The World Athletics Championships in Tokyo delivered a heptathlon showdown for the ages on September 20, 2025, as athletes battled not only their competitors but also the ghosts of their own pasts. The women’s heptathlon concluded in extraordinary fashion, with a tie for bronze, a dominant new champion, and emotional redemption on the very track where heartbreak once reigned.
Britain’s Katarina Johnson-Thompson, the defending world champion, returned to the Tokyo National Stadium to face not just her rivals, but also the lingering memories of a career-threatening injury sustained at the same venue during the 2024 Olympics. Johnson-Thompson’s journey this week was as much about rewriting her own history as it was about chasing medals. She arrived in the Japanese capital looking to defend her world title, but the emotional weight of the arena hit her hard. “The minute I entered… I just literally started crying straight away. I haven’t really cried about that for a long time. I felt the emotion, I saw the track and it just felt like the same,” she told reporters, referencing the trauma of her calf injury four years earlier.
Yet, as the competition unfolded, Johnson-Thompson found new resolve. Heading into the final event, the 800 metres, she was in fourth place and needed a significant performance to reach the podium. The challenge was clear: she had to beat American Taliyah Brooks by around six seconds to secure a medal. Johnson-Thompson’s personal best over the distance was 8.5 seconds faster than Brooks’, but the pressure of the moment was palpable.
What followed was a dramatic, nerve-wracking race. Brooks, hungry for her first global heptathlon medal, pushed herself to the limit and managed to stay within 1.5 seconds of Johnson-Thompson at the bell for the final lap. But Johnson-Thompson, showing her championship pedigree, paced herself masterfully. She steadily increased her lead and, with a surge down the final straight, crossed the line in 2 minutes 7.38 seconds—5.79 seconds ahead of Brooks, who clocked a personal best 2:13.17.
Then, the real drama began. The heptathlon’s points system meant that both athletes finished with an identical tally of 6,581 points. For a moment, confusion reigned in the stadium. The big screen listed Brooks ahead of Johnson-Thompson, but with the number ‘3’ next to both names. In a rare and remarkable twist, both athletes were awarded the bronze medal. Johnson-Thompson, still processing the surreal outcome, admitted, “I’m in a bit of disbelief. I didn’t celebrate until they actually put the medal around my neck because what the hell was that? You couldn’t write it. I’m so happy that neither of us lost by a point because that would have been horrendous.”
This shared bronze marked Johnson-Thompson’s 11th major championship medal, adding to her two World Championship golds and Olympic silver. For Brooks, the joint bronze was the culmination of a day packed with personal bests—not just in the 800m, but also in the long jump and javelin. “To share bronze is a special situation for us and I couldn’t be more proud, even if it’s a joint medal,” Brooks said. “I think we both deserve it, we both worked really hard and had a lot of ups and downs, so it came down to the 800 metres as it always does. We both fought until the end.”
At the top of the podium, the narrative belonged to Anna Hall of the United States. Hall, who had endured knee surgery and missed much of the 2024 season, completed a stunning comeback to claim her first global gold medal with a total of 6,888 points. Hall ran the final 800 metres in 2 minutes 6.08 seconds, holding off Ireland’s Kate O’Connor, who finished with a national record of 6,714 points to take silver. Hall’s victory was historic—she became the first American to win the heptathlon world title since Jackie Joyner-Kersee in 1993. “This gold means so much,” Hall told Reuters. “Jackie and I have talked about the worlds and I am so glad to finally get my gold. I struggled with injuries in 2024 and my body did not let me perform to my full potential in Paris (at the Olympics).”
O’Connor’s silver was equally momentous for Ireland, as she shattered her own national record. Hall’s performance across the two days was a masterclass in consistency, with a personal best of 48.13 metres in the javelin and a strong showing in the 800 metres sealing her victory. The competition, however, was not without its heartbreaks. Belgium’s Nafi Thiam, a triple Olympic and twice world champion, withdrew from the heptathlon after a disappointing long jump left her out of medal contention. Thiam, who had not been beaten in competition since 2019, saw her remarkable streak come to an end in Tokyo.
The British contingent had more stories to tell. Max Burgin, running in the men’s 800m final, finished sixth, but his time of 1 minute 42.29 seconds was a personal best and the third-fastest ever by a Briton. “Sixth is a bit of a disappointment – but not a disaster,” Burgin reflected, showing the relentless drive of an athlete always seeking more. Meanwhile, Hannah Nuttall placed eighth in the women’s 5,000m final with a time of 15 minutes 1.25 seconds, capping a strong showing for Team GB’s distance squad.
The relay teams experienced mixed fortunes. Great Britain’s men’s 4x100m relay quartet suffered a gut-wrenching exit after a botched final baton handover dashed their hopes of making the final. “I guess it’s a natural disappointment. When we’re in a situation where you feel like you didn’t do the job to the best of your ability, because it doesn’t just impact yourself, it impacts the whole team,” said Eugene Amo-Dadzie, reflecting on the team’s misfortune. In contrast, Britain’s women’s 4x100m and men’s 4x400m teams both advanced to their respective finals, with the men clocking 2 minutes 58.11 seconds in their heat.
For Johnson-Thompson, the Tokyo championships were about more than medals. Surrounded by family and friends, she found closure and a new chapter on the track that once symbolized pain. “When I know she [her mother Tracey] is in the stadium, I know I can share that moment. It creates memories that will last a lifetime. This is exactly what I do it for,” she said, her voice a mixture of relief and joy.
As the stadium lights faded on a day of high drama, redemption, and shared triumphs, the women’s heptathlon in Tokyo will be remembered as a testament to resilience and the unpredictable magic of sport. The action continues, but for these athletes, new stories—and new memories—have already been written.
