Katarina Johnson-Thompson

Katarina Johnson-Thompson
Johnson-Thompson in March 2018
Personal information
NicknameKJT
Born (1993-01-09) 9 January 1993 (age 31)
Liverpool, England
Height1.83 m (6 ft 0 in)
Weight68 kg (150 lb)
Sport
SportAthletics
Event(s)Heptathlon, Pentathlon
ClubLiverpool Harriers
Coached byAston Moore
Achievements and titles
Personal bests

Katarina Mary Johnson-Thompson (born 9 January 1993)[1] is an English athlete. A multi-eventer, she is primarily known as both a heptathlete and an indoor pentathlete. In heptathlon she is a double world champion, double Commonwealth Games champion and an Olympic silver medallist. In indoor pentathlon, she is a world and double European champion.

Representing Great Britain, Johnson-Thompson won the heptathlon gold medal at the 2019 World Championships, breaking the British record with a score of 6,981 points which ranks her at No. 6 on the all-time lists.[2] Her heptathlon results include finishing 13th at the 2012 London Olympics, fifth at the 2013 World Championships, sixth at the 2016 Rio Olympics and fifth at the 2017 World Championships. She won the gold medal in the event at the 2018 Commonwealth Games before claiming silver at the 2018 European Championships. She retained her title at the 2022 Commonwealth Games. She also holds the British indoor pentathlon record of 5,000 points and won gold in that event at the 2018 World Indoor Championships, as well as the 2015 and 2019 European Indoor Championships.

Johnson-Thompson's career has often coincided with those of fellow British athlete Jessica Ennis-Hill and Belgium's Nafi Thiam, with whom she has competed since junior competition. She is the only athlete to have defeated Thiam in global competition since Thiam won Olympic gold in 2016 and while Thiam has dominated the rivalry, particularly at the Olympic Games, the two are considered the dominant multi-eventers of their era. No athlete beside the pair have won a global outdoor gold medal in heptathlon between 2015 and 2024.

Johnson-Thompson has also occasionally represented Great Britain in her two strongest individual disciplines: the high jump and long jump. She holds the British high jump outdoor record, and in the long jump, she was the 2012 World Junior champion and the 2014 World Indoor silver medalist.

  1. ^ "Katarina JOHNSON-THOMPSON – Athlete Profile". World Athletics. Retrieved 1 January 2023.
  2. ^ Top lists senior outdoor Heptathlon women. IAAF. Retrieved 7 December 2020.