Reigning world champion Katarina Johnson-Thompson left the BBC pundits singing her praise after an impressive start to the heptathlon event at the Paris Olympics.
Johnson-Thompson finished day one of the heptathlon top of the leaderboard, just ahead of main rival Nafissatou Thiam.
With 4055 points on the board already, it’s the best position the 31-year-old has been at any Olympics Games previously.
She set a personal best in shot put with an incredible throw of 14.44m and clinched season-best results in the 100m hurdles and high jump.
Katarina Johnson-Thompson held the lead after the first day
REUTERS
Johnson-Thompson cut a frustrated figure after the final event of the day in the 200m as she felt capable of running quicker than her time of 23.44.
However, the BBC studio was full of praise for the British star in her bid to break her duck in the event at the Olympics.
Denise Lewis said: “It was a really strong finish and you don’t always get what you want.
“I know she would have liked to have gone under 23 seconds but it sometimes doesn’t go like that in heptathlon.
“If you are chasing – because I know Kat would have been chasing that time – it makes you slightly tighter, not as relaxed as you need to be, but it’s a great day one.”
Michael Johnson agreed, adding: “Kat’s been a good 200m runner but she hasn’t always been consistent with her technique in the 200.
“But this is about as solid as I think you could expect.
“There’s nothing here that I could say is atrocious. She should be a little bit further into the inside of that lane – she’s running outside that lane – and that would be just a little bit quicker.
Katarina Johnson-Thompson had impressive results in the 100m hurdles, high jump and shot put
REUTERS
“Other than that, she looks strong here and that’s the way she runs her 200m.”
Jessica Ennis-Hill, who won heptathlon gold in London 2012, feels Johnson-Thompson’s 200m run was a mental victory given her previous Olympics run in the same event.
“I think it’s really important to remember that the last time she ran the 200m at the Olympics, she pulled up on the bend with a horrible injury and that was the end of her campaign,” she said.
LATEST SPORT NEWS:
Nafissatou Thiam is the person to beat in the heptathlon again
REUTERS
“This would have been quite a mental triumph for her to get through this race in one piece.
“But to run the way she did, it’s a reasonably good time and it still puts her in the lead so that’s fantastic coming out of day one.”
She added: “I think the direct comparison is comparing her from last year and the way she performed in Budapest.
“She’s consistently performed better in each event today and that’s a great indicator.”