'Fought so hard' – Katarina Johnson-Thompson held back by injury
Great Britain's Katarina Johnson-Thompson said injuries have held her back as she struggled on day one of the heptathlon at the European Championships.
Two-time world champion Johnson-Thompson has never won a European heptathlon title, taking silver in 2018 behind Belgian great Nafissatou Thiam.
While three-time Olympic champion Thiam is absent, Johnson-Thompson's own injury issues meant her form leading into the championships was unknown.
The 33-year-old had competed just once – in the shot put at an event in Loughborough in May – since winning world bronze in Tokyo last September.
And a lack of competition time was evident as she finished the first day of the heptathlon in 16th place – 324 points behind leader Adrianna Sulek-Schubert of Poland.
"This season's been super difficult," Johnson-Thompson told the BBC.
"I just love the home crowds and I fought so hard to be healthy and here on the start line, so I feel like all my energy and my efforts were pretty much to get here to the start line.
"Obviously I believe in myself and I trust my talent, but I just haven't put in enough work unfortunately."
Johnson-Thompson under way in the heptathlon
A time of 14 seconds flat in the 100m hurdles, which ranked 15th overall, put Johnson-Thompson on the back foot from the start, but she climbed to 10th in the standings with a clearance over 1.83m in the high jump.
In the shot put – typically her weakest of the seven events – a best throw of 12.79m dropped her to 15th.
But it was in the 200m sprint, the final event on Friday, where the gap between Johnson-Thompson and her former self was glaringly obvious.
She smiled and soaked up the adoration of the home crowd before stepping into the starting blocks for her heat, but was unable to keep pace with the rest of the field and crossed the finish line in last place.
"It's such a pleasure to be here at full capacity and hear the home cheer again," Johnson-Thompson said.
