World Athletics Championships 2023

Venue: Budapest Dates: 19-27 August

Coverage: Watch live on BBC One, BBC Two, BBC Three, BBC iPlayer, BBC Red Button, BBC Sport website and app; listen on BBC Radio 5 Live and BBC Sounds; live text on evening sessions.

Britain’s Katarina Johnson-Thompson will begin the final event of the heptathlon in gold medal position at the World Championships in Budapest.

The 2019 champion overtook favourite Anna Hall in the long jump before a superb javelin personal best of 46.14m extended her overall lead to 26 points.

Olympic and world silver medallist Anouk Vetter is second, with American Hall 43 points behind in third.

Johnson-Thompson will go for gold in a tantalising 800m showdown at 17:00 BST.

The 30-year-old’s 800m best, achieved when sealing her world title in Doha, is two minutes 7.26 seconds – more than 10 seconds faster than Vetter but 4.29 secs slower than Hall’s impressive 2:02.97.

Johnson-Thompson’s lead over Hall represents an advantage of about two and a half seconds.

Meanwhile, British team-mates Dina Asher-Smith and Daryll Neita safely qualified from their 100m heats.

Asher-Smith, the 2019 200m champion and six-time world medallist, clocked 11.04 seconds behind American Brittany Brown (11.01) as the top two finished comfortably clear in qualifying for Monday’s semi-finals.

Neita ran 11.03 secs to follow expected medal contender Julian Alfred (10.99) over the line but team-mate Imani-Lara Lansiquot, who ran under protest after a false start, later had her disqualification confirmed.

Five-time champion Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce, Shericka Jackson, Sha’Carri Richardson and Marie-Josee Ta Lou each progressed with victory in their heats in a wide-open event.

Matthew Hudson-Smith was second to 400m world record holder Wayde van Niekerk in a season-best time of 44.69 secs, South Africa’s two-time champion qualifying second fastest overall (44.57) for the semi-finals.

In the women’s event, Victoria Ohuruogu and Ama Pipi both progressed with second-place finishes in their heats, clocking 50.60 and 50.81 respectively.

Tade Ojora won his men’s 110m hurdles heat in 13.32 secs, qualifying fifth fastest for the semi-finals.

Johnson-Thompson continues ‘joyous’ push for gold

Hall predicted a heptathlon dogfight for world gold in Budapest – and that is exactly what has materialised.

Johnson-Thompson ran a competition-leading 23.48 secs in the 200m to rise to second after the opening day and maintained her podium push on Sunday to pile the pressure on last year’s bronze medallist.

Her best long jump leap of 6.54m, also unmatched by her rivals, moved her 19 points above Hall – and Johnson-Thompson placed her hands on her head in disbelief following that lifetime best in the javelin.

Hall displayed her exciting potential by amassing the fifth best points total in history with 6,988 to beat Johnson-Thompson in Gotzis in May.

The 22-year-old, competing with strapping on her lower leg, has not shown the dominant form that established her as favourite in the absence of injured reigning champion Nafissatou Thiam, but managed a javelin season’s best 44.88m to remain in contention.

Chasing a first global medal in four challenging, injury-disrupted years since winning the world title, the Briton also crucially has a 122-point advantage over fourth-placed German Sophie Weissenberg.

“It’s just joyous to see, from where she has been mentally and physically, that Katarina is in with a realistic shot of a gold medal,” former world champion Denise Lewis said on BBC TV.

“It’s going to be a great tussle. It’s what you want to see. Katarina has given herself every opportunity. She has won the mental battle, which for me has been quite sublime.”

Lewis added: “It’s where she’s come from. She was a stone’s throw away from walking away from the sport. I’m really proud of her.”