| Venue: Hayward Field, Eugene, Oregon Events: 15-24 July |
| Cover: Watch live on BBC TV, BBC iPlayer, BBC Sport website and mobile app (UK only) |
Britain’s Katarina Johnson-Thompson finished eighth as Nafissatou Thiam triumphed in the heptathlon at the World Championships in Oregon.
The defending champion finished 10th in the 800-meter race – the last of the seven races – and scored 6,222 points.
Belgium’s Thiam bested Anouk Vetter and registered her best 800m time to secure gold with a world-leading total of 6,947.
Vetter took silver with 6,867 while American Anna Hall took bronze.
Johnson-Thompson won the world title in Doha in 2019 but has struggled with a series of injuries since.
she recovered from a torn Achilles tendon at the Tokyo Olympics last year only to see her dream of a first Olympic medal end from a calf injury at 200m.
Earlier, Dina Asher Smith began her 200m world title defense with a smooth qualification to the semifinals in 22.56 seconds.
Captain of the British team Nethaneel Mitchell Blake qualified for the men’s 200m semifinals with a time of 20.11 while he was a compatriot Joe Ferguson also reached the semifinals on his World Championship debut in 20:33.
Johnson-Thompson, who finished sixth after the previous day’s four events, put on a performance of 6.28m in the long jump and threw 39.18m in the javelin on Monday.
The lead passed between Vetter of the Netherlands and two-time Olympic champion Thiam after Vetter’s impressive 58.29m javelin throw.
Thiam’s 53.01m wasn’t enough to maintain the lead, but a personal best of 2:13.00 in the 800m secured her the gold medal.
Thiam is now a two-time world champion in the discipline, having previously won gold in 2017 and silver behind Johnson-Thompson three years ago.
“This is not a vintage Kat race – but it will come”
Johnson-Thompson shouldn’t be among the medalists given her injury woes last year.
“It’s a perspective,” said BBC sports expert Jessica Ennis-Hill, who won an Olympic gold medal and three world titles in the heptathlon, of Johnson-Thompson.
“She came into the championships with a goal to perform, to be competitive, to come out injury free and to improve on what she’s already done this year.
“It’s safe to say she’s well on her way to doing that. She’s had so many injuries over the past few years and she’s had some really tough challenges to deal with so we’re seeing really solid performances.”
Britain’s Denise Lewis, who won Olympic heptathlon gold in 2000, added: “I’m glad she’s still smiling, I’m glad she’s injury free but I think she’ll be thoughtful now.
“There’s a bit more evidence of speed coming back. This is not a vintage Kat race, but it will come.”
In which marathon, Gotytom Gebreslase of Ethiopia won gold in two hours and 18.11 seconds, beating Britain’s Paula Radcliffe’s previous championship record of 2:20.57 from 2005.
Kenya’s Judith Korir won silver while Israel’s Lonah Salpeter took bronze.
Jess Piasecki was the best-placed British runner when she finished 12th in 2:28.41, while compatriots Rose Harvey and Charlotte Purdue did not finish.
