“I can’t change my personality. I’ll always smile, but I’ll be more focused.”
― Katarina Johnson-Thompson
“Everything happens for a reason – I’m a believer of that for sure.”
― Katarina Johnson-Thompson
“For a long time, I thought it was all down to dedication, hard work, and visualising doing well – that worked for a bit, but then it stopped. I’ve realised you have to be more practical and mature to make things actually happen.”
― Katarina Johnson-Thompson
“It’s inspiring for me to know that you’ve got to step up your game.”
― Katarina Johnson-Thompson
“It’s getting harder as I get more known. Even though it’s my break, I couldn’t really go out and get drunk – because people expect you to be training and getting up early. But I’m not bothered about missing out on normal teenage things.”
― Katarina Johnson-Thompson
“I want to lay all my cards out on the table and walk away with no regrets.”
― Katarina Johnson-Thompson
“I think I’ve slayed my long jump demons.”
― Katarina Johnson-Thompson
“I like to balance competing with studying. It’s hard work at the moment, but it could be worse.”
― Katarina Johnson-Thompson
“I can handle coming fifth as long as I know I’ve given my all out there and have no regrets.”
― Katarina Johnson-Thompson
“You don’t have to be a bodybuilder to have strength in your muscles.”
― Katarina Johnson-Thompson
“I feel like, when I’m 100% healthy, I can do anything.”
― Katarina Johnson-Thompson
“I’m very wholehearted. I want to concentrate on one thing in my life at one time.”
― Katarina Johnson-Thompson
“I’ve always believed in myself, and it’s such a long competition over two days, you can’t worry about what anyone else is doing.”
― Katarina Johnson-Thompson
“My granddad used to mind me at weekends, and if the game was on, and you wanted to get across the room, you had to crawl under the TV. So I’ve always been a Liverpool fan, and meeting Steven Gerrard was massive for me. He knew who I was before we’d even said hello!”
― Katarina Johnson-Thompson
“I played a lot of football, and I was a goalkeeper, but I didn’t really like playing in goal.”
― Katarina Johnson-Thompson
“Beijing was a huge slap in the face, and it forced me to look at myself. I have to realise that this is my life.”
― Katarina Johnson-Thompson
“It’s an individual sport; you want to do well for yourself.”
― Katarina Johnson-Thompson
“Every international meeting or championship I do, I can cope a lot better because I can say I did the 100 m. hurdles, opened up the athletics at an Olympic Games in front of a home crowd, 80,000 people.”
― Katarina Johnson-Thompson
“It’s crazy because it’s a British record and a personal best, but I wanted that 2 m. I cleared the 1.97 m. first attempt with space, so I think I could have done a little better.”
― Katarina Johnson-Thompson
“Mum is the girliest of them all, but she ended up with me, the tomboy.”
― Katarina Johnson-Thompson
“You can exercise anytime, anywhere. It doesn’t have to be the gym.”
― Katarina Johnson-Thompson
“I live with my mum and my nan. I think I will leave eventually, but not at the moment when they look after me so well. If you came to my house, they’d make you eat something.”
― Katarina Johnson-Thompson
“I want to win medals for myself.”
― Katarina Johnson-Thompson
“I always said I wanted an Olympic medal. It’s the pinnacle of any athlete’s career.”
― Katarina Johnson-Thompson
“Obviously, when you’re up against somebody you don’t like there’s extra motivation, but I don’t think any person going for an Olympic gold is going to put friendship first.”
― Katarina Johnson-Thompson
“I used to keep injuries to myself. It would just make it worse and worse. Now I’m having none of that.”
― Katarina Johnson-Thompson
“I got very addicted to performing. I just want to do that more.”
― Katarina Johnson-Thompson
“It’s very easy to run a good 200 m. after an appalling shot put.”
― Katarina Johnson-Thompson
“It’s impossible in heptathlon to have a proper rivalry – you’re spending two days together and seven events and dedicate your life to it. It’s like a marathon: two days of mental and physical exhaustion.”
― Katarina Johnson-Thompson
“Record-breaking is not getting boring. I am definitely happy with that.”
― Katarina Johnson-Thompson
“If you saw pictures of me as a kid, you’d laugh because I was always in football kit.”
― Katarina Johnson-Thompson
“Thankfully, I found athletics. My mum didn’t like it at first, but the funny thing is that, now, she’s the biggest athletics fan out there. She’s a real expert, and she’s got all the heptathlon books.”
― Katarina Johnson-Thompson
“You can be in the shape of your life, and then injury strikes. So you have to grab your opportunities.”
― Katarina Johnson-Thompson
“In the heptathlon, you can be any shape. Some of the girls are more built than others, and their strong events are the shot put and javelin.”
― Katarina Johnson-Thompson
“In the lead-up to competitions, I just watch box sets and DVDs and play ‘Candy Crush.’”
― Katarina Johnson-Thompson
“I want people to tell me the truth.”
― Katarina Johnson-Thompson
“I don’t want to be someone else.”
― Katarina Johnson-Thompson
“I can always go back to education.”
― Katarina Johnson-Thompson
“When there was a fight in school, because I was the tall one, the teachers would say, ‘I know you were there. I could see you.’”
― Katarina Johnson-Thompson
“Maybe I’m the kind of athlete who absorbs the atmosphere instead of trying to block it out.”
― Katarina Johnson-Thompson
“I think 2020 can still be my time.”
― Katarina Johnson-Thompson
“I’ve always looked at 2016, but 2020 is realistic for me. I’ll be 23 in 2016, but if I keep on progressing, hopefully 2016 will be a medal chance as well for me.”
― Katarina Johnson-Thompson
“When it comes to peaking at the right time, I have to thank my coach Mike Holmes: he is a genius.”
― Katarina Johnson-Thompson
“No one put pressure on me to go to the Olympics; once I’d got the qualifying mark, I just couldn’t say no.”
― Katarina Johnson-Thompson
“I’m training once a day, four days a week, and just loving life.”
― Katarina Johnson-Thompson
“I think everyone in the heptathlon is improving together, so it is a very hard event to compete in.”
― Katarina Johnson-Thompson
“That people believe I can be Olympic champ, it just spurs me on.”
― Katarina Johnson-Thompson
“Very few athletes get to experience a home Games, and I don’t want to pass up the chance.”
― Katarina Johnson-Thompson
“Competing in London would be a dream come true.”
― Katarina Johnson-Thompson
“I’m in awe of any Olympic champion, for sure.”
― Katarina Johnson-Thompson
“It’s a huge step up from the European Indoors to then being a gold medallist at the World Championships.”
― Katarina Johnson-Thompson
“If something is mine, then I want to keep it.”
― Katarina Johnson-Thompson
“I was watching ‘Deal or No Deal’ on YouTube recently, and I bawled when the contestant won ã250,000. I think I just like watching people achieve their dreams.”
― Katarina Johnson-Thompson
“As an athlete, you have to become quite selfish with your time and your body and your training.”
― Katarina Johnson-Thompson
“I should have a better CV, and that’s knocked me into believing that I have to grab these opportunities while I can.”
― Katarina Johnson-Thompson
“I think I rely on my talent more than my brain sometimes.”
― Katarina Johnson-Thompson
“I have seven disciplines to train for, and so I try to complete them all every week.”
― Katarina Johnson-Thompson
“An example of my average week would be the gym on Monday; Tuesday will be a technical session. I practice running and high jump on Thursday and then have another technical session at the weekend.”
― Katarina Johnson-Thompson
“Before training, I eat slow-release energy food, such as porridge or muesli, especially in the morning. Afterwards, I eat protein so my muscles are able to recover, such as a protein bar followed by a meal of chicken and vegetables. I always stay hydrated during workouts by drinking plenty of water throughout.”
― Katarina Johnson-Thompson
“I can’t be disappointed with my first gold in a senior championship, and to score 5000 points, which only one other woman, the world record holder, has got over, I am satisfied.”
― Katarina Johnson-Thompson
“I just need to concentrate on each event and accumulate a good score, and hopefully I won’t flop in the 800 m. in Gotzis.”
― Katarina Johnson-Thompson
“You can only train three or four hours a day, so what do you do with the other 20 hours?”
― Katarina Johnson-Thompson
“I’ve been training quite hard.”
― Katarina Johnson-Thompson
“I always have a book that I write during competition. I need it with me, just to read back and reflect and look forward. If I’m feeling anxious, it helps me.”
― Katarina Johnson-Thompson
“In 2012, I was over the moon to be there, especially as it was our home Olympics. It was a once-in-a-lifetime experience, and I just wanted to take everything in.”
― Katarina Johnson-Thompson
“I am going to Rio with a chance of a medal.”
― Katarina Johnson-Thompson
“I’ve got so many big gains to make in the javelin and the shot put. I know I’m not going to be winning the field in those events, but I need to do myself justice.”
― Katarina Johnson-Thompson
“When you see all the medals won by Team GB, you can just see how much it means to each and every athlete, so it just feel like it’s a little bit of a missed opportunity – but I’m only 23. I have just got to get on now and keep going.”
― Katarina Johnson-Thompson
“I’ve always known that Rio and Tokyo are my two Olympics. Now that Rio hasn’t gone to plan, Tokyo has to work, and I’m more motivated than ever.”
― Katarina Johnson-Thompson
“As a Liverpool fan, I’m an eternal optimist because of what we did in Istanbul in 2005.”
― Katarina Johnson-Thompson
“We are all trying to achieve our dreams.”
― Katarina Johnson-Thompson
“It’s what happens in other major championships – I just lose my head a little bit.”
― Katarina Johnson-Thompson
“When I was a kid, I always had my hair in two plaits. But for dancing, I had to have it in a bun because I did ballet.”
― Katarina Johnson-Thompson
“I used to play football with a load of lads, and I would be like a secret agent going out with a hat on so they wouldn’t see my hair in a bun.”
― Katarina Johnson-Thompson
“As soon as I could talk, I chose shorts to wear.”
― Katarina Johnson-Thompson
“My goal is definitely a gold medal still in Rio.”
― Katarina Johnson-Thompson
“There will be mental worries with the long jump before Rio, but I know I can get through it. It’s just getting my confidence back. I know I have a big jump in me.”
― Katarina Johnson-Thompson
“If I can put it together, I’ve got an opportunity to win.”
― Katarina Johnson-Thompson
“Getting rid of all the world records would be a bit of a radical move.”
― Katarina Johnson-Thompson
“In boxing, it’s one fight, so it’s easier to build up rivalries, but everyone’s got huge respect for each other.”
― Katarina Johnson-Thompson
“I’ve always followed this page on Instagram called the Sausage Dog Hotel.”
― Katarina Johnson-Thompson
“You don’t not want to beat somebody because you’re friends with them.”
― Katarina Johnson-Thompson
“I’m going to trust my instincts when something’s wrong.”
― Katarina Johnson-Thompson
“The heptathlon is made up of seven events, and people have strengths and weaknesses.”
― Katarina Johnson-Thompson
“I’m trying my best.”
― Katarina Johnson-Thompson
“They’re just my weaknesses. Everyone is just constantly talking to me about it. It doesn’t help.”
― Katarina Johnson-Thompson
“I actually hated dancing. My mum used to have to bribe me to go by buying me things. A year before I stopped going, I was going to go for an audition with the Royal Ballet. It turned out I was a year too young. Because I was tall, they thought I was older. But before I had the chance to go back, I quit.”
― Katarina Johnson-Thompson
“My mum was a dancer. She would tour the world with a group, and she had me in a dance class when I was still in a nappy. They told her to come back when I could walk.”
― Katarina Johnson-Thompson
“At primary school, it was always me and this other girl, Lauren, who would fight over who was the fastest every year. I was quicker, but for some reason, she always got the glory leg in the relay team. That used to annoy me.”
― Katarina Johnson-Thompson
“I don’t do athletics for any other reason than achieving certain distances, certain titles and goals in my head.”
― Katarina Johnson-Thompson
“This is my job. I just wake up, and I train.”
― Katarina Johnson-Thompson
“I was one of those girls in class who always had her hair in plaits, was always with the boys, always playing football in the street.”
― Katarina Johnson-Thompson
“It was just me and my mum growing up, and my mum’s always said that’s why I’m so mature. We were best friends, and if it wasn’t for her, I wouldn’t even have started athletics, because she wanted me to have a hobby.”
― Katarina Johnson-Thompson
“There’s a big debate whether pentathlon or heptathlon is harder: five events in one day or seven in two.”
― Katarina Johnson-Thompson
“It’s a huge step up from the European Indoor Championships to being world outdoor gold medallist.”
― Katarina Johnson-Thompson
“London 2012 was the biggest thing I will probably ever do, but I didn’t realise it at the time!”
― Katarina Johnson-Thompson
“I remember going down the tunnel into the Olympic Stadium and getting a glimpse of all the people and hearing all the noise, all the people shouting for us. I’d seen Usain Bolt on the warm-up track, and then, as I walked into the stadium, I sort of realised how big it was!”
― Katarina Johnson-Thompson
“For me, I can’t see Liverpool without him because he’s just been there since I was a kid. I had him on the back of my shirt. He’s always been on the team every time I’ve watched Liverpool. It’s going to be really weird next season, a Steven Gerrard-less Liverpool side.”
― Katarina Johnson-Thompson
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