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'It would be a shame to give up': Johnson-Thompson has eyes on Los Angeles 2028 after clinching first Olympic medal
10 August 2024, 12:12
Katarina Johnson-Thompson has confirmed she has her eyes on Olympic gold in four years' time after finally clinching her first Games medal at Friday night's nail-biting heptathlon finale.
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Asked by LBC's Charlotte Lynch how she was feeling about the next four years and the potential that she could make a return for Los Angeles 2028, the silver medalist said she was "feeling good" and had her eye on the next championships.
"I feel like I'm starting to truly know myself as a competitor, know my body as an athlete," she said.
"It would be such a shame to give up all this knowledge I've got and all of this competitive energy I've got, so as long as I'm competitive I'm going to be around."
Johnson-Thompson narrowly missed out on gold to defending champion Nafi Thiam despite running and throwing several personal and season's bests during the seven events.
The Team GB Olympian's career has been something of a rollercoaster marked by stunning highs and desperate lows, having suffered a career-threatening Achilles injury and another devastating setback during the Tokyo Games.
Heptathlete Katarina Johnson-Thompson wins a silver medal
But reflecting on her success at the Paris Games, Johnson-Thompson said: "I always feel support, whether I do good or bad, and I'm so grateful for that.
"As an athlete, it's very high stakes out there - and I know it's only sport - but it is people's lives. It's day in, day out. The Olympics comes every four years and this it the fourth time of me trying so I know that the stakes are so high.
The two-time world champion said she had felt the country's support from home and within the stadium.
"There were so many British flags in that stadium. I'm forever grateful to all them people."
Johnson-Thompson admitted that there was "a moment" when she thought she may never get her hands on an Olympic medal, "especially after Tokyo".
The silver medalist said she felt a huge relief after her shotput throw.
"It's not like a big throw in the grand scheme of things but I came from a background of in 2016 when I threw 11.5m, so to get over 14m... when it mattered, last throw."
She continued: "I've had a lot of experiences where I've just taken part and you can't get that sort of animal out of you. So I'm so happy that I was in that state where I was responding and competing.
"I'm proud of the performance I put out there."
The heptathlon also said she believes she could not "have done any more" after losing out on gold to Nafi Thiam - the three-time Olympic champion who is widely considered the greatest of all time in the event.
"I'm really happy that I was able to push her to the very end and make it a little bit harder.
"I've got no regrets at all. I'm super proud of my performance and I couldn't have done any more.
Johnson-Thompson said she would first be enjoying some sleep before properly celebrating.
"See my family see my dogs. Get a little cuddle from my dogs... go home and just relax."
