(EDITOR’S NOTE: Bahamians now have another international sports superstar that we can brag about, although she was not born in The Bahamas. Katarina Johnson-Thompson was born in Woolton, Liverpool, Merseyside, England. Her father, Ricardo, is Bahamian. Her mother Tracey was a dancer. She attended St Julie’s Catholic High School in Woolton and John Moores University in Liverpool. — SOURCE: Wikipedia)
DOHA, Qatar, Oct. 3 — Katarina Johnson-Thompson secured the heptathlon gold medal at the World Athletics Championships with a stunning performance in Doha.
The 26-year-old set a British record of 6981 points to win her first global outdoor medal ahead of Belgium’s Nafissatou Thiam, as she set four personal-bests to become World Champion.
Reigning champion Thiam was expected to close the overnight gap, but Johnson-Thompson extended her lead with a fine long-jump effort, before throwing a personal-best in the javelin which kept her ahead prior to the 800m.
With a personal best eight seconds quicker than Thiam – the only athlete who could realistically overtake her – Johnson-Thompson knew that a time of 2.09mins or quicker would secure not only the gold, but also beat Jessica Ennis-Hill’s British record.
And the Liverpudlian did just that on a momentous night in the stifling Qatari heat, setting another PB as she romped home in 2.07.26mins.
It was a performance labelled ‘stunning’ and ‘perfection’ by Ennis-Hill, the now former British record holder, as she finished 304 points ahead of Thiam, who scored 6677. https://www.msn.com/en-gb/sports/news/katarina-johnson-thompson-wins-world-championship-gold-with-stunning-heptathlon-display/ar-AAIfwit
