Katerina Johnson-Thompson takes her second World Championships title in the heptathlon, by Cathal Dennehy

This is Cathal Dennehy’s piece for day 2, on Katerina Johnson-Thompson, who overcame many injuries and setbacks and has just won her second gold medal in the heptathlon. Anna Hall, her top competitor, moved from bronze to silver. And it all came down to the 800 meters, the seventh event in the heptathlon…

After the hardest years of her career, along came the “easiest race” of her life – a two-lap exhibition of grit, class, and courage, during which Katarina Johnson-Thompson said she was in “full robot mode.”

And with that, the 30-year-old Briton completed the “best day” of her life, reclaiming the world heptathlon title that she first won in 2019. Having ruptured her Achilles in 2020 and torn her calf at the Tokyo Olympics in 2021, did she think she could rise to the top of the world again?

“No, I didn’t,” she said in Budapest on Sunday night. “To not win because of injury is one thing, but to not win because of just bad performances is another thing. Last year I came eighth, and I wanted to medal. That’s the truth: I believed I could win. I just thought I’d fade into the background (then) and be one of those athletes who are just there to make up the numbers.”

But this was a new and improved Johnson-Thompson – stronger, wiser – and she was just as driven as ever. In truth, she went into these World Championships with little expectation (at least from external sources) that she would win. In recent weeks, Anna Hall looked the most likely champion, but the US star had to deal with something that plagued her British rival for so long: injury.

“I came in knowing I wasn’t in full health, and I didn’t feel prepared,” said Hall. “I’m 22, and having what feels like the weight of the world on your shoulders when you know you’re not 100% healthy is not easy. But I kept fighting.”

Hall had a training accident while long jumping a few weeks earlier, but she said she was still hoping to score 7,000 points. Did she ever think of not competing?

“There was a day last Monday I hadn’t figured out the knee thing, and I threw a little tantrum at practice; I threw the high jump bar and told them, ‘We’re not going to Budapest, it’s not even worth it,’” she said. “But I came back, finished practice 30 minutes later, and, after that, I felt good to go. That’s life, that’s sport; you still have to show up, banged up, and be ready to go.”

Hall started the competition as she meant to go on, clocking 12.97 in the hurdles to Johnson-Thompson’s 13.50, with the Briton jumping 1.86m in the high jump to Hall’s 1.83m. A PB of 14.54m from Hall in the shot put extended her lead, but the 200m was where momentum began to shift, with Johnson-Thompson clocking a swift 23.48, beating Hall by 0.08.

On day two, a 6.54m long jump put Johnson-Thompson in front, with Hall – whose knee by then was strapped – jumping 6.19m. A PB of 46.14m put the British athlete firmly in command after the javelin, meaning she went into the 800m with a 43-point lead, so she had to finish within 2.8 seconds of Hall to win gold. The American’s PB was five seconds better than Johnson-Thompson’s – 2:02 to 2:07.

Aston Moore – the coach Johnson-Thompson has worked with since last year – gave his protegee simple instructions for the two-lap finale: keeping Hall within 20 meters. That led to Johnson-Thompson blasting through the opening lap in 60 seconds, given Hall was going through in 58.

“Normally I’d think, ‘this is fast, you’re going to die, slow down,’ (but) I just went with it,” said Johnson-Thompson, who added: “That was the easiest race. I wasn’t thinking.”

Before the race, a montage of past winners had played in the stadium, which Johnson-Thompson caught sight of, and seeing herself sprinting to victory in Doha quelled her nerves. “I saw the flicker in my eye, which really calmed me. That was the calmest I’ve been the whole weekend.”

Hall hit the line in 2:04.09, with Johnson-Thompson smashing her PB in second with 2:05.63. She had done it, her tally of 6740 leaving her with 20 points to spare over Hall, who was gracious in defeat. The silver medallist said Johnson-Thompson’s comeback was “inspiring,” and she was content, if not overjoyed, with a second. “I have had to fight back from some injuries in 2021, so I know how hard it is. As much as I wanted it to be me with the gold, I’m really happy for her.”

Johnson-Thompson was equally gracious in return, saying Hall was the “last person you want to compete against in the 800m,” adding, “She will die trying.”

But that was exactly what Johnson-Thompson did, too.

While she told her story to assembled journalists an hour or so after crossing the line, tears were forming in her eyes, the pain of the past three years rising towards the surface. She paid special tribute to the man who’d brought her back to the top: Aston Moore. “He has believed in me; he has been that person in my ear saying, ‘You’ve got this.’ I owe everything to him, my coaches, and the support system around me. They’ve built me up, even when I’ve questioned myself.”

Having been through what she had, Johnson-Thompson wasn’t getting carried away with predictions, knowing Belgium’s Nafi Thiam will be back from injury next year and Hall, too, will likely be a far stronger athlete come the Paris Olympics.

“Who knows? It’s a sport,” she said. “You can’t predict the future. I’m going to build and build and carry this momentum into next year.”

No world champion gets it easy. But few in Budapest had earned their gold quite as much as Johnson-Thompson.