Katarina Johnson-Thompson admitted to enjoying the “best day” in a long time as the Brit led the Olympic heptathlon after the first day of competition at Stade de France.
The Liverpudlian got off to an excellent start on Thursday morning and sat top of the pack after the morning session’s 100m hurdles and the high jump ahead of main rival Nafissatou Thiam.
The Belgian and Briton briefly swapped places following the evening’s shot put session, but Johnson-Thompson regained her advantage after clocking 23.44 seconds in the 200m.
She enters day two with a combined 4055 points, 48 more than Thiam and 99 ahead of the United States’ Anna Hall, Thursday’s third-place finisher.
Johnson-Thompson 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 enters day two with a combined 4055 points, 48 more than Nafissatou Thiam and 99 ahead of the Anna Hall
Thiam briefly took a 50-point lead in the shot put when she equalled her personal best of 15.54 for the best throw of the evening.
Johnson-Thompson’s 14.44 was also a personal best, but only good enough for fifth-furthest.
The heptathlete told the BBC: “That was entirely for Denise Lewis sitting in the studio, probably the best thing I’ve ever done in my career, and I’ve jumped 1.98 [before]. That topped everything. A little 14-metre shot put.”
Johnson-Thompson’s high jump was her highest clearance in five years, while it was also a season’s best 13.40 in the 100m hurdles.
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