KATARINA JOHNSON-THOMPSON is on track for her very first Olympic medal – and she’s in pole position for it to be gold.
The Liverpool heptathlete, 31, finished 13th at London 2012, sixth in Rio and then had a DNF in Tokyo due to injury.
But she put in a stunning performance on day one of the heptathlon at the Stade de France to lead with three events to go.
World champ KJT said: “It was a good day, the best I have had in a long time.
“Couple of really good signs, and a good couple of events, so I am really pleased with what I’ve put together.
“I’ve been saying that training has been going really well, I’ve had no injuries since Rome (European Championships), so I’ve been putting together weeks and weeks of training.
“You never know what to expect when you don’t compete as much, but I am really happy I was able to put out what I’ve been seeing in training.
“It is one of the best places I have ever been in coming into an Olympics. This seems like a combination of everything that I have learned, so I am trying to put it together.”
Johnson-Thompson kickstarted her campaign with a season’s best time of 13.40 seconds in the 100m hurdles to cross the line in second.
The Team GB star finished behind Poland’s Adrianna Sulek-Schubert.
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She then nailed her best high jump for five years, getting over the 1.92m bar at the third and final time – matching Rio and Tokyo gold medallist Nafi Thiam’s effort.
Thiam had been immaculate until attempting 1.95m – failing three times to clear it.
That had KJT sitting in top spot after the morning session and her fine form continued in the evening with a PB 14.44m in the shot put.
She was rightly delighted with her effort, after launching it a staggering 52cm further than she has EVER thrown before.
Thiam’s equal PB in the shot put saw her leapfrog KJT by 50 points overall but the Brit shone in her beloved 200m, flying through in just 23.44 seconds, the best time in the field.
So she finished day one top on 4,055 points with Thiam second on 4,007 and world No1 Anna Hall third on 3,956 ahead of Friday’s long jump, javelin and 800m. Fellow Brit Jade O’Dowda is 17th.
Elsewhere, Laura Muir and Georgia Bell qualified for Saturday’s 1500m final alongside world record holder and Olympic champ Faith Kipyegon.
