KATARINA JOHNSON-THOMPSON has watched two violent, blood-squirting Quentin Tarantino films as part of her Paris prep.
There are scenes in films Kill Bill Volume 1 and 2 – which star Uma Thurman as a sword-wielding heroine seeking revenge for the murder of her husband – that resonate with KJT.
During the last Olympics in Tokyo – where some of those films are set – she had to quit with injury, eight months after she had ruptured an Achilles and needed a moon boot for recovery.
As part of her pre-race ritual, she has watched the Tarantino-directed cult classics back-to-back for motivation and inspiration.
Bizarrely, she sees similarities with how the main character in the films essentially comes back from the dead to kill all the villains.
She laughed: “I understood the emotions that (the Bride) felt when she was in the bathroom after she completed killing everyone!”
The Liverpool athlete continued: “It started in 2021 when I had my Achilles rupture and I was preparing for those Olympics.
“When she comes out of the coma and tries to wiggle her big toe, that was literally what I was trying to do leading up to the Olympics.
“Then she goes to Tokyo and gets on the plane. It resonated with me so much. Kill Bill 1 and Kill Bill 2 have a lot of motivational, inspiring lines.
“I can’t pick between them, so I watch both each time.”
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Following the Rio Games in 2016, KJT changed coaches and moved down to the southern French city of Montpellier for five years in an attempt to improve her heptathlon skills.
It was during that stay across the Channel that she enjoyed the simpler things in life – and she stopped fretting about the stresses of competition.
Johnson-Thompson said: “The Team GB holding camp in Saint-Germain feels like Montpellier with its slow southern vibe.
“It has been a perfect place for me to get good sensations, good feelings, and to practise my French, which was always terrible. It feels like a home away from home.
“Before the Games, I was very uptight and highly strung. Being in France for that long, surrounded by the people I was with, has definitely relaxed me.
“And made me enjoy the finer things in life a bit more. It definitely suits my personality.
“I enjoy drinking espresso coffee outside, being late, and I just enjoy a glass of wine every now and again.”
That relaxed and stress-free existence will be put to the maximum test today and tomorrow over seven events spread across 35 hours.
The 31-year-old is the reigning world champion – she also won world gold in 2019 – but at the Olympics it has been a tale of tears, injury and withdrawals.
She told Eurosport: “It has been a bit of an up-and-down year, as I’d expect in any Olympic year.
“It’s about getting the balance right – being in peak physical shape without getting injured and putting enough training behind you without bailing out.
“I’ve pushed myself to be fitter than last year and in a better place without pushing my body over the edge. I think we’ve managed to do it in the last couple of weeks.
“I’ve had a good run of training, so I’m feeling good.”
