Denise Lewis has told Katarina Johnson-Thompson her gold medal is the sign she needed not to quit before the Paris Olympics.
Johnson-Thompson admitted after retaining the heptathlon there had been moments “I didn’t know if I wanted to carry on”.
Lewis, a former Olympic champion and close confidante, said: “Kat was very doubtful whether she was going to stay in the sport. But if she were to leave and not get the opportunity to stand on the Olympic podium I just wonder whether she would think something was missing from her illustrious career.”
So after last night’s medal ceremony, Lewis told the Liverpudlian: "You got the sign you were looking for. That it’s all worth it. To carry on and keep pushing through."
She also kept a pre-championships promise to the now two-time Commonwealth winner by rewarding her win with a bottle of bubbly.
“Denise has just delivered the goods,” said KJT, after being cheered on the podium by another capacity crowd. “I can’t promise that’s going to last long!”
A memorable night for the 29-year old was capped by seeing boyfriend Andy Pozzi take bronze in the 110m hurdles.
Local boy Pozzi, who won the 2018 world indoor title in Birmingham, was bidding to complete a Brummie double.
He could not beat Rasheed Broadbell, the Jamaican who equalled Colin Jackson’s 13.08secs Games record.
But despite clipping the final hurdle kept his balance to take third behind Shane Brathwaite in 13.37.
Lawrence Okoye, who spent five years trying to make it in the NFL, took discus silver with a 64.99m throw - a decade after announcing himself at London 2012.
Jess Thirlby’s England netball stars got the reward their efforts did not deserve by beating New Zealand.
A 54-44 win at a packed NEC Arena meant they top Pool B with a maximum five wins and get what should have been the preferred semi-final against the runners-up of Pool A.
But Jamaica’s first ever defeat of netball superpower Australia meant that instead of a last-four class against the Sunshine Girls, England now face the Aussies tomorrow.
It is a rematch of the 2018 final which the Roses famously won and four years on they will not fear the Diamonds given the class of their play against the Kiwis.
Shooters Eleanor Cardwell (26 of 29) and Helen Housby (23 of 26) were too sharp for New Zealand, who were turned over 14 times.
Meanwhile, Nethaneel Mitchell-Blake has revealed that cramp wrecked his chances of a Commonwealth sprint medal.
The British 200m champion was not a factor in Wednesday’s 100m final as England's curse struck again.
Just as Zharnel Hughes blamed cramp for false starting in last year's Olympic final in Tokyo, so Mitchell-Blake did in Birmingham.
“An obscure sequence of events,” he wrote on Insta. “Was cramping prior to the race and wouldn’t quite settle, therefore was scared to go all out and cause an injury.
“I really felt I had a shot out there but wasn’t meant to be. Gotta be better moving forward.”
In Tokyo, Hughes told how his left calf cramped up in the ‘set’ position before the gun.
“It was so severe that I just couldn’t stay in my blocks,” he said. “I tried but it was too severe to stay there and I ended up moving. Wrong time and wrong place.”
Hughes fared far better here qualifying fastest for the 200m semi-finals in 20.30 seconds. But once bitten he was twice shy.
“There’s no need for statements now, you make statements now and then nothing could happen in the final,” he said. “It’s just about taking round by round, taking it easy, qualify, and when the final comes you unleash the beast."
Also into today’s semis is Adam Gemili who won his heat (20.92) in his first race since severing ties with coach Rana Reider.
