Impressive start for Katarina Johnson-Thompson as she leads heptathlon

The reigning world champion produced season’s best 100m hurdles and high jump.

Great Britain’s Katarina Johnson-Thompson in the high jump (Martin Rickett, PA) (PA Wire)

Katarina Johnson-Thompson got off to an excellent start in the women’s heptathlon at Paris 2024 as she sat in first place after the 100m hurdles and the high jump.

The reigning world champion, who has come to Paris nursing an ongoing tendonitis issue, set a season’s best of 13.40 seconds in the hurdles and then moved up from eighth place overall with a jump of 1.92 metres, also her best this year.

The high jump came down to a tense battle between Johnson-Thompson and the defending Olympic champion Nafissatou Thiam, who was perfect until the bar was raised to 1.95 metres but then failed on all three attempts.

Johnson-Thompson, who had needed a couple of attempts to clear the bar at 1.86, 1.89 and 1.92 metres, pulled out of her first attempt before falling short on the next two.

It meant Johnson-Thompson leads with 2197 points after two events, with the Belgian Thiam on 2173.

American Anna Hall, the favourite, had looked off the pace in the hurdles, one of her stronger events, but a season’s best jump of 1.89 metres moved her up to third place overall with 2164.

Johnson-Thompson’s team-mate Jade O’Dowda sits in ninth after maxing out at 1.80 metres in the high jump with 2024 points.

The shot put and the 200m are the remaining events on day one of the women’s heptathlon at the Stade de France.

Great Britain advanced to the final of the women’s 4x100m as Bianca Williams, Imani Lansiquot, Amy Hunt and Desiree Henry held off a late charge from the French to win their heat.

Even without Dina Asher-Smith and Daryll Neita, expected to come in for the final, Team GB’s time of 42.03 seconds was second only to the United States, who won their heat in a time of 41.94 despite a poor handover between Twanisha Terry and Gabrielle Thomas at the mid-point of the race.

The men’s team were in a tighter battle as Jeremiah Azu, Louie Hinchliffe, Richard Kilty and Nethaneel Mitchell-Blake finished third in their heat, running a season’s best 38.04 but beaten to second place by South Africa in a photo finish.

In a shock result in the second heat, Jamaica failed to advance after a series of poor changeovers left them in fourth place behind China, France and Canada.