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Katarina Johnson-Thompson enters the final event of the heptathlon eyeing a first medal at the Olympics.
The Team GB star has been battling double-defending Olympic champion Nafissatou Thiam at Stade de France.
The reigning world champion, who is searching for her first Olympic medal, had built a 48-point lead over the Belgian overnight heading into day two of the event. And after reaching 6.40m in the long jump, just 0.01m short of Thiam, the 31-year-old retained first place before the javelin throw.
But after KJT only earned 773 points following a throw of 45.49m in Group A, meaning the Briton’s lead was 818 points after posting 5803 points overall after six events, with athletes in Group B still to go.
And Thiam, performing in this group, produced a spectacular first throw and a huge season’s best of 54.04m, clocking up 939 points to snatch the lead heading into tonight’s 800m.
She would follow that up with her third throw, an impressive 52.56m, but her first mark secured a lead of 121 points.
While Johnson-Thompson’s Great Britain teammate Jade O’Dowda sits 11th overall.
That gap is roughly equivalent to eight seconds in the 800m, and if the athletes are running in the region of 62-63 seconds per lap, then that margin is approximately 40-45m.
Switzerland's Annik Kaelin is third (5694 points) and Belgium's Noor Vidts is fourth (5689 points) in the standings with one event remaining.
It means KJT has 114 points to protect to remain on the podium, roughly equivalent to the same gap to Thiam in first place.
Johnson-Thompson has a personal best in the 800m of 2:05.63, approximately six seconds faster than Thiam’s best mark of 2:11.79, which she ran at the European Championships in Rome this summer. That difference in time for KJT is worth 91 points. Johnson-Thompson would therefore need to run almost 8.5 seconds faster than Thiam to bridge the gap in the overall standings.
Johnson-Thompson is yet to run the 800m this year, though, meaning her condition is unknown entering the final event.
The Team GB star should be able to hold onto a medal, which would complete the set after silverware at the World Championships, European Championships and Commonwealth Games.
Her personal best is clear of Kalin, a bronze medallist at the 2022 European Championships, who has an 800m time of 2:13.73, while Vidts' 800m best is stronger, but still short of the Briton in 2:09.35.
The final event of the heptathlon, 800m, will begin at 8:25pm local time (7:25pm BST).
