Britain’s Katarina Johnson-Thompson said “for me, this is a win” after retiring from the pentathlon at the World Indoor Championships in Athletics.
Competing for the first time since injury finished his olympic heptathlon in August, Johnson-Thompson was in sixth place after four events in Belgrade.
Having accepted a wildcard entry two weeks before the event, the 29-year-old decided to miss the 800m.
“I am happy and healthy,” Johnson-Thompson told BBC Sport.
“I’m not afraid to go out here and take a beating. The most important thing was not to risk injury. Going into the summer, this is the best preparation for me.”
“World Athletics asked if we wanted the wild card two weeks ago and training was going well so I thought why not? For me this is a win, I can take a lot of positives out of this,” added Johnson-Thompson, who said that ” ultimate” goal is the World Championship in July.
“I really think it’s competition rust. It’s been six to eight weeks of full training and I’m in good shape to compete. It’s definitely motivated me for the summer and it’s what I needed.”
“I needed to come here and get stuck because I hadn’t in a long time.”
Johnson-Thompson returns as Mills falls short of medal
Forced to withdraw at Tokyo 2020 after sustaining a calf injury in the 200m, Johnson-Thompson has since moved to the US to train under new coach Petros Kyprianou.
She evidently lacked running acuity, as she finished sixth in her 60m hurdles heat, and was visibly frustrated that she failed to clear 1.86m in the high jump, before a 13.02m throw in the shot put will leave her fifth at the end of the race. the morning session.
Hopes of the 2018 champion’s medal were dashed in the long jump, a second jump of 6.08m, the only one of three attempts she landed, and she did not return for the closing event.
That final event saw compatriot Holly Mills finish a distressing fourth overall, marginally missing out on bronze by seven points despite a gutsy personal best in the 800m.
The 21-year-old, fourth before the final event, ran two minutes and 09.97 seconds, having started the day with a best of 8.15 seconds in the 60m hurdles, to finish just behind medalist in American bronze Kendell Williams.
Belgium’s Noor Vidts won gold, with Poland’s Adrianna Sulek taking silver.
“It’s painful to take,” Mills said. “The fourth is a gut-wrenching place to get to. I ran my heart out and gave it everything I had. It was far from a perfect pentathlon, but it’s all I had for the day.”
She added: “It sets me up really well for a good season. I think right now I just need to go and cry a little bit and then tomorrow I can look back and see what I’ve accomplished. I’m proud of how far I’ve come.”
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