Katarina Johnson-Thompson set a new British pentathlon record and claimed the first major title of her career at the European Indoor Championships, on this day in 2015.
Johnson-Thompson was in outstanding form at Prague’s 02 Arena, amassing 5,000 points to defeat the field and best Jessica Ennis-Hill’s previous high of 4,965.
The then 22-year-old, delivering on her long-known potential, came agonisingly close to an even bigger prize as she came within a whisker of the world record.
Johnson-Thompson won the 60 metre hurdles with a personal best and set championship records in the high jump and long jump to put the landmark within her sights.
Needing to clock 2mins 11.86secs over 800m to break the world record, Johnson-Thompson crossed the line in 2:12.78 and admitted her own high hopes left a tinge of frustration on her big day.
“I was gutted, instant regret,” said Johnson-Thompson, who became only the second athlete to score 5,000 points in the pentathlon as she finished just 13 points away from Ukrainian Natallia Dobrynska’s record.
“I’ve been tearing my brains out these last couple of weeks thinking I could get it, so to come so close, yeah I’m disappointed.
“If someone had said to me, ‘You’ve got 5000 points and a gold medal’, at the beginning of the day I would have taken it, but because everything was going so well and I was so close, I think that’s what made me so sad. I could have got it if I had pushed a little bit more.”
Ennis-Hill, watching from home having stepped away from the sport to start a family, congratulated her Team GB team-mate on Twitter, saying: “Well done Kat!! Amazing performance! Sad to see my record go but couldn’t have gone to a more deserving athlete!”
Johnson-Thompson went on to eclipse her compatriot once again when she took Ennis-Hill’s British heptathlon record in another gold-medal winning effort in the 2019 World Championships.
KC wins third straight Championship of America 4x400m title at Penn Relays; JC wins 4x800m
Kingston College made it three Championship of America 4x400m titles in a row with a comfortable win in the event on the third and final day of the 128th Penn Relays at Franklin Field in Philadelphia on Saturday.
Their quartet of Antonio Forbes, Amal Glasgow, Roshawn Lee and Marcinho Rose combined to run 3:11.86 to win ahead of Excelsior (3:12.94) and Bullis School (3:13.10).
Elsewhere, Jamaica College won their second Championship of America 4x800m relay in three years.
Their team of Nellie Amberton, Samuel Creary, Rasheed Pryce and Kemarrio Bygrave produced a time of 7:42.37 to win ahead of St. John’s College (7:44.66) and Central Bucks West (7:45.99).
Excelsior leads Jamaican 1-2-3 in Championship of America High School Boys 4x100m at Penn Relays
Excelsior High emerged victorious in the Championship of America High School Boys 4x100m on the third and final day at the 128th Penn Relays at Franklin Field in Philadelphia on Saturday.
Their quartet of Ryeem Walker, Damor Miller, Malike Nugent and Lennon Green combined to run 40.45 to secure the school’s first win in the event since 1967.
Kingston College (Daniel Clarke, Yourie Lawrence-Clarke, Nyrone Wade, Marcinho Rose) were second in 40.53 and Herbert Morrison (Ky-Mani Hemmings, Tavaine Stewart, Chance Segree, De Andre Daley) completed a Jamaican 1-2-3 with 40.56 in third.
Smith produces season’s best to win long jump at Texas Invitational
Texas junior Ackelia Smith produced an NCAA leading performance to take top spot on day one of the Texas Invitational at the Mike A. Myers Stadium on Friday.
The 22-year-old reigning NCAA champion produced a season’s best 7.10m, her first jump over 7m this season, to win ahead of Trinidadian Puma athlete Tyra Gittens (6.72m) and UTSA’s Ida Breigan (6.65m).
This is a welcome return to form for Smith who suffered a torn hamstring at the NCAA Indoor Championships in early March.
Smith was Jamaica’s national champion in the long jump in 2022 and was a finalist in both the long and triple jump at that year’s Commonwealth Games in Birmingham.
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