Johnson-Thompson says Paris Olympics not redemption as she eyes seventh world title

Katarina Johnson-Thompson rejected the idea that her Paris Olympics performance was a redemption story, saying her journey is a "happy one" and that she plans to chase more success rather than revisit the past. The 32-year-old returns as a two-time world champion and an Olympic silver medallist after a season that underscored both fragility and resilience in her sport.

In Tokyo, four years earlier, her heptathlon ambitions were crushed by an injury in the 200 metres at the Olympic Stadium, an episode she still describes as a low moment. The memory of that moment sits alongside the broader arc of a career that includes a career-threatening Achilles rupture and a remarkable comeback to win a world gold and to return to the sport's summit. Johnson-Thompson told BBC Sport that she does not see Paris as redemption but rather as a chance to enjoy the sport and push forward: "Potentially [it will be in my mind], maybe in the 200m, but I don't see it as a redemption story at all. I see my story as a happy one now."

The road since Tokyo has been a rollercoaster. She has battled injuries while trying to defend a place among athletics' elite. Yet she has built on her earlier world-title successes, winning a second global gold after recovering from a career-threatening Achilles rupture in eight months, and then sealing Olympic silver in Paris last year after a dramatic final 800 meters that left her two seconds adrift of gold. The mood she carried into Paris was different from previous Games; she says she felt a sense of fulfillment rather than crushing sadness, yet she acknowledges that the journey itself remains central to her ambitions: "That sadness I had after was something I didn't realise would happen if it went well. It's not just the medals, it's the sense of purpose."

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She is now focused on her seventh World Championships, which she calls her lucky number, and is ready to renew a familiar duel with Belgium's three-time Olympic champion Nafi Thiam for global gold. American Anna Hall is also among the contenders after recording the joint-second highest total of all time (7,032 points) in Gotzis in June, trailing only Jackie Joyner-Kersee. Johnson-Thompson stresses, however, that past success does not guarantee future results and that she will only continue as long as she remains competitive: "If I'm competitive I will carry on for as long as I can. If I'm not, that's probably when I won't enjoy it and I will probably say 'it's time to go'."

The 32-year-old is coached by Aston Moore, and her year has not been without disruption. She notes that preparations for Tokyo were not always smooth, with training interrupted by minor injuries. Thiam's return after a 12-month layoff has added to a formidable field, but Johnson-Thompson says you cannot write off Thiam at any point: "You can't write Nafi off at any point, ever. It's going to be a fierce competition and it's exciting that the heptathlon is heating up that way."

For Johnson-Thompson, the schedule in Tokyo proved punishing, with a potential pinch point between the high jump, shot put and 200 metres in an intense three-hour block after the curtain-raising 100 metres hurdles. She estimates that such pressure is familiar from her grassroots days at Liverpool Harriers and views this as a return to the sport's roots, even if the stakes are much higher now: "It's a bit like [the schedule at the World Championships in] Doha. I wish they'd have given us a lie-in on day two, though."

As she looks toward her seventh World Championships, Johnson-Thompson says she remains determined to chase the memories and the joy of competing rather than chase a single medal. The Olympic silver in Paris 2024 capped a long and winding road that has included incredible highs and difficult lows, and she is determined to keep writing that ongoing story with a sense of purpose and gratitude.