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Life is a journey. | 0:02:37 | 0:02:39 | |
Heptathlete Katarina Johnson-Thompson is about to embark | 0:02:39 | 0:02:42 | |
on one of the most important legs of her journey. | 0:02:42 | 0:02:45 | |
The 23-year-old from Liverpool is close to her chance | 0:02:47 | 0:02:50 | |
to compete on the biggest stage, for the biggest prize in sport. | 0:02:50 | 0:02:55 | |
An Olympic gold medal. | 0:02:55 | 0:02:58 | |
My name is Darren Campbell and in 2004, I won an Olympic gold | 0:02:59 | 0:03:04 | |
medal for Great Britain in the 4 x 100 metres relay in Athens. | 0:03:04 | 0:03:08 | |
Four years earlier, in Sydney, | 0:03:08 | 0:03:10 | |
I won an individual silver in the 200 metres. | 0:03:10 | 0:03:13 | |
I loved my career. | 0:03:14 | 0:03:16 | |
Athletics gave me so much and taught me so much. | 0:03:16 | 0:03:19 | |
I know that to win any medal, you need to work hard, very hard. | 0:03:19 | 0:03:24 | |
After bursting on the scene as a teenager | 0:03:31 | 0:03:33 | |
at the London Olympics, Katarina has gone on to win major championship | 0:03:33 | 0:03:37 | |
medals and has become one of the biggest stars in the sport. | 0:03:37 | 0:03:40 | |
Last year, with a heptathlon gold in her sights, | 0:03:42 | 0:03:44 | |
she endured heartbreak, but now, on the eve of the Rio Olympics, | 0:03:44 | 0:03:48 | |
she has Jessica Ennis-Hill and a top podium position in her sights. | 0:03:48 | 0:03:52 | |
Over the past few months, I've been given special access to Kat | 0:03:55 | 0:03:59 | |
in her qualification in the run-up to Rio | 0:03:59 | 0:04:02 | |
in her quest to become Olympic champion. | 0:04:02 | 0:04:06 | |
I used to live in Netherley in Liverpool, and it was me, | 0:04:19 | 0:04:22 | |
my mum, my nan, my grandad and my nan's sister, | 0:04:22 | 0:04:25 | |
all in one house growing up, so I had a big family. | 0:04:25 | 0:04:28 | |
Even though I was the only child. | 0:04:28 | 0:04:30 | |
She was an absolute joy. She was a tomboy. | 0:04:30 | 0:04:32 | |
-A tomboy? -She was a tomboy. | 0:04:32 | 0:04:34 | |
When I thought I had a girl, | 0:04:34 | 0:04:37 | |
I thought... I bought all little dresses, | 0:04:37 | 0:04:38 | |
but she wasn't having any of it. | 0:04:38 | 0:04:40 | |
-As soon as she could walk, she wanted leggings on, you know? -Yeah. | 0:04:40 | 0:04:44 | |
Always. I always had a house full of boys, | 0:04:44 | 0:04:46 | |
because she used to play football every day. | 0:04:46 | 0:04:48 | |
-She would never, she wouldn't let me buy any pink. -No pink? -No pink. | 0:04:48 | 0:04:51 | |
I was always, like, active and moving around, and stuff, | 0:04:52 | 0:04:55 | |
but my mum put me in ballet dancing lessons from quite a young age. | 0:04:55 | 0:04:59 | |
-Cos that's what she did as a profession. -OK. | 0:04:59 | 0:05:01 | |
She was a dancer, and she danced around the world and staff, | 0:05:01 | 0:05:03 | |
and that's the sort of life she, like, | 0:05:03 | 0:05:06 | |
not pushed on me, but she wanted for me. | 0:05:06 | 0:05:08 | |
so literally, from a very | 0:05:08 | 0:05:09 | |
young age, I was in, like, ballet shoes, dancing, doing tap dance. | 0:05:09 | 0:05:13 | |
But then, when she said, that's it, I'm not doing it, I was heartbroken. | 0:05:13 | 0:05:16 | |
-I was going to say... -Because she had a chance to go to the Royal Ballet and she's like, | 0:05:16 | 0:05:19 | |
I'm not doing it. And the teacher was saying, | 0:05:19 | 0:05:21 | |
how about if I gave you private lessons, the teacher was saying. | 0:05:21 | 0:05:24 | |
But she was like, no, I've had enough. | 0:05:24 | 0:05:26 | |
So, I said OK, if you're going to stop, you need a hobby of some sort. | 0:05:26 | 0:05:31 | |
And do you think your mum secretly wanted you to be a dancer? | 0:05:31 | 0:05:34 | |
Yes, she did. Like, literally, the day I stopped dancing, | 0:05:34 | 0:05:37 | |
her and the dance teacher were both crying their eyes out. | 0:05:37 | 0:05:39 | |
-Aw! -I know. And we went to a number of different things, football, | 0:05:39 | 0:05:43 | |
keyboard lessons, and luckily, at drama school we did this athletics competition | 0:05:43 | 0:05:48 | |
at the end of each year to the track I still train on to this day. | 0:05:48 | 0:05:53 | |
That was the one thing I was excited about at the end of each | 0:05:53 | 0:05:55 | |
school year - "The summer's coming, I get to do athletics." | 0:05:55 | 0:05:58 | |
So, Kat, this is where you grew up, this is your old school. | 0:06:01 | 0:06:04 | |
Yeah. The only that changed is these extra railings. | 0:06:04 | 0:06:08 | |
Tell me about these railings. | 0:06:08 | 0:06:10 | |
Were you one of those naughty kids that tried to escape? | 0:06:10 | 0:06:12 | |
I was a really skinny kid, as well. | 0:06:12 | 0:06:15 | |
So God, no, I couldn't even fit my leg through there. | 0:06:15 | 0:06:18 | |
I'm trying to spot teachers that I used to ... | 0:06:18 | 0:06:21 | |
-I think that is Mr Coakley. -You know that teacher? -Yeah, I know him. | 0:06:21 | 0:06:25 | |
That's the one who used to be in charge of the sports. | 0:06:25 | 0:06:28 | |
-Hello, sir! -Reminiscing on old times? | 0:06:28 | 0:06:32 | |
Reminiscing on old times, sir. | 0:06:32 | 0:06:34 | |
Yeah, I'm just talking about where I first started doing athletics and stuff. | 0:06:34 | 0:06:38 | |
And when I got that high jump record when I was younger. | 0:06:38 | 0:06:42 | |
You were well coached, weren't you? | 0:06:42 | 0:06:44 | |
You're taking the praise, sir. | 0:06:44 | 0:06:45 | |
But it does all start at school, doesn't it? | 0:06:47 | 0:06:49 | |
You know, without a good teacher like yourself who sees | 0:06:49 | 0:06:52 | |
a bit of talent in a young person, well, it's normally how it goes. | 0:06:52 | 0:06:56 | |
I took her to Harriers. | 0:06:56 | 0:06:57 | |
That was after, after you discovered that I did, | 0:06:57 | 0:07:01 | |
-that I was good at high jump. -Remember I used to have... | 0:07:01 | 0:07:03 | |
I was going say, we didn't have a high jump thing, | 0:07:03 | 0:07:05 | |
he had a little bamboo stick! | 0:07:05 | 0:07:07 | |
INDISTINCT | 0:07:07 | 0:07:09 | |
I put Sellotape around to hold it. | 0:07:09 | 0:07:13 | |
And then measured the height? | 0:07:13 | 0:07:14 | |
-No, we didn't measure the height, we just kept going higher and higher. -Just, raise your arm. | 0:07:14 | 0:07:18 | |
-That's what it used to be like. -Yeah. | 0:07:18 | 0:07:21 | |
But, yeah, I remember, he was the sports... | 0:07:21 | 0:07:22 | |
He was the coordinator of all that and I couldn't wait to | 0:07:22 | 0:07:25 | |
go into year six, because I knew that he was the teacher. | 0:07:25 | 0:07:27 | |
And he'd let me off a little more, | 0:07:27 | 0:07:29 | |
because he knew I was sporty as well. | 0:07:29 | 0:07:31 | |
Ah, well, thank you, sir. Thank you for your time. | 0:07:31 | 0:07:33 | |
Good luck. Pop in any time. Catch you... | 0:07:33 | 0:07:35 | |
June 14 at Wavertree, June 16. | 0:07:35 | 0:07:39 | |
OK. | 0:07:39 | 0:07:40 | |
We've got sports day, Olympic sports day on June 6th. | 0:07:40 | 0:07:42 | |
-June 6th. -Do you want to come and present the prizes? -Yeah, OK. Cool. | 0:07:42 | 0:07:46 | |
-Thanks for that. -Thank you, sir. -See you. | 0:07:46 | 0:07:48 | |
It's weird. | 0:07:49 | 0:07:50 | |
Calling him "sir", as well. | 0:07:50 | 0:07:52 | |
Like, I saw him in Tesco and I was like, "hi, sir." | 0:07:52 | 0:07:55 | |
Did he say, you don't need to call me Sir? | 0:07:55 | 0:07:57 | |
The same height as well, not calling him sir, it's weird. | 0:07:57 | 0:08:01 | |
So, looking forward to 2016, what is it you need to do to qualify? | 0:08:01 | 0:08:04 | |
Get 6,200 points. | 0:08:04 | 0:08:07 | |
So, are you feeling the pressure? | 0:08:07 | 0:08:08 | |
Literally, I'm not feeling the pressure, but I'm not going to lie, | 0:08:08 | 0:08:12 | |
I'm feeling like I'm mentally terrified of getting injured. | 0:08:12 | 0:08:18 | |
And that's the biggest pressure on me this year. | 0:08:18 | 0:08:21 | |
I know that pressure all too well. | 0:08:21 | 0:08:23 | |
And with qualification for the Rio Olympics a must, | 0:08:23 | 0:08:26 | |
I knew that Kat would be feeling the nerves. | 0:08:26 | 0:08:30 | |
As they prepare for two days of intense competition at the | 0:08:30 | 0:08:33 | |
world-renowned Gotzis Hypomeeting. | 0:08:33 | 0:08:36 | |
Two years ago, when Kat last came here, she lifted the crown. | 0:08:36 | 0:08:40 | |
But this time, it wasn't about the glory, | 0:08:40 | 0:08:42 | |
it was just about guaranteeing that all-important place on the plane. | 0:08:42 | 0:08:46 | |
-Good morning, Tracy. -Good morning. | 0:08:46 | 0:08:48 | |
We're moments away from the heat. | 0:08:48 | 0:08:51 | |
Katarina is on the line, | 0:08:51 | 0:08:53 | |
how well did you sleep and how well did she sleep last night? | 0:08:53 | 0:08:56 | |
She slept well. Everything's OK. | 0:08:56 | 0:08:58 | |
We had a good sleep. | 0:08:58 | 0:08:59 | |
-Yeah? You share a room? -Yes. | 0:08:59 | 0:09:01 | |
-OK, did you sleep well? -Not really, to be honest! | 0:09:01 | 0:09:04 | |
-Just want to get it over with, now. -Just want to get it over with. | 0:09:06 | 0:09:08 | |
On your marks. | 0:09:15 | 0:09:16 | |
-COMMENTATOR: -Johnson-Thompson in lane five. | 0:09:16 | 0:09:20 | |
GUN | 0:09:20 | 0:09:22 | |
They're cleanly away. | 0:09:22 | 0:09:23 | |
Johnson-Thompson finishing strongly though, takes it on the line. | 0:09:30 | 0:09:34 | |
CHEERING | 0:09:34 | 0:09:36 | |
-Mum? Mum? Do you feel better? -Yeah. | 0:09:36 | 0:09:39 | |
-You feel better? -Yes, I do. | 0:09:39 | 0:09:41 | |
-That was so smooth! -Yeah. -So smooth. | 0:09:41 | 0:09:45 | |
The first part's over with now, so... | 0:09:45 | 0:09:47 | |
I can breathe again, now. | 0:09:47 | 0:09:50 | |
-She looked calm. -Yes. | 0:09:50 | 0:09:51 | |
She always does, it's me who gets nervy... | 0:09:51 | 0:09:53 | |
She's very calm. | 0:09:53 | 0:09:55 | |
You take away all her nerves? | 0:09:55 | 0:09:57 | |
And what do you have in your hand? | 0:09:57 | 0:10:00 | |
Oh, er... | 0:10:00 | 0:10:01 | |
So, the first event is out of the way | 0:10:03 | 0:10:05 | |
and a healthy contribution of points on the board | 0:10:05 | 0:10:08 | |
towards that all-important 6,200. | 0:10:08 | 0:10:12 | |
You could sense a calmer feeling in the camp. | 0:10:12 | 0:10:15 | |
But as Kat's long-term coach, Mike Holmes, knows all too well, | 0:10:15 | 0:10:19 | |
you can't take anything for granted. | 0:10:19 | 0:10:21 | |
She hasn't jumped in competition for what, eight or nine months. | 0:10:21 | 0:10:27 | |
Since she last jumped, | 0:10:27 | 0:10:29 | |
she's had a knee operation so she | 0:10:29 | 0:10:31 | |
has to believe that she is still | 0:10:31 | 0:10:33 | |
the athlete she was. | 0:10:33 | 0:10:34 | |
But Kat did what she does best and put in | 0:10:37 | 0:10:39 | |
a solid performance in the high jump, clearing 1.92 and putting | 0:10:39 | 0:10:43 | |
her at the top of the leaderboard going into the third event. | 0:10:43 | 0:10:47 | |
She's crossed off a couple of things, like, | 0:10:48 | 0:10:51 | |
it's her outdoor personal best. | 0:10:51 | 0:10:53 | |
-Ah! -She's never gone higher than 1.9 outdoors. | 0:10:53 | 0:10:55 | |
-OK. -Which is good. | 0:10:55 | 0:10:57 | |
-OK. So, two events gone... -Yeah. | 0:10:57 | 0:11:00 | |
-..on to shot putt. -Yeah. | 0:11:00 | 0:11:01 | |
But so far, so good. | 0:11:01 | 0:11:03 | |
So far, so good. | 0:11:03 | 0:11:04 | |
Yeah. | 0:11:04 | 0:11:06 | |
Famous last words. | 0:11:06 | 0:11:07 | |
As good form was not set to continue in the shot. | 0:11:07 | 0:11:11 | |
Kat's three attempts failed to impress her or Mike. | 0:11:11 | 0:11:14 | |
Her furthest throw being just over 11.5 metres. | 0:11:16 | 0:11:20 | |
The lowest distance of all the athletes competing. | 0:11:20 | 0:11:24 | |
With one event remaining of the first day, the team were | 0:11:29 | 0:11:32 | |
hoping that there weren't going to be any more stumbles. | 0:11:32 | 0:11:35 | |
-COMMENTATOR: -Katarina Johnson-Thompson now begins to just pull away. | 0:11:56 | 0:12:00 | |
Coming away and opening up the gap and to a quick time, surely? | 0:12:08 | 0:12:11 | |
Yes, a personal best for Katarina Johnson-Thompson. | 0:12:11 | 0:12:14 | |
What a fantastic finish. | 0:12:18 | 0:12:19 | |
A hell of a finish. | 0:12:19 | 0:12:21 | |
I mean, the secret of being a good heptathlete is to come out of | 0:12:21 | 0:12:24 | |
some sort of disaster or minor disaster like the shot, | 0:12:24 | 0:12:28 | |
turn it around and run a world-class 200 time, really. | 0:12:28 | 0:12:32 | |
You're never going to have, | 0:12:32 | 0:12:34 | |
or almost never going to have, the perfect seven. | 0:12:34 | 0:12:37 | |
Aargh! | 0:12:41 | 0:12:42 | |
DARREN CHUCKLES | 0:12:42 | 0:12:43 | |
I'm on my tiptoes, now. | 0:12:47 | 0:12:49 | |
Now, rest, recovery, focus on day two. | 0:12:50 | 0:12:55 | |
Just get my head down, try to get some sleep. | 0:12:55 | 0:12:57 | |
I'm tackling the long jump tomorrow which is | 0:12:57 | 0:12:59 | |
a big talking point on everyone's clips, for me in the long jump | 0:12:59 | 0:13:02 | |
and hopefully I can overcome what happened to me last year. | 0:13:02 | 0:13:06 | |
And yeah, just get that qualifier and get my flight | 0:13:06 | 0:13:09 | |
on the plane... | 0:13:09 | 0:13:10 | |
to Rio. So fingers crossed | 0:13:10 | 0:13:13 | |
nothing happens. | 0:13:13 | 0:13:14 | |
At last year's World Athletics Championships in Beijing, | 0:13:14 | 0:13:19 | |
Katarina was a strong favourite for gold. | 0:13:19 | 0:13:22 | |
She couldn't have asked for a much better start to the competition. | 0:13:22 | 0:13:25 | |
Ending day one in second place, just behind Jessica Ennis-Hill. | 0:13:25 | 0:13:30 | |
And as she went in to day two, which kicked off with the long jump, | 0:13:32 | 0:13:35 | |
one of Kat's strongest events, | 0:13:35 | 0:13:37 | |
hopes were high that she could really push for that world title. | 0:13:37 | 0:13:41 | |
But after fouling her first two jumps, | 0:13:41 | 0:13:43 | |
it seemed that things were not going to be so straightforward. | 0:13:43 | 0:13:47 | |
-COMMENTATOR: -Last chance, then, for Katarina Johnson-Thompson | 0:13:48 | 0:13:52 | |
to change her fate in this World Championships. | 0:13:52 | 0:13:55 | |
What does she do? What would you do? | 0:13:55 | 0:13:58 | |
Do you go for it, or do you play it safe? | 0:13:58 | 0:14:02 | |
I'm feeling good, I'm feeling optimistic for the long jump, | 0:14:02 | 0:14:05 | |
I think this is where I sort of turn my heptathlon around. | 0:14:05 | 0:14:08 | |
It normally is, anyway. | 0:14:08 | 0:14:10 | |
So I was looking forward to it. | 0:14:10 | 0:14:12 | |
Focus in the eyes. | 0:14:12 | 0:14:14 | |
Johnson-Thompson, last round. | 0:14:17 | 0:14:19 | |
Can she do it? | 0:14:19 | 0:14:20 | |
It looks better on the board ... | 0:14:22 | 0:14:25 | |
It's enormous! It's a huge jump! | 0:14:25 | 0:14:28 | |
That is incredible. | 0:14:28 | 0:14:30 | |
They're waiting... | 0:14:31 | 0:14:33 | |
Wait a second. | 0:14:33 | 0:14:34 | |
There's drama here | 0:14:34 | 0:14:35 | |
because I think there's a suggestion of a nick of the Plasticine. | 0:14:35 | 0:14:40 | |
Let's have a look. | 0:14:40 | 0:14:42 | |
I can picture it in my head, and I can see the board, | 0:14:42 | 0:14:45 | |
and I can see the officials and I heard the crowd and if it's | 0:14:45 | 0:14:48 | |
a no jump, the guy's already got the flag up, | 0:14:48 | 0:14:49 | |
before you even turn around, the guy's got the red flag up. | 0:14:49 | 0:14:52 | |
And there's no red flag. | 0:14:52 | 0:14:54 | |
So I was like, yeah, I've done it. | 0:14:54 | 0:14:56 | |
It felt like an amazing jump. | 0:14:56 | 0:14:58 | |
My coach would always say in the past, as well, | 0:14:58 | 0:15:01 | |
if they have to get a magnifying glass out it's like, normally, | 0:15:01 | 0:15:04 | |
it's fine, like you can't see anything, | 0:15:04 | 0:15:06 | |
you're actually looking for something. | 0:15:06 | 0:15:09 | |
It's confirmed. | 0:15:09 | 0:15:10 | |
Katarina Johnson-Thompson has had three fouls. | 0:15:10 | 0:15:13 | |
It's the end of her World Championships. | 0:15:13 | 0:15:16 | |
The three hours after that which I was just, like, awful, like, so bad. | 0:15:17 | 0:15:22 | |
She came to my... I just said, let's just go to my hotel, get away from here. | 0:15:24 | 0:15:27 | |
So she came and stayed with me for like, two days. | 0:15:27 | 0:15:30 | |
-We just sat there... -Did you talk? -Yeah, we talked, we cried. | 0:15:30 | 0:15:34 | |
We cried. | 0:15:34 | 0:15:35 | |
I cried there, obviously we cried together. | 0:15:35 | 0:15:37 | |
That's why I want to be here for her. | 0:15:37 | 0:15:39 | |
And support her in any way I can. | 0:15:39 | 0:15:41 | |
And these things happen. | 0:15:41 | 0:15:42 | |
It happens in sport. | 0:15:42 | 0:15:44 | |
If those things don't happen, then you don't learn. | 0:15:44 | 0:15:46 | |
You know, she's learned so much and you can see it all in her | 0:15:46 | 0:15:48 | |
attitude this year and everything. | 0:15:48 | 0:15:50 | |
When I got back, it was so strange. | 0:15:50 | 0:15:53 | |
It was, like, I was sitting in my room and it was like, | 0:15:53 | 0:15:56 | |
that's all happened and I'm just back here and that's just like... | 0:15:56 | 0:16:00 | |
like I was embarrassed. | 0:16:00 | 0:16:02 | |
I understand that feeling Kat would have had after Beijing. | 0:16:05 | 0:16:08 | |
It feels like you'll never recover and move on from that moment. | 0:16:10 | 0:16:14 | |
And in her case, that moment was the third red flag in the long jump. | 0:16:14 | 0:16:18 | |
But she's a top athlete and she knew | 0:16:20 | 0:16:23 | |
that she had to use that experience to push herself even harder. | 0:16:23 | 0:16:27 | |
To make sure that she got what she really wanted. | 0:16:27 | 0:16:30 | |
It was like the end of the season, I had such a bad time. | 0:16:37 | 0:16:40 | |
I didn't do well in Beijing, obviously, got the three | 0:16:40 | 0:16:43 | |
no jumps in the long jump and then tried to go somewhere else | 0:16:43 | 0:16:46 | |
to get the 62 to qualify, | 0:16:46 | 0:16:48 | |
and ended up pulling my adductor in the javelin. | 0:16:48 | 0:16:50 | |
And then I came back from holiday and pretty much 6am the next day | 0:16:50 | 0:16:55 | |
I was on the operation table because I just wanted to fix my knee. | 0:16:55 | 0:16:59 | |
I just didn't want to bring negative attention to myself, as well. | 0:16:59 | 0:17:03 | |
So I kept quiet and I was on crutches for two weeks | 0:17:03 | 0:17:06 | |
but now things are flying. | 0:17:06 | 0:17:10 | |
I'm jumping, pain-free, for the first time since about 2010. | 0:17:10 | 0:17:14 | |
Which is just, a whole different me, as a person. | 0:17:14 | 0:17:20 | |
It's crazy. | 0:17:20 | 0:17:21 | |
So, all that hard work, and it came down to this. | 0:17:56 | 0:17:59 | |
The first time that she would have competitively jumped | 0:18:01 | 0:18:04 | |
since the crushing events at the World Championships, | 0:18:04 | 0:18:07 | |
and since that potentially career-changing operation. | 0:18:07 | 0:18:10 | |
As Kat's first jump came nearer, you could really feel the tension. | 0:18:14 | 0:18:18 | |
And the smile said it all. | 0:18:34 | 0:18:36 | |
6.30, so that's safe. | 0:18:38 | 0:18:39 | |
It was behind the board. It looked behind the board, didn't it? | 0:18:41 | 0:18:44 | |
Yeah, behind the board. | 0:18:44 | 0:18:46 | |
Hey, listen, we'll take safe. I think we'll all take safe. | 0:18:46 | 0:18:49 | |
-Safe, safe! -Safe, safe, safe. | 0:18:49 | 0:18:51 | |
Somebody else who's been very important, and probably took | 0:18:53 | 0:18:56 | |
a lot of the stress away from your mother is Barrie Wells. | 0:18:56 | 0:19:00 | |
Yeah, Barrie is very... I'd like to call him a close family friend now. | 0:19:00 | 0:19:03 | |
I think we've developed a real friendship over the years, | 0:19:03 | 0:19:06 | |
and it is a really weird one because it's like old and young, | 0:19:06 | 0:19:10 | |
and he always says, "What sort of role is it?" | 0:19:10 | 0:19:13 | |
It's sort of like a stepdad. He is so passionate about sport, | 0:19:13 | 0:19:18 | |
and particularly athletics and LFC, so we get along through that path. | 0:19:18 | 0:19:21 | |
When did you meet Kat and when did you spot that talent? | 0:19:26 | 0:19:30 | |
When she was 14, originally. | 0:19:30 | 0:19:33 | |
I spotted her at 14 and I just thought, | 0:19:33 | 0:19:34 | |
"This phenomenal youth high jumper and long jumper," | 0:19:34 | 0:19:38 | |
phenomenal at that. Also a good hurdler, and she could sprint. | 0:19:38 | 0:19:42 | |
And I thought, "This girl can do everything. I've not seen her throw | 0:19:42 | 0:19:45 | |
"the javelin and shot, but her talent is just phenomenal." | 0:19:45 | 0:19:49 | |
So at that stage, I think in 2008, I then decided, | 0:19:49 | 0:19:52 | |
"I'm going to sponsor about 20 athletes, | 0:19:52 | 0:19:54 | |
"going right through to 2012," | 0:19:54 | 0:19:57 | |
and I decided to pick out the 15-year-old Katarina. | 0:19:57 | 0:20:00 | |
To my absolute astonishment, UK Athletics said to me, | 0:20:00 | 0:20:04 | |
"We've never heard of her, we've never heard of her. | 0:20:04 | 0:20:07 | |
"Do you really want to sponsor her?" | 0:20:07 | 0:20:10 | |
'He's always had the belief in me and he knew it was all about Rio, | 0:20:10 | 0:20:13 | |
'it was long-term for him. But he funded the likes of me, | 0:20:13 | 0:20:18 | |
Jodie Williams, Jessica Ennis, so he's helped a lot of athletes | 0:20:18 | 0:20:21 | |
in a lot of different ways. | 0:20:21 | 0:20:22 | |
But the friendship sort of stuck after, with our love of LFC | 0:20:22 | 0:20:25 | |
and stuff. But, yeah, he helped me get my driving lessons | 0:20:25 | 0:20:28 | |
and put money towards my first car and stuff, | 0:20:28 | 0:20:30 | |
which took a lot of the pressure off, especially my mum, and me. | 0:20:30 | 0:20:34 | |
It's just not what you want after training, to have to get the bus. | 0:20:34 | 0:20:37 | |
-Get the bus! -And I had to walk through the park and get the bus. | 0:20:37 | 0:20:40 | |
It's like another training session, isn't it? | 0:20:40 | 0:20:42 | |
Yeah, it's just like, "Aw, really?" So, he's been a huge help. | 0:20:42 | 0:20:45 | |
It's great that with her success she's giving back. | 0:20:50 | 0:20:54 | |
She is. She's the patron of it, she comes along and hosts events. | 0:20:54 | 0:20:58 | |
The kids love it, especially the young athletes. | 0:20:58 | 0:21:02 | |
They love it when she's here. | 0:21:02 | 0:21:05 | |
What do you think the score's going to be today? | 0:21:05 | 0:21:08 | |
Chelsea aren't very good any more, at the moment, | 0:21:08 | 0:21:10 | |
-so I'm going to go 3 - 1 Liverpool. -3 - 1? | 0:21:10 | 0:21:13 | |
This is a good place to come and almost take you away from athletics. | 0:21:14 | 0:21:18 | |
You don't have to think about training and you can just relax. | 0:21:18 | 0:21:21 | |
Yeah, definitely. And it's another bonus, that I get | 0:21:21 | 0:21:25 | |
to come and see my favourite football team in Liverpool, | 0:21:25 | 0:21:28 | |
but it definitely is such a good atmosphere when you get here. | 0:21:28 | 0:21:31 | |
It's a feel-good vibe, you get to meet wonderful kids, | 0:21:31 | 0:21:34 | |
like Ellie here. | 0:21:34 | 0:21:36 | |
-I like that! -Hiya. | 0:21:36 | 0:21:40 | |
Yeah, it's good to bond with the kids. | 0:21:40 | 0:21:42 | |
And you can see in the time we've been here, it really does raise | 0:21:42 | 0:21:45 | |
-their spirits, doesn't it? -Yeah, definitely. | 0:21:45 | 0:21:47 | |
# Walk on | 0:21:51 | 0:21:55 | |
# Walk on | 0:21:55 | 0:21:58 | |
# With hope in your heart | 0:21:58 | 0:22:04 | |
# And you'll never walk | 0:22:04 | 0:22:09 | |
# Alone | 0:22:09 | 0:22:15 | |
# You'll never walk alone... # | 0:22:16 | 0:22:24 | |
Back in Gotzis, and as the heavens opened, | 0:22:29 | 0:22:32 | |
the lyrics of that famous Anfield anthem felt incredibly pertinent, | 0:22:32 | 0:22:37 | |
as it was becoming clear that all was not well with Kat. | 0:22:37 | 0:22:41 | |
She seemed to be struggling with her left quad, | 0:22:41 | 0:22:44 | |
the same leg that caused her problems so frequently in the past. | 0:22:44 | 0:22:48 | |
But she continued and was able to put in three throws | 0:22:49 | 0:22:53 | |
with the javelin, and at least get on the scoreboard. | 0:22:53 | 0:22:56 | |
Once, it might have been about coming out on top. | 0:23:06 | 0:23:09 | |
Now it was just a case of survival. | 0:23:09 | 0:23:13 | |
We kept seeing her trying to manipulate her quad a little bit, | 0:23:13 | 0:23:16 | |
try to get the blood flow through there. | 0:23:16 | 0:23:19 | |
Has that affected her? Is that what the issue is? | 0:23:19 | 0:23:23 | |
I think it feels tight and she's not taking no chances, | 0:23:23 | 0:23:26 | |
and she just wants to, you know... Nothing fancy, | 0:23:26 | 0:23:30 | |
she wants to put all her jumps in and everything, so she's just got | 0:23:30 | 0:23:33 | |
to be very careful cos she doesn't want to get any more injuries. | 0:23:33 | 0:23:36 | |
All right, well, look, we'll let you go take your seat | 0:23:36 | 0:23:38 | |
and we'll see you afterwards. | 0:23:38 | 0:23:40 | |
So it all comes down to this, the 800 metres. | 0:23:44 | 0:23:48 | |
Kat needs at least 763 points to get to that all-important 6,200, | 0:23:48 | 0:23:55 | |
meaning she has to run these two laps | 0:23:55 | 0:23:58 | |
in around 2 minutes, 24 seconds. | 0:23:58 | 0:24:00 | |
With an injury, that was easier said than done. | 0:24:01 | 0:24:05 | |
To say I felt the tension, that's an understatement. | 0:24:05 | 0:24:08 | |
On your marks... | 0:24:12 | 0:24:13 | |
STARTING GUN FIRES | 0:24:16 | 0:24:17 | |
Come on, Kat! | 0:24:25 | 0:24:26 | |
-COMMENTATOR: -As you can see, Katarina Johnson-Thompson | 0:24:29 | 0:24:31 | |
going through, sitting near the back, and she'll just make sure | 0:24:31 | 0:24:34 | |
that she runs quickly enough to get the points. | 0:24:34 | 0:24:37 | |
Katarina Johnson-Thompson just comes home for fourth. | 0:24:42 | 0:24:45 | |
And she did it, with relative ease, in just over 2 minutes, 16 seconds. | 0:24:45 | 0:24:50 | |
A relief for all concerned. | 0:24:52 | 0:24:55 | |
Whoo. | 0:24:55 | 0:24:57 | |
Mike, relief? | 0:25:00 | 0:25:02 | |
Yeah, well, it's not what we came for, to be honest. | 0:25:02 | 0:25:05 | |
We came here to challenge for the leaders, | 0:25:05 | 0:25:07 | |
but as the competition evolved and Kat picked up a little bit of | 0:25:07 | 0:25:12 | |
a problem in the 200, at the end of the first day, you know, | 0:25:12 | 0:25:15 | |
the thing was in jeopardy for a while, so to come through the 800 | 0:25:15 | 0:25:20 | |
with the score we need to qualify for the Olympics, that's... | 0:25:20 | 0:25:24 | |
I suppose you could say it's satisfying. Relief, yeah. | 0:25:24 | 0:25:27 | |
It's been tough, let's be fair. | 0:25:28 | 0:25:30 | |
-The last nine, ten months have been really, really tough. -Yeah. | 0:25:30 | 0:25:34 | |
There's been a lot of highs and lows, | 0:25:34 | 0:25:36 | |
and even the two days here, there's been a lot of highs and lows. | 0:25:36 | 0:25:40 | |
The worst-case scenario could have been having to do another | 0:25:40 | 0:25:43 | |
heptathlon before Rio. | 0:25:43 | 0:25:44 | |
That would have been disastrous, really, really... | 0:25:44 | 0:25:48 | |
That would have really put the whole Olympic year in jeopardy. | 0:25:48 | 0:25:51 | |
CHEERING | 0:25:52 | 0:25:54 | |
Going into it, I just wanted to get 6.2, | 0:25:57 | 0:26:00 | |
but when you go through it and get a couple of PBs, | 0:26:00 | 0:26:02 | |
you start to get yourself a little bit gassed and it's like, | 0:26:02 | 0:26:05 | |
"Yeah, I'm basically on for a PB score!" | 0:26:05 | 0:26:07 | |
But I just brought it back today and job done. | 0:26:07 | 0:26:11 | |
I need to eat my own words and I came here for a 6.2, and I got 6.3, | 0:26:11 | 0:26:14 | |
so I've got my plane to Rio, and that's all I can do. | 0:26:14 | 0:26:18 | |
Your mum has been through the same rollercoaster | 0:26:18 | 0:26:21 | |
that you've been through, and it was interesting, | 0:26:21 | 0:26:24 | |
before the 800 metres she spent a lot of time with you, | 0:26:24 | 0:26:26 | |
as your rock, and, yeah, | 0:26:26 | 0:26:28 | |
it really did seem just to get you in the right frame of mind to | 0:26:28 | 0:26:31 | |
just do what you needed to do, which was 6,200 points. | 0:26:31 | 0:26:34 | |
Yeah, I think she's a familiar face and she's just got this | 0:26:34 | 0:26:38 | |
calming atmosphere around her. I just definitely needed my mum. | 0:26:38 | 0:26:42 | |
-Brilliant. -Yeah, thank you. -Good job. | 0:26:44 | 0:26:47 | |
I think, as Kat said, the events of Gotzis were a real reminder | 0:26:52 | 0:26:55 | |
for everyone how unpredictable and potentially turbulent sport | 0:26:55 | 0:26:58 | |
can be, particularly athletics, and even more so multi-eventing. | 0:26:58 | 0:27:04 | |
After she'd had a bit of time to recover, | 0:27:06 | 0:27:08 | |
I went back to visit Kat at home to see what she'd made of it all. | 0:27:08 | 0:27:14 | |
Hey! | 0:27:14 | 0:27:16 | |
DOG BARKING | 0:27:16 | 0:27:18 | |
-Hi, good to see you again. -Good to see you too. Come in. | 0:27:18 | 0:27:21 | |
-Good to see you. -Do you want a drink? -Yes, please, just water. | 0:27:25 | 0:27:28 | |
-Are you sure? -I'm trying to pretend to be healthy, | 0:27:28 | 0:27:31 | |
-so, yeah, water would be great. -OK, is tap water OK? | 0:27:31 | 0:27:34 | |
Yeah, that's fine, that's fine. | 0:27:34 | 0:27:36 | |
So how have you been feeling since Gotzis? | 0:27:36 | 0:27:40 | |
Yeah, things have gone well. Obviously heptathlon takes a lot | 0:27:40 | 0:27:42 | |
out of you, so at the minute I'm just trying to rest and recover | 0:27:42 | 0:27:47 | |
and just get my head around the fact | 0:27:47 | 0:27:49 | |
that the next big thing is the Olympics. | 0:27:49 | 0:27:52 | |
So this is Chorizo, he's the one who always likes to play, | 0:27:56 | 0:27:59 | |
and this is Bronx, he's the one who always likes to eat. | 0:27:59 | 0:28:02 | |
-So this one's Bronx? -Yeah, Bronx is the brown one, Chorizo... | 0:28:02 | 0:28:05 | |
Oh! SHE LAUGHS | 0:28:05 | 0:28:06 | |
Come on now, play nice. There's yours. | 0:28:06 | 0:28:09 | |
Do they help keep you relaxed? | 0:28:09 | 0:28:10 | |
I don't know. I think anyone who's a dog lover or a dog owner | 0:28:10 | 0:28:14 | |
can relate. They're always just constant. | 0:28:14 | 0:28:17 | |
They're always here and they're always so loving. | 0:28:17 | 0:28:21 | |
Yeah, they're my two little best friends, I think. | 0:28:21 | 0:28:24 | |
So, in Gotzis we saw that you were able to complete the heptathlon, | 0:28:24 | 0:28:30 | |
but you did pick up a slight injury. How are things now? | 0:28:30 | 0:28:33 | |
You've been back over a week, so how are things feeling? | 0:28:33 | 0:28:36 | |
Yeah, it's been exactly eight days since I finished, | 0:28:36 | 0:28:39 | |
and things are going well. Things are actually quite good. | 0:28:39 | 0:28:44 | |
I think it showed in my maturity in Gotzis, that I was able to feel | 0:28:44 | 0:28:48 | |
and understand and know my body, and know when to push it, | 0:28:48 | 0:28:51 | |
otherwise it just would have been back in the same similar situation | 0:28:51 | 0:28:55 | |
as last year. And, yeah, I can't feel my quad any more, | 0:28:55 | 0:28:58 | |
and the important thing was I got 6.2. | 0:28:58 | 0:29:02 | |
But now there's a smile on your face, you seem alive, | 0:29:02 | 0:29:05 | |
is there now a bigger inner strength of what the potential is | 0:29:05 | 0:29:11 | |
come Rio, because you had some great performances as well out in Gotzis? | 0:29:11 | 0:29:15 | |
Yeah, I can't believe it. At the end of the 800 I was just happy... | 0:29:15 | 0:29:18 | |
I knew that I needed a certain time to get the 6.2, | 0:29:18 | 0:29:21 | |
and then I was like, "Wow, I came sixth." | 0:29:21 | 0:29:23 | |
I was like, "Are you joking?" | 0:29:23 | 0:29:24 | |
I thought I would have fell way back after day two. | 0:29:24 | 0:29:27 | |
It gives me confidence that I can be not at 100% and still placing, | 0:29:27 | 0:29:34 | |
still getting onto the podium, onto that podium in Gotzis. | 0:29:34 | 0:29:38 | |
So, yeah, for me, I know I need to work on my throws, | 0:29:38 | 0:29:41 | |
but a lot of the work is done. | 0:29:41 | 0:29:44 | |
I know your mum likes to keep every single photograph. | 0:29:49 | 0:29:52 | |
She told me that she had a photo of you and I, and I asked her | 0:29:52 | 0:29:56 | |
to dig it out, and she did. | 0:29:56 | 0:29:57 | |
-How old were you? Cos I was 21 then. -21! -How old were you? | 0:29:57 | 0:30:02 | |
It was 2007, that programme says, so... | 0:30:02 | 0:30:08 | |
14. 14 years old. With really bad hair. | 0:30:08 | 0:30:12 | |
How long had you been doing athletics then? | 0:30:12 | 0:30:14 | |
-I'd been doing athletics since 2005. -Wow. | 0:30:14 | 0:30:17 | |
-Yeah. -So that was the beginning of your journey? -Yeah, pretty much. | 0:30:17 | 0:30:20 | |
And, yeah, I remember I queued up, a big queue, after your autograph. | 0:30:20 | 0:30:25 | |
Not any more. There's no queue. | 0:30:25 | 0:30:28 | |
And signed it and got the photo. And, yeah, my mum... | 0:30:28 | 0:30:31 | |
-It's just crazy, isn't it? -It's crazy. It's crazy. | 0:30:31 | 0:30:34 | |
I feel like I've been a part of your journey, and I feel like | 0:30:34 | 0:30:37 | |
I'm here now, in the middle of it. | 0:30:37 | 0:30:41 | |
At 14, did you ever imagine that you'd be sat here in your own house, | 0:30:41 | 0:30:47 | |
having achieved so much already as an athlete? | 0:30:47 | 0:30:51 | |
No, not at all. | 0:30:51 | 0:30:53 | |
And it's crazy, as a young athlete, as that kid there, | 0:30:53 | 0:30:57 | |
at 14 years old, I think everyone always wants to be an Olympic champ | 0:30:57 | 0:31:03 | |
but you can't, so you have to find a path to get there. | 0:31:03 | 0:31:05 | |
It's just crazy, in those years, that I came through. | 0:31:05 | 0:31:10 | |
Yeah, I can't believe it's 2016 now. Nine years on... | 0:31:10 | 0:31:14 | |
The thing for me, especially going to Anfield and seeing you | 0:31:14 | 0:31:20 | |
there with the kids, it's like, | 0:31:20 | 0:31:23 | |
you've gone on and done the same thing, giving back. | 0:31:23 | 0:31:26 | |
It really feels like that's important to you, | 0:31:26 | 0:31:28 | |
as well as obviously your athletic success. | 0:31:28 | 0:31:30 | |
Yeah, definitely. I always take the time to talk to kids | 0:31:30 | 0:31:35 | |
at the track, especially at my track. And when I do competitions... | 0:31:35 | 0:31:39 | |
I still did the Merseyside champs this year and there were a couple | 0:31:39 | 0:31:42 | |
of kids who came up to me there, so, yeah, | 0:31:42 | 0:31:45 | |
it definitely means a lot, and it meant a lot to me that day, | 0:31:45 | 0:31:47 | |
so, thank you. Thanks for the pic. | 0:31:47 | 0:31:50 |