'small niggle'
Updated 07/06/2024 at 21:12 GMT+1
Great Britain’s Katarina Johnson-Thompson was in heptathlon action on the opening day of the European Championships, but was forced to withdraw with a "small niggle" after just three events. The world champion and her team decided to take no risks with the Olympics around the corner. Johnson-Thompson was ninth before her withdrawal, while fellow Brit Jade O'Dowda in fifth.
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Great Britain’s Katarina Johnson-Thompson has withdrawn from the European Championships in Rome due to a "small niggle in her right leg" after a slow start to her bid for heptathlon gold.
The world champion was in ninth place after three events on the opening day of action in the Italian capital.
But the 31-year-old and her coaching team decided not to take any risks with the Paris Olympics around the corner when she picked up a minor injury.
“Kat has developed a small niggle in her right leg, and in light of the proximity of the Olympic Games we have chosen to bank what we have learned from this first day of competition and withdraw from the heptathlon," said Johnson-Thompson's coach Aston Moore.
“We don’t want to risk losing any time from training which could be the result if she was to carry competing with it for another day.
"We wish all the other competitors well for the rest of the competition.”
The Olympic Games begin in 49 days, with athletics events commencing on August 1.
Belgium’s Nafissatou Thiam, looking to complete her first heptathlon since 2022 as she returns from an Achilles injury, leads the way on 3051 points, with compatriot Noor Vidts second on 2925.
Johnson-Thompson was lagging behind in ninth on 2733 points before her withdrawal following a disappointing shot put event.
She started promisingly, coming seventh in her heat in the opening 100m hurdles with a time of 13.66 seconds.
In the high jump, she recorded the joint-second best of 1.83m alongside fellow Brit Jade O’Dowda to go fourth in the standings after two events.
Two-time Olympic gold medallist Thiam ran 13.74s in the 100m hurdles, before following up with victory in the high jump as she cleared 1.95m.
Johnson-Thompson could only muster a best throw of 12.44m in the shot put, the 17th-best in the field and a distance that saw her slide down the rankings to ninth place.
O'Dowda fared better, however, throwing 12.82m to rise into the top five ahead of the final event of the day, the 200m.
The opening morning of the European Athletics Championships also saw British trio Jemma Reekie, Georgia Bell and Katie Snowden qualify for Sunday’s final of the 1500m.
Reekie won her heat in a time of 4:06.68 while Bell came second in 4:12.01 despite encountering a problem during the race.
“Someone’s spikes went right through my shoe,” she said.
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“They’ve completely fallen apart. It was a bit messy but I’m through to the final on Sunday. That’s the most important thing.”
Northern Ireland’s Ciara Mageean also qualified for the women’s final with a time of 4:06.81.
"I wanted to stay out of trouble", she said. "I saw when I was walking through that one of the girls fell in the second heat - that's your biggest risk, that you'll get caught up in something.
"I had every faith that no matter where I was in the field that I'd be able to come through and be in that top six. I felt prepared for whatever tactics unfolded out there."
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