A leg injury has forced champion Katarina Johnson-Thompson to withdraw from the Roma European Athletics Championships as a precaution. She has already qualified for the Olympics, so she doesn’t have the same pressure as some of her teammates. It will be the British athlete’s fourth opportunity to win an Olympic medal after pulling out of Tokyo 2020 due to injury.
World heptathlon champion Katarina Johnson-Thompson has called for calm among fans and the athletics world concerned about her fitness ahead of Paris 2024 Olympics. The British athlete insisted she feels “healthy now” following concerns about her fitness ahead of the Paris Olympics.
A few weeks ago, the 31-year-old British athletics star withdrew from the European Championships in Rome due to a minor leg injury. Her decision was mainly to avoid aggravating the injury. Katarina Johnson-Thompson made her return at the British Athletics Championships in Manchester on Saturday. “I feel good”, she said after the javelin competition.
She reiterated that she withdrew from Rome as a precaution so that she wouldn’t have to face anything serious.
“I don’t want anything to stop my chance of winning a medal this year. Johnson-Thompson appears to arrive at Paris 2024 at a very strong moment of athletic maturity after winning her second world title in Budapest last year”, said Katarina Johnson-Thompson.
This will be her fourth Olympic appearance, where success has eluded her as she continues to search for that elusive medal. She withdrew from Tokyo 2020 after suffering an Achilles tendon injury in the 200m. The Olympics are just three weeks away and now her goal is to compete in some of the individual events that make up the heptathlon. At the British Championships, she competed in the 200m and the high jump.
“My weekend is a little different than everyone else’s. My expectations are just to see what I can do. To see if I can apply some of the things I’ve been doing in training”, added she.
Katarina Johnson-Thompson left lasting memories when she injured herself at the Tokyo 2020 Olympics. She was the favorite to win or at least medal. However, she ruptured her Achilles tendon during the 200m. She had previously recovered from injuries but aggravated the injury and was forced to withdraw in tears to cheers from the crowd.
Her best finish in three Olympic appearances – London 2012, Rio 2016 and Tokyo 2020 – was sixth at Rio 2016.
