Team GB’s Katarina Johnson-Thompson settles for silver in women’s heptathlon despite taking gold medal winner Nafissatou Thiam to the wire with superb run in 800m

Katarina Johnson-Thompson had to settle for silver in the women’s heptathlon at the Paris Olympics after failing to make up a big deficit in the 800m final tonight.

The 31-year-old Team GB star started the race 121 points behind two-time Olympic champion Nafi Thiam of Belgium, needing to win the race by at least eight and a half seconds.

While this was possible, Johnson-Thompson’s task required him to run the race of his life on a wet track under the floodlights of the Stade de France.

And she did, running a personal best of 2 minutes, 4.90 seconds as Team USA’s Anna Hall took the lead.

But the Briton managed to gain just six seconds ahead of her formidable rival, leaving her once again painfully short of gold.

The Briton proudly wore a crown and draped a union flag over her shoulders after winning silver

The Team GB star went into the race 121 points behind two-time Olympic champion Nafi Thiam

But the Briton could only manage a six-second lead over her formidable rival (pictured)

Although Johnson-Thompson came very close to victory, her silver was a monumental achievement after a long road in which she faced many setbacks.

She was beaten by a three-time champion, a feat she will surely never experience again. After the race, the pair reflected on two gruelling days together, with the British pride wearing a crown on her head and a Union Jack draped over her shoulders.

Noor Vidts, Thiam’s teammate, eventually took the bronze, well behind the two leaders.

Johnson-Thompson topped the heptathlon standings heading into the second day of the event after winning the 200 metres in front of a jubilant crowd at the Stade de France on Thursday.

In the javelin throw, she further extended her lead with a season record of 45.49 metres on her third attempt, creating a large lead over the leaders in the standings.

However, the nervous wait for Thiam’s throw soon turned into disaster for Johnson-Thompson when her Belgian rival launched a monstrous opening attempt of 54.04 metres.

Liverpool-born Johnson-Thompson was forced to make up a huge eight-second time deficit in that evening’s 800 metres.

Friday initially started off perfectly, with Johnson-Thompson winning the long jump and showing a powerful javelin throw of 44.64 meters, the highest distance ever covered by competitors.

Her second attempt earned the 31-year-old a rare error, with officials showing a red flag for overstepping the throw line, but she corrected it with a superb third attempt.

Javelin, however, is one of the strongest disciplines for two-time Olympic champion Thiam. She threw her first throw of 54.04 meters, which was immediately her best throw of the season. With that she was more than eight meters faster than the best attempt of Katarina Johnson-Thompson.

She was defeated by a three-time champion, a feat that will surely never be repeated, and after the race the pair reflected on two gruelling days together

Thiam won another gold medal for Belgium in the heptathlon after retaining the lead in the 800m

Katarina Johnson-Thompson’s pursuit of Olympic gold took a huge hit in the javelin throw

Johnson-Thompson maintained a steely, focused gaze today and refused to crack a smile

Thanks to her enormous throw, the Belgian star reached 939 points, overtaking her rival from Team GB, who was still on 818 points after her three respectable attempts.

Thiam’s second attempt was also red-flagged, but it made little difference to her overall control of the heptathlon as Johnson-Thompson looked on.

On her final attempt she ran 52.56 metres, giving her a 121-point lead in the heptathlon ahead of that evening’s 800 metres.