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Katarina Johnson-Thompson releases emotional statement after injury

The scale of Katarina Johnson-Thompson's devastation over her Olympic heartbreak was spelled out on Thursday and then compounded by a heptathlon leaderboard that is less than formidable.

In a statement raw with honesty, the 28-year-old detailed the 'miracle' she required to get to Tokyo in the wake of her ruptured Achilles last year, before telling of her belief that she was within reach of a medal when her right calf failed in the 200m.

Her breakdown wrecked that unexpected possibility, and it can only have added to the world champion's frustration that the scores through six of seven disciplines have indicated a bronze medal would have been well within reach.

'I don't know where to begin in trying to explain how I feel,' she wrote on social media. 'Only a handful of people understand what I have been through. Even a smaller amount understand the mental and physical challenges I've faced trying to make it back in time through a pandemic after my Achilles rupture the back end of December.'

In emotive scenes at the Olympic Stadium on Wednesday, Johnson-Thompson refused a wheelchair when she was stricken on the track, and instead insisted on finishing under her own steam before withdrawing from the competition.

She explained: 'I started the year in a wheelchair and I was not willing to end my Olympic campaign the same way.

'To make it to the line was a miracle, not only to do that but to be on my way to putting a decent score together is heartbreaking. I truly believed I was capable of winning a medal despite having up to half a year of missed training.

'More than ever I'm proud that I showed up, put myself out there and tried. It would have been very easy to shy away and pull out, to say I wasn't ready and blame the injury, but I'm not that type of athlete or person. I am a fighter. I'm gritty and I find it extremely hard to give up.

'I've sacrificed so much, moving my entire life to France five years ago, away from my family and friends. I've lost heart knowing that the work my team and I have done for this last eight months was for this outcome and I hate that my story has played out in more heartbreak. 

'I've been knocked so many times and got back up, but it will take a lot of time for me to process this reality.'