Katarina Johnson-Thompson has turned a page on her Tokyo heartbreak by capturing a historic shared bronze medal in the heptathlon at the World Athletics Championships, bringing a full-circle moment to a career defined by resilience and comeback. The British star, who four years ago suffered a devastating calf injury on the same track during the 2021 Olympics, found herself once again at the heart of drama in the Japanese capital, this time for all the right reasons.
On September 20, 2025, the National Stadium in Tokyo bore witness to an unprecedented finish in the women's heptathlon. Johnson-Thompson and American Taliyah Brooks both finished with exactly 6,581 points after a nerve-wracking 800m finale, making them the first heptathletes ever to split a world medal. "Exactly the same points. You couldn't write it. I'm so happy that neither of us lost by a point, because that would have been absolutely horrendous," Johnson-Thompson told reporters, still in disbelief as the result was confirmed on the stadium's big screen.
The gold medal went to Anna Hall of the United States, who delivered a breakthrough performance with 6,888 points. Ireland's Kate O'Connor took silver, setting a national record of 6,714 points and making history as the first Irish athlete to win a global outdoor medal in the multi-events. Meanwhile, three-time Olympic champion Nafi Thiam withdrew from the competition while ranked eighth, clearing the way for a new set of podium finishers.
For Johnson-Thompson, the Tokyo stadium is a place heavy with memories. Four years prior, her Olympic dreams were shattered in the 200m due to a torn calf, forcing her out of the competition. The emotional weight was evident as she returned to the site of her trauma. "The minute I entered the indoor bit was when I just started crying straight away. The memories of coming through here, having to get my crutches out and not being able to finish the heptathlon, it just instantly hit me," she recalled. But this time, she was able to finish strong, running the final 800m in 2:07.38, just enough to catch Brooks and force the historic tie.
"I didn't celebrate until they actually put the medal around my neck, because, what the hell? I didn't know (the tie-break rules), but the thing came straight away and said we've got bronze, final decision, so I'm taking it," she said with a laugh, her relief palpable after such a tense conclusion.
Johnson-Thompson's journey to this moment has been nothing short of remarkable. After fearing her career might be over post-injury, she stormed back to reclaim her world title in Budapest in 2023 and finally won her first Olympic medal with silver in Paris 2024. Now, at 32, she has clinched her fourth global heptathlon medal and her third consecutive major podium, a testament to her enduring spirit and competitive fire.
Reflecting on her achievement, Johnson-Thompson said, "I've done this so many times it doesn't get any easier. If anything, I had the least confidence coming into this. It really does mean the world to me." The emotional significance of the moment was not lost on her. "To finish with a medal this time around, I can't put into words the full-circle moment I've just been through."
Her performance in Tokyo was not without its challenges. A disappointing javelin throw of 41.91m, ranking only 16th, left her with ground to make up in the final event. She needed to beat Brooks by about six seconds in the 800m to leapfrog her rival on the leaderboard. Though she managed to distance Brooks in the closing stages, Brooks crossed the line just 5.39 seconds later, setting up a tense, confusing wait before both athletes were awarded bronze.
Jessica Ennis-Hill, herself a four-time global heptathlon champion, summed up the moment on BBC TV: "You can see the emotions have kicked in. I don't think I've ever seen it where the scores are the same. The relief she must feel must be so huge. We all knew she would come and fight in the 800m. She will always push herself out of her comfort zone. She fought and that's what you want, you want every athlete to come out here and perform and that's what Katarina always does."
Elsewhere on the penultimate night of the championships, Great Britain's relay fortunes were a mixed bag. The men's 4x100m team—Jeremiah Azu, Louie Hinchliffe, Jona Efoloko, and Eugene Amo-Dadzie—suffered a heartbreaking exit after a botched final handover. "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," Amo-Dadzie shared after the race.
The women's 4x100m relay team, however, advanced safely to Sunday's final, clocking 41.88 seconds with a squad of Dina Asher-Smith, Daryll Neita, Desiree Henry, and Success Eduan. They'll be bolstered by 200m medallist Amy Hunt in the final, raising hopes for another podium finish.
The men's 4x400m relay team—Lee Thompson, Toby Harries, Seamus Derbyshire, and Charlie Dobson—also made it to the final with a time of 2:58.11. The women's quartet, however, finished last in their heat and will not progress.
Other British performances included Max Burgin's personal best of 1:42.29 in the men's 800m final, which was good enough for sixth place in a race won by Kenya's Olympic champion Emmanuel Wanyonyi. Hannah Nuttall finished eighth in the women's 5,000m final with a time of 15:01.25, as Kenya's Beatrice Chebet took gold.
As the championships head into the final day, Great Britain and Northern Ireland have secured three medals—women's 200m silver for Amy Hunt, men's 1500m silver for Jake Wightman, and Johnson-Thompson's shared bronze—placing them 22nd in the medal table, just ahead of the Republic of Ireland. With Olympic champion Keely Hodgkinson and others still to compete, the team is hoping to add to its tally before the curtain falls on Tokyo.
For Johnson-Thompson, though, this shared bronze is more than just a medal—it's a symbol of perseverance, closure, and the rewriting of her Tokyo story. "I've been through it all in the last 24 hours," she admitted. Whether this marks the start of a new chapter or the closing of an old wound, one thing is clear: she has given herself, and her fans, a memory to cherish from the city that once broke her heart.
