In 2016, I saw myself as a talent, but suddenly I was European champion and became a famous face in sport in Holland. And I was scared," she says. "I did a good job in Amsterdam, but then a week after I thought, I need to do it again.I never expected to perform that well. So, it was quite overwhelming.” And after showing her competitive fires had not dampened by holding off Theisen-Eaton in an elbows-out sprint down the home straight to win a thrilling 800m, she professed herself highly satisfied with her weekend’s work. “I’m really pleased,” she said. “If someone had said I would get 6,500 I would have grabbed that with both hands. And looking at my individual scores, some of them are not very special, so to come away with that is great.” Budapest will be Johnson-Thompson’s sixth world championships and she will be hoping that experience will be a factor when the competition gets going. I couldn’t walk properly for two months,” he explains. “It was three weeks before Götzis when I started sprint training and I thought, ‘ok, Götzis is just coming too fast, I need to say no’. But then two weeks before Ratingen I ruptured my hammy. It was bad. The season was over.”

You never know,” she says. “I’ve always been worried that 2019 was my peak, because then Covid happened and I had my Achilles rupture and the momentum I was building towards my peak got short changed and cut off. But I still believe that the heptathlon is in the strongest place it has ever been from a pure depth point of view so nothing changes from from my perspective. After the first hurdle I thought, ok, now it’s over,” he recalls. “I don’t know what kept me going, but I somehow finished. I’m so sad about Kevin, Lindon, everyone. I want to compete in the best field in the world.”My heart wasn’t really in it and I didn’t have the motivation to go on,” she said. “It was a bit of a push to come out here. I haven’t been able to train but I thought it would be OK. Obviously it wasn’t. It’s not only the training, I haven’t been able to focus on athletics at all.” Two years ago, behind the decathlon medal-winning trio of Kevin Mayer, Rico Freimuth and Kai Kazmirek at the World Championships in London, a breakthrough was happening. 23-year old Estonian Janek Õiglane was having the performance of his career, finishing fourth with a lifetime best of 8371. Injuries healed, but confidence dented, Õiglane’s first decathlon in almost two years was Götzis in May. “I thought I was in shape to do 8200. But after the first event I knew it was going to be a struggle. Now it’s a big boys’ game. When the first day was done, I was so exhausted. It was hard to stay with the boys.” She knew she needed to run a time of 2:33.02 to ensure she made the Olympic qualification standard – but the way she stormed into the lead from the off showed she wanted to make a statement.

When 2016 European heptathlon champion Anouk Vetter took to the long jump runway at the Dutch indoor championships in February this year, she was unusually nervous. There was much at stake. I’m going well right now, and I’m feeling happy,” she says. “But a year and a half ago, it was different. And it’s good to share that too. I follow Jazmin Sawyers – the British long jumper – on social media and I think we need more women like her, sharing when things aren’t going so well, as well as good results. That’s really important for younger girls. I hope I can do that a little more. It doesn’t require regular maintenance thanks to its sturdy construction, hardwearing materials, and smooth movement. The depth of the competition is as strong as it’s ever been. So how open is the heptathlon going to be? Before Thiam dropped out, I felt like it was very much like a head-to-head between Thiam and Anna Hall. And now I don’t know what it’s going to take to win a medal. I don’t know what it’s going to take to win. So that’s why I feel like it’s open. Pressure can be an effective force when conditions are positive, but corrosive when things aren’t going so well. Vetter’s success continued into 2018 with fourthplace in Götzis and fifthplace at the European Championships in Berlin, but then the strain started to take its toll. In 2019, she was unable to finish her combined events competitions at the European Indoor Championships in Glasgow, Decastar in Talence and the World Championships in Doha.

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We are trying some new stuff, and I love it,”Õiglane says. “Strength and conditioning are a lot better, and sprinting and lactic training is different from before. I’m a pretty slow guy for a decathlete. Karl Erik is a lot faster so I’m pushing myself thanks to him. And Ksenija and Laura are top athletes so it’s good to see how they get ready for competition.”Is Johnson-Thompson approaching her peak now? The 2023 season proves that she goes into Budapest in the form that could see her challenging for the medals. I was quite nervous,” says Vetter of her long jump. “It was my first competition in a long time. I was pleased with the results, but also about how I felt as an athlete. I could enjoy it. Six forty-two. That’s good. And it’s good for outdoors because long jump is such an important event in the heptathlon. Physically, my body’s getting stronger as I get older. And mentally, what I know now that I didn’t then is that lots of athletes struggle. My problem was I saw it as a weakness. The best lesson I learned is not to be too hard on myself. And I’m a more complete athlete as a result.” After almost a decade with his previous coach, Õiglane moved in late 2017 to work with Andrei Nazarov, the Estonian former decathlete who had a best of 8322. He joined the training group which included 2015 world bronze medallist Laura Ikauniece, 2016 Olympic long jump finalist Ksenija Balta, and combined eventer/hurdler Karl Erik Nazarov. His emotions during the competition were palpable. You need only spend five minutes in Õiglane’s company to be imbued with the infectious energy he brings to the decathlon. But an injury-ravaged 2018 caused him to draw on every ounce of that energy for the physical and mental journey to the start line at the IAAF World Athletics Championships Doha 2019. Memories of London

Vetter is strong across seven events, but she is dominant in the throws. Her shot put PB is 16m, and her javelin PB of 58.41m is only exceeded in a heptathlon by Nafi Thiam’s 59.32m from Götzis 2017, and specialist Barbara Spotakova’s 60.90m from 2012.After Doha, Vetter took several months for herself away from the sport, trying out new activities including surfing. But as the – then – Olympic year dawned in 2020, she returned to athletics, and travelled to the national training camp in Stellenbosch. I haven’t had such good shape, ever. I knew that I was in shape to score 8500. After this competition I know I can do it in the future. Right now, I’m just surprised that I got sixth place. I’m proud of myself, to be honest.” After a golden few years of medals and national records, 2019 had been the hardest period of her career. Injuries, doubts and falling out of love with the sport that had made her a household name in the Netherlands.