News31 Jul 2019


Thiam takes on Johnson-Thompson in Birmingham – IAAF Diamond League

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Belgian heptathlete Nafissatou Thiam in action in the long jump (© AFP / Getty Images)

World, Olympic and European heptathlon champion Nafissatou Thiam will take on world indoor pentathlon champion Katarina Johnson-Thompson at the Müller Grand Prix Birmingham on Sunday 18 August, the next stop on the IAAF Diamond League circuit.

The Belgian star and British combined eventer will meet in the long jump at the Alexander Stadium in Birmingham, just six weeks before the start of the IAAF World Athletics Championships Doha 2019.

It will be the first time the two have competed against each other since the European Championships in Berlin last year, where Thiam won gold ahead of Johnson-Thompson. It is also the Belgian athlete’s first ever IAAF Diamond League appearance in the UK.

Thiam missed the indoor season after sustaining a calf injury during a training camp in South Africa, but on her return to heptathlon action in Talence at the end of June, she scored a world-leading 6819, despite an elbow injury.

Within that series, the 24-year-old set a world heptathlon best of 2.02m in the high jump and a Belgian record of 6.67m in the long jump.

Two other global stars and long jump specialists will be in the Birmingham field: world indoor champion Ivana Spanovic of Serbia and Britain’s world and European medallist Lorraine Ugen.

Organisers for the IAAF

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