Jessica Ennis-Hill v Katarina Johnson-Thompson: Who will win the Rio 2016 heptathlon?
All eyes are expected to fall on the Team GB duo as they prepare to do battle across the weekend
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Your support makes all the difference.With the Olympics in full swing and Team GB now a few gold medals to the good, attention turns to the landmark track and field events.
With that comes the heptathlon and what is expected to be a double-barrelled battle between Jessica Ennis-Hill and Katarina Johnson-Thompson.
So, how do the two shape up?
Background
Ennis-Hill, 30
She was interested in track and field from a very young age, after her parents took her to an event in her home town of Sheffield. Ennis-Hill soon joined the local athletics club at aged 10, and started competing. She won a host of medals as a junior athlete, including gold at the 2005 European Championships. She then took to the senior stage, and worked her way up to top spot in 2009 at the World Championships in Berlin.
Johnson-Thompson, 23
Katarina made a name for herself at 16 when she won gold in the heptathlon at the 2009 World Youth Championships in Italy. Although she missed most of the 2010 season with a serious knee injury, she came back fighting. Not only did she qualify for the London Olympics, she also set a new British junior record in the process, beating the previous one set by none other than Ennis-Hill.
London 2012
Ennis-Hill
Lots of pressure was on her shoulders by the time of the 2012 games in London. There were high expectations that she would follow up her 2009 win with another. And if you remember ‘Super Saturday’, that’s exactly what she did. She became Olympic champion, and set new British and Commonwealth records with her score.
Johnson-Thompson
Although she never really troubled Ennis-Hill this time round, Johnson-Thompson certainly proved she could hack it on the big stage. She was just 19, and was at one point sitting third after the first few events of the 10. She also set her own personal best for her long jump, but finished in 15th place overall.
Since 2012
Ennis-Hill
After ‘Super Saturday’ Ennis-Hill was kept out of numerous major events due to injury. She also took time out during the 2014 season to have a baby. She eventually returned in 2015 to take gold once again at the World Championships in Beijing.
Johnson-Thompson
Meanwhile, Johnson-Thompson went from strength to strength. She claimed top spot at the 2013 European Under-23 Championships in the heptathlon, silver in the long jump in 2014 at the World Indoor Championships, and then gold in the pentathlon at the European Indoor Championships a year after. She also set a number of personal bests, and broke another British record, this time in the long jump.
Road to Rio
Ennis-Hill
Despite more injuries troubling her ahead of the games, which forced her to pull out of a May meet in Austria, she bounced back to win her first heptathlon since Beijing 2015. She is the favourite to retain her Olympic title.
Johnson-Thompson
Katarina finished 6th when she competed in the same event Ennis-Hill missed, with a points total below her best. But she remained positive after the event and is still expecting to be among the medals. “My goal is definitely a gold medal still in Rio,” she said at the time. “I’ve got a lot to work on between now and then but this is my first time back after surgery and I know exactly what I need to work on.”
The heptathlon starts on August 12 with the 100m hurdles in the afternoon.
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