World Athletics Championships: Katarina Johnson-Thompson eighth as Nafi Thiam wins heptathlon

Katarina Johnson-Thompson won the world title in 2019

Great Britain's Katarina Johnson-Thompson finished eighth as Nafissatou Thiam triumphed in the heptathlon at the World Championships in Oregon.

Belgium's Thiam held off Anouk Vetter, registering her best 800m time to secure gold with a world-leading total of 6,947.

Vetter took silver with 6,867, while American Anna Hall claimed bronze.

Johnson-Thompson won the world title in Doha in 2019 but has struggled with a series of injuries since then.

She recovered from a ruptured Achilles to make last year's Tokyo Olympics, only to see her dream of a first Olympic medal ended by a calf injury in the 200m.

Earlier, Dina Asher-Smith began her 200m world title defence by easily qualifying for the semi-finals in 22.56secs.

Britain's team captain Nethaneel Mitchell-Blake qualified for the men's 200m semi-finals, clocking 20.11, while compatriot Joe Ferguson also reached the semi-finals on his World Championships debut in 20.33.

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Not to be for 'dreamer' Johnson-Thompson

Johnson-Thompson, who was sixth after the previous day's four events, produced an effort of 6.28m in the long jump and threw 39.18m in the javelin on Monday.

She will now focus on the Commonwealth Games, which begin in two weeks in Birmingham, where she is once again defending champion.

"I am sort of a dreamer and I thought it could have gone a bit differently, but I am just happy that I am here, healthy and building back to where I want to be," she told BBC Sport.

"I just need to get more training in the bag, get some consistency and get my confidence back as well.

"Hopefully the Commonwealth title defence will go better than this one."

It was an enthralling finish to the heptathlon, with the lead passing between Vetter, of the Netherlands, and two-time Olympic champion Thiam after Vetter's impressive 58.29m in the javelin.

Thiam's 53.01m was not enough to keep the lead but a personal best time of 2:13.00 in the 800m ensured she took the gold medal.

Thiam is now a two-time world champion in the discipline, having previously won gold in 2017, and took silver behind Johnson-Thompson three years ago.

'This is not vintage Kat running - but it will come'

Johnson-Thompson was not expected to be among the medals, given her injury struggles over the past year.

"It is perspective," said BBC Sport pundit Jessica Ennis-Hill, who won one Olympic gold medal and three world titles in the heptathlon.

"She [Johnson-Thompson] has come into the championships with an objective of performing, being competitive, coming out injury free and improving on what she has already done this year.

"It's safe to to say she is well on the way to doing that. She's had so many injuries in the past couple of years and some really difficult challenges to deal with so what we're seeing is really solid performances."

Britain's Denise Lewis, who won Olympic heptathlon gold in 2000, added: "I am glad she is still smiling, I am glad she is injury free, but I think she will be reflective right now.

"There is a bit more of a sign that the speed is coming back. This is not vintage Kat running but it will come."

Rojas triumphs again as Lyle celebrates birthday in style

Noah Lyles began his 200m title defence in stunning style, wagging his finger at the rest of the field as he won his heat in 19:98.

The American, who turned 25 on Monday, was treated to a rendition of 'Happy Birthday' by some members of the crowd.

Olympic champion Andre de Grasse of Canada withdrew before the heats.

Venezuela's Yulimar Rojas continued her triple jump domination as she registered a world-leading 15.47m to claim the world title for a third tournament in a row.

Joint-Olympic champion Mutaz Essa Barshim also won a third world title with a clearance of 2.37m in an entertaining high jump final.

In the women's marathon, Ethiopia's Gotytom Gebreslase won gold in 2:18.11 seconds, which eclipsed Briton Paula Radcliffe's previous championship record of 2:20.57 set in 2005.

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