Who is Katarina Johnson-Thompson and when is she competing?
The Team GB heptathlete will rival Jessica Ennis-Hill for a medal when the competition kicks off on Friday 12th August 2016
Name: Katarina Johnson-Thompson
Olympic sport: Heptathlon
Age: 23
From: Liverpool
When is Katarina Johnson-Thompson competing in Rio 2016?
Johnson-Thompson starts the heptathlon in the 100m hurdles, Friday 12th August from 1.35pm. After that she’s competing in the high jump (Friday, 2.50pm), the shotput (Saturday 13th August, 12.35am), the 200m (Saturday, 2.05am), the long jump (Saturday, 3.45pm), the javelin throw (Sunday 14th August, 12.00am), before finishing off her medal chances in the 800m (Sunday, 02.50am).
Greatest moment
Qualifying for the London 2012 Olympics aged just 19.
Who is Katarina Johnson-Thompson?
While Jessica Ennis-Hill is Team GB’s best known heptathlon hopeful, Katarina Johnson-Thompson gives Britain a second shot at gold. A very good shot, considering she beat Ennis Hill’s long jump score in July’s Anniversary Games.
Johnson-Thompson started competing in every sport she could in primary school and finally picked to compete in the heptathlon as she couldn’t chose between specialising in the long jump or hurdles. After training in her chosen seven sports throughout her teenage years, she beat Ennis-Hill's British junior record by 338 points to qualify for the 2012 Olympics.
Although she didn’t pick up a medal in London, last year Johnson-Thompson set new British records in the high jump (1.97m) and the indoor long jump (6.93m).
However, 2015 also brought the biggest setback in Johnson-Thompson’s career when, after three foul jumps, she failed to score in the long jump in the World Championships. But she still managed to qualify for Rio 2016 and hopes to put the long jump nerves behind her when the competition begins this Friday.
Authors
Thomas is Digital editor at BBC Science Focus. Writing about everything from cosmology to anthropology, he specialises in the latest psychology, health and neuroscience discoveries. Thomas has a Masters degree (distinction) in Magazine Journalism from the University of Sheffield and has written for Men’s Health, Vice and Radio Times. He has been shortlisted as the New Digital Talent of the Year at the national magazine Professional Publishers Association (PPA) awards. Also working in academia, Thomas has lectured on the topic of journalism to undergraduate and postgraduate students at The University of Sheffield.