KATARINA Johnson-Thompson has vowed to end her injury nightmare and make up for lost time next year after a niggling foot injury spoiled her summer.
The heptathlete was ready to make a huge impression on the world stage after securing a personal best of 6,682 points in July – a world-leading-score in 2014.
But she never got the chance to turn that blistering form into medals, sustaining a ‘stress reaction’ in her foot, which forced her to sit on the sidelines for eight weeks.
In that time, the Glasgow Commonwealth Games and the European Championships have come and gone – and the 21-year-old admits 2015 can’t come soon enough.
“Everything’s fine, it’s been OK since day two (of the injury), I haven’t felt anything, so I don’t feel like an injured athlete, which is annoying,” said Johnson-Thompson, who was speaking at the 2014 Sainsbury’s School Games in Manchester.
“It was just the worst time possible. If it was the start of the year, I could have recovered from it and just plodded on with my season, but it was over two major championships, which is the annoying thing.”
Next year could prove the tonic for Johnson-Thompson ahead of the Rio Olympics in 2016, as the World Championships in Beijing loom next August.
The Sainsbury’s 2014 School Games, which is supported by National Lottery funding from Sport England and delivered by the Youth Sport Trust, is taking place in venues across Manchester this weekend. Visit www.2014schoolgames.com for more information.
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