Johnson-Thompson cruises past Olympic qualification mark

Katarina Johnson-Thompson surpassed the heptathlon Olympic qualification standard emphatically as she sets her sights on competing in Rio this summer.

The 23-year-old made a supreme start to the Hypo-Meeting on Saturday in Gotzis, setting personal bests in the 100m hurdles, high jump and 200m.

In a major competition for the first time this year following knee surgery, Johnson-Thompson returned on Sunday to register 6.17m in the long jump, 36.66m in the javelin and stopped the clock at 2 minutes 7.64 seconds in the 800m.

It was enough to score Johnson-Thompson – 15th in London 2012 – a total of 6,304 points.

Despite being unable to replicate the sparkling form from day one, that haul comfortably left her clear of the 6,200 required for Olympic qualification.

Sportsbeat 2016