Nafi Thiam takes charge in heptathlon battle at European

Belgian takes early initiative over Johnson-ThompsonBritish trio make it through to final of women’s 1500m

It was billed as the clash of the titans, a showdown between the two greatest female multisport athletes of the age. But after two events Britain’s double world heptathlon Katarina Johnson-Thompson looks on the ropes at these European Athletics Championships, with the Olympic champion Nafi Thiam leading her by 143 points.

No one knew what to expect from the 29-year-old Thiam, given that she had not competed since 2022 due to a serious Achilles injury. But after a conservative effort in the 100m hurdles, where she ran 13.74sec to score 1015 points, the Belgian made an emphatic move in the high jump with first-time clearances at every height from 1.80m to 1.95m to score another 1171 points.