This is Olivia Miller’s piece on the heptathlon, with Nafi Thiam winning her third Olympic title, something unprecedented!
Thiam Comes Out on Top in Women’s Heptathlon
The women’s heptathlon culminated in an unforgettable 800m race.
Great Britain’s Katarina Johnson-Thompson had the most points at the end of the first day after the first four events. But Nafissatou Thiam, a gold medalist in Rio and Tokyo, was close behind. Thiam’s season-best throw in javelin (54.04m) on day two couldn’t have come at a better time—it catapulted her into first place with only the 800m left.
Two-time world champion (2019, 2023) Johnson-Thompson needed to run not only the race of her life but had to beat Belgium’s Nafissatou Thiam by over 8 seconds. While she accomplished the former, beating her personal best and finishing in 2:04.90, it wasn’t enough to move into first place.
She finished with 6844 points, earning silver, while Thiam remained in first with 6880 points after running a personal best of 2:10.62.
For Johnson-Thompson, this medal has been a long time coming. She began competing as an Olympian in London (2012), where she finished thirteenth. Four years later in Rio, she finished sixth, and in Tokyo, she suffered a torn calf.
She explained what these Olympics have signified for her as an athlete: “The team around me has helped me be a proper heptathlete. I’m not just a high jumper and a long jumper, I’m now a full heptathlete, and I can continue to get PBs. I feel I can continue to improve.”
This is the third Olympic gold for Thiam, who is the first athlete to win three consecutive golds in a combined event.
Thiam’s historic achievement wasn’t on her mind as she finished the penultimate event.
“I didn’t cross that line and think that I made history. I thought all this pain, hard work, sacrifice, all those moments where I felt lonely. All that pain, all that hard work, all of that paid off, and I’m really grateful for that. As I always say, in sports you give everything you have, you need to, in every moment. But you have to take whatever the sport gives you, and it can be nothing. Today it’s a lot, and I’m grateful for that.”
Thiam says she isn’t even thinking about L.A. 2028 yet.
“It’s always about the future, more, and more and more. It’s been the best years working for this moment. What I want is to enjoy it, and nobody can take that from me. I won’t let anybody ruin this. I’m here now, I need to take this now. I worked too hard; I need to enjoy this moment now.”
