Katarina Johnson-Thompson off to strong start in heptathlon

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Andrew Feinberg

White House Correspondent

Katarina Johnson-Thompson got off to a strong start in the women’s heptathlon with second place in her heat of the opening 100m hurdles.

The reigning world champion, who has come to Paris nursing an ongoing tendonitis issue, set a season’s best of 13.40 seconds as she finished just behind Poland’s Adrianna Sulek-Schubert.

Johnson-Thompson’s team-mate Jade O’Dowda was third in the heat with a time of 13.53 seconds, also a season’s best.

Nafissatou Thiam, the defending Olympic champion, was fifth in her heat in a time of 13.56 seconds.

By the end of the heats, Johnson-Thompson’s tally of 1065 points put her eighth in the standings, with Switzerland’s Annik Kaelin leading the way on 1144 going into the high jump.

American Anna Hall, the favourite, looked off the pace following a recent operation, finishing with the sixth fastest time in one of her best disciplines.

There was heartbreak for Germany’s Sophie Weissenberg, ranked ninth in the world, after she injured herself in the warm-up, her competition over before it began.

After the high jump, the shot put and the 200m are the remaining events on day one of the women’s heptathlon at the Stade de France.