Katarina Johnson-Thompson to miss rival while Tom Bosworth hits golden stride
The Commonwealth heptathlon champion yesterday won in the long jump at the British Indoor Championships.
She will compete in the pentathlon, picking her events, at the French National Championships next weekend ahead of March’s European Indoor Championships in Glasgow.
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Hide AdOlympic, world and European champion Thiam has a calf problem and will not compete in the pentathlon in Scotland.
And after winning in Birmingham with a jump of 6.46m, Johnson-Thompson wants to face the Belgian.
“Yeah, it’s a real shame. I was a bit gutted because she wasn’t in Birmingham last year and I like to compete against her,” said Johnson-Thompson, ahead of her next competition in Miramas. “She is going to be a fierce competitor and I am excited for the outdoors.
“I haven’t done a pentathlon this year so I don’t know (if she is favourite in Glasgow) because there are a lot of good girls out there and anything can happen on the day. If I can concentrate on me and get my events where they need to be, then I’ll be fine.”
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Hide AdElsewhere, on a day short of top names, Leeds’s Tom Bosworth won the 5,000m race walk in a season’s best of 19 minutes 22.56 seconds.
The 29-year-old won silver in the 20k event at last year’s Commonwealth Games.
“I’m exhausted. I’ve had a mare of a week. I came back from South Africa and I’ve been sick,” he said. “I pushed the pace and it was a bit of a shame that he got disqualified because I didn’t have it in my legs today.
“I love competing on home soil and people know more about race walking and about me and I want to put on a show and entertain everyone.”
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