Katarina Johnson-Thompson disappoints in defence of pentathlon title, Holly Mills just misses out on medal

Katarina Johnson-Thompson’s bid to defend her pentathlon title at the World Athletics Indoor Championships ended in disappointment in Belgrade. The Brit, who won the event in Beijing when it was last held in 2018, looked extremely rusty in the five-event competition and withdrew prior to the 800m. Ad/> Johnson-Thompson started poorly, as she was last in her heat of the 60 metres hurdles, and then disappointed in the high jump.

Tokyo 2020Opinion: KJT overcoming mental barrier puts her in good place for Olympics14/07/2021 AT 08:36 The high jump is one of her better events, so the sight of the Brit laid on the mat with her head in her hands after failing to clear 1.86m summed things up. A solid shot put of 13.02m kept her in the hunt, but things unravelled in the long jump. A foul in the first round put her under pressure, and that was followed with a safe leap 6.08m.

McColgan smashes Radcliffe's half-marathon record Okagbare banned for 10 years for doping breaches She went long in the third round, but a red light for overstepping the board dented her chances of securing a medal. With her chance of a medal gone, Johnson-Thompson elected not to take the start of the 800m. /> While the overall result will be disappointing, it is a positive that Johnson-Thompson is competing again following a serious Achilles injury and the failure to finish in the heptathlon at the 2021 Olympic Games.

“The most important thing was I was not going to go out and risk injury,” Johnson-Thompson said on the BBC. “My body is in great shape. “I can take so many positives that I can get through this and looking to the summer, this is the best preparation for me for the summer.