World Athletics Championships 2023: Katarina Johnson-Thompson & Zharnel Hughes star for GB

1 year ago 21

Katarina Johnson-Thompson is backmost connected apical of the satellite and Zharnel Hughes earned a breakthrough 100m bronze connected a stellar nighttime for GB successful Budapest.

Johnson-Thompson won her 2nd heptathlon satellite rubric successful melodramatic circumstances, defending a constrictive pb implicit American favourite Anna Hall successful a gripping decision implicit 800m.

Meanwhile, Hughes finished down Noah Lyles and Letsile Tebogo successful a choky 100m last to clinch his archetypal idiosyncratic planetary medal.

The 2 successes arrived small implicit an hr isolated astatine the World Championships connected Sunday arsenic some athletes completed their ain redemption stories.

"It's the champion time of my life," said Johnson-Thompson, who ran an 800m idiosyncratic champion to decorativeness 20 points up of contention victor Hall.

"It's much peculiar [than winning successful Doha successful 2019]. I can't judge it. It's similar being successful a dream.

"I person been reasoning astir this for months and months. Nobody other could spot the imaginativeness isolated from maine and my team. I'm conscionable truthful blessed that it's travel true."

Hughes, who clocked 9.88 seconds to triumph bronze, said: "My bosom is afloat with emotions, I'm conscionable ace grateful.

"I honestly wanted a golden medal but hey, leaving this title with a medal astir my cervix - I'm truthful grateful for it."

Their achievements took Great Britain's medal tally to 3 astatine these World Championships, pursuing Saturday's mixed 4x400m relay silver.

'All I wanted was a changeable astatine gold'

It has been a agelong and arduous travel for Johnson-Thompson to reclaim the satellite rubric she won successful Doha successful 2019.

During the 4 years since that archetypal planetary triumph she has had to flooded a career-threatening Achilles rupture, the devastation of a mid-competition wounded astatine the Tokyo Olympics and, possibly astir challenging of all, the uncertainty and nonaccomplishment of emotion for her athletics which followed.

Last year's disappointing eighth-placed decorativeness astatine the Worlds successful Eugene proved the turning point.

This golden signalled the completion of a singular turnaround successful her career, the 30-year-old greeting the confirmation of her marginal triumph connected the large surface with a beaming grin of disbelief.

"In Tokyo I inactive thought I had a chance, I inactive thought I could person medalled. In Eugene I tried my champion and I wasn't getting anywhere," Johnson-Thompson said.

"Eugene was the worst of me. It was specified a horrible acquisition to beryllium successful the contention but not competing for the medals.

"I had nary nerves coming into the 800m. When my sanction was called I could spot the montages, I saw my 2019 self. All I wanted was a changeable astatine gold.

"I committed to the imaginativeness and committed to trying again. I committed to getting my bosom breached - and this clip I didn't. It's each travel bully and I'm truthful happy."

'Johnson-Thompson had unfinished business'

Johnson-Thompson's 43-point pb implicit Hall heading successful to the decisive 800m equated to an vantage of astir two-and-a-half seconds, mounting up a nail-biting finale.

But she produced a idiosyncratic champion - having besides done truthful successful the javelin - of 2 minutes 05.63 seconds to decorativeness wrong 1.54 secs of the talented 22-year-old American, taking wide triumph by 20 points.

"It was unthinkable wasn't it?" three-time satellite champion Jessica Ennis-Hill said connected BBC TV.

"No-one wrote her off, but we didn't expect her to travel distant [as] champion successful the satellite again."

That Johnson-Thompson could negociate that effort aft 2 aggravated days of contention spoke volumes of her existent signifier and fitness, with the Paris Games little than 12 months away.

Denise Lewis, who won Olympic heptathlon golden successful 2000, said: "I americium incredibly blessed for Kat and her team. You don't go a atrocious jock overnight. Her assemblage had fto her down and present she's fit.

"She volition consciousness relieved to beryllium backmost connected apical of the world. When she is healthy, she's going to deliver. She had unfinished business."

This means the satellite to maine - Hughes

For Hughes, Sunday's showdown with the world's fastest men provided him the accidental to present successful a large final.

The 28-year-old's Olympic ambitions were abruptly ended by a mendacious commencement successful the Tokyo last 2 years ago, portion helium failed to suffice from his Worlds semi-final successful 2022.

Hughes admitted a mendacious commencement by South African Akani Simbine successful his semi-final present caused him to commencement cautiously earlier helium powered down the location consecutive to acceptable up a accidental astatine a medal.

"I conscionable needed to execute my race. In the semi-finals I got a large commencement but erstwhile we had the mendacious commencement it made maine beryllium successful my blocks a bit," said Hughes.

"I conscionable needed to spot myself. I knew I had the velocity and I conscionable needed to enactment successful the mix. Once I was successful the premix I conscionable needed to powerfulness done and everything would instrumentality attraction of itself."

Hughes momentarily believed helium had beaten American Lyles, who won successful 9.83 to lucifer the Briton's world-leading time, successful a adjacent decorativeness to a wide-open event.

"Honestly, I thought I'd got Lyles," said Hughes.

"I didn't cognize Tebogo was up there. When I saw the results and I saw Tebogo's sanction I thought 'where did helium travel from' but, nevertheless, I'm up determination arsenic well. This means the satellite to me."

There are further opportunities to come, with Hughes opening his 200m run successful Wednesday's heats earlier joining GB's bid for a 4x100m relay medal.

"The 200m is my baby, I emotion the 200m," Hughes said. "For me, I'm conscionable going to spell backmost present and recover, get immoderate bully slumber contiguous and spell again."

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