RIO DE JANEIRO, (Reuters) – Briton Jessica Ennis-Hill made an excellent start to the defence of her Olympic heptathlon title yesterday to lead after four events overnight, but her compatriot Katarina Johnson-Thompson is up against it after a shot-put disaster.
Ennis-Hill, who came back from having a baby to win the world championship last year, was solid all day while her younger rivals oscillated. She opened up with an impressive 12.84 seconds 100 metres hurdles on a wet track, then cleared a season’s best of 1.89m – her second-best jump at a global championships – in the high jump.
A solid shot kept her well placed and a 200m of 23.49, second-best on the night, left her in the lead on 4,057 points. Johnson-Thompson, touted by many to be Ennis-Hill’s biggest threat, cleared a British high jump record of 1.98 metres to lead after two events, but had an appalling shot best of 11.68 to plummet to sixth.
Johnson-Thompson was in contention in the world championships last year before three fouls in the long jump stopped her in her tracks and she looked similarly distraught after her shot effort.
