Katarina Johnson-Thompson holds onto heptathlon lead after long jump

The Briton leads by 45 points ahead of the javelin.

Great Britain’s Katarina Johnson-Thompson during the long jump on day two of the women’s heptathlon (Martin Rickett/PA). (PA Wire)

Katarina Johnson-Thompson has retained her lead in the Olympic heptathlon after the long jump at Stade de France.

The Liverpudlian held a 48-point lead over double defending Olympic champion Nafissatou Thiam heading into the second and final day of heptathlon action at the Stade de France.

Johnson-Thompson, the reigning world champion, knew she would need a result from her third attempt after the Belgian made 6.41 metres.

She came up just shy with 6.40 on her final try, but it was still enough to retain her position at the top of the table heading into the javelin throw.

Thiam has closed the gap on the Briton, whose lead has narrowed to 45 points after the long jump,

A champion will be crowned after the final event, the 800 metres, taking place this evening.

Johnson-Thompson’s GB team-mate Jade O’Dowda sits 11th after a best long jump effort of 6.33 metres.

Yemi Mary John, Hannah Kelly, Jodie Williams and Lina Nielsen qualified Team GB for Saturday’s women’s 4×400 metres relay final in a season’s best 3:24.72.

They booked the second of three automatic places from a heat absolutely dominated by a season’s best from the American team, who finished more than three seconds ahead of the British quartet.

Ireland are also through after 3:25.05 from Sophie Becker, Phil Healy, Kelly McGrory and Sharlene Mawdsley landed them third in heat two and seventh overall.

Great Britain will also go for gold in the men’s 4×400 metres relay final on Saturday night.

The GB team of Sam Reardon, Matthew Hudson-Smith, Toby Harries and Charlie Dobson were the second-fastest from the two heats in a season’s-best 2:58.88.

Quickest of the bunch were Botswana, thanks in part to a blistering 44.33 first leg from Letsile Tebogo, fresh from his 200 metres gold on Thursday night.

Botswana held an unassailable lead from the start, but Dobson was one of three men who had clawed back considerable distance around the final bend.

The Briton was in a tight battle with Japan’s Kentaro Sato down the final stretch before Christopher Bailey surged to snatch second for the United States.

Hudson-Smith, who claimed individual 400 metres silver for his first Olympic medal on Tuesday, said: “It’s been a hell of a two days, but I’ll find another gear for the final.

“Let’s get that medal, be a double Olympic medallist, and we can win it. We’ve got the team, we’ve got the mentality, we’ve got the coaches in Martyn Rooney and Darren Campbell, so let’s make history.

“We can do anything, we can get the British record, the European record. If we did good we could get the world record, anything is possible. We’ve got the team, we just need to execute and bring it home

“I think honestly for me, the individual medal was more so for my coach and my family, the relay is just for the boys and for myself.”

Max Burgin became the first British man to make an Olympic 800 metres final since Andrew Osagie at London 2012 in a personal best 1:43.50, third-fastest from the semis.

Ben Pattison and Elliot Giles, the latter a late call-up for the injured Jake Wightman, bowed out after their semi-finals.

There was heart-break in the third women’s 100 metres hurdles semi-final for Cindy Sember, who fell at at the third-from-final hurdle.