British medal hopeful Katarina Johnson-Thompson has withdrawn from the remainder of the heptathlon at the European Athletics Championships in Rome.
The 31-year-old reigning world champion fell to ninth place after the shot put, the third event on the opening day of the competition.
Her coach, Aston Moore, explained that the decision was made due to a “small niggle in her right leg.”
Moore added: “We don’t want to risk losing any time from training which could be the result if she was to carry on competing with it for another day.”
A year after securing her second world title, Johnson-Thompson is set to pursue her first Olympic medal in Paris this summer, where her primary competitor for gold will be two-time champion Nafissatou Thiam.
Both athletes are preparing to peak for the anticipated showdown, which is the driving force behind Johnson-Thompson’s decision not to continue competing in Italy.
She concluded the morning session ranked fourth overall, completing the 100m hurdles in 13.66 seconds and clearing 1.83m in the high jump.
However, her gap behind Thiam, who topped the standings with a high jump of 1.95m, widened to 318 points after a shot put throw of 12.44m left her ninth on Friday evening.
Following her initial global victory in 2019, which was followed by a career-threatening Achilles injury, Johnson-Thompson experienced further heartbreak with injury setbacks in Tokyo three years ago. Therefore, she is determined to seek redemption in Paris.
Johnson-Thompson’s withdrawal was announced just before the heptathlon’s 200m heats, with the medals set to be determined after the long jump, javelin, and 800m events on Saturday.
Belgian Thiam ended the first day on course for a third consecutive European title, but faced pressure from compatriot Noor Vidts after four events.
Thiam, who completed the 200m in 24.81 seconds, saw her lead narrow to just 35 points as Vidts clocked 23.85 seconds, while Italy’s Sveva Gerevini trails by 220 points in third place.
British athlete Jade O’Dowda will start day two in ninth position after finishing with a time of 24.82 seconds.
The 24-year-old had risen to fifth place with a shot put distance of 12.82m, following earlier performances of 13.70 seconds in the 100m hurdles and a high jump clearance of 1.83m.