Katarina Johnson-Thompson

GBRWomen

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Katarina Mary Johnson-Thompson (born 9 January 1993) 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 and European 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. 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 largely coincided with those of two greats of the sport; fellow British athlete, Olympic and triple World champion Jessica Ennis-Hill and Belgium's triple Olympic and double World champion, Nafi Thiam, with whom she has competed since junior competition. Johnson-Thompson was the only athlete to have defeated Thiam face to face in global competition since Thiam won Olympic gold in 2016 until Thiam withdrew part way through the 2025 World Athletics Championships heptathlon, and while Thiam has dominated the rivalry, particularly at the Olympic Games, the two are considered the dominant multi-eventers of their era, with the era defined by their rivalry. No athlete beside the pair have won a global outdoor gold medal in heptathlon between 2015 and 2024. When added with Ennis-Hill, only one outside global title, the 2013 World Championships, has fallen to any athlete outside the trio between 2008 and 2024, with Anna Hall finally breaking the club up in 2025. Johnson-Thompson has also occasionally represented Great Britain in her two strongest individual disciplines: the high jump and long jump. She previously held the British high jump outdoor record, until Morgan Lake became the 1st British woman to clear 2m, and in the long jump, she was the 2012 World Junior champion and the 2014 World Indoor silver medalist.