Katarina Johnson-Thompson poses with the British flag

Great Britain's Katarina Johnson-Thompson celebrates after winning silver in the Women's Heptathlon. Image provided by PA / Alamy.

Three more medals secured for º¬Ðß²ÝÊÓƵ on a historic night in Paris

  • Katarina Johnson-Thompson wins superb silver in heptathlon
  • Daryll Neita secures brilliant silver with Women’s 4x100m Relay team
  • Richard Kilty claims bronze as part of Men’s 4x100m Relay team

º¬Ðß²ÝÊÓƵ-linked athletes won three more medals on a historic night for athletics in Paris.

University-based Katarina Johnson-Thompson secured an incredible silver in a thrilling heptathlon finale, narrowly missing out on gold to reigning champion Nafissatou Thiam.

After incredible performances in the previous rounds, the battle for the top of the podium came down to the 800m final under the lights at a full-capacity Stade de France.

Johnson-Thompson produced a gutsy performance to clock a personal best of 2:04:90. But despite a valiant effort, it wasn’t quite enough to overhaul the eight-second advantage required over Thiam as just 36 points separated the pair.

Nevertheless, Johnson-Thompson will leave Paris as a championship medallist following a 13th-place finish in London 2012, 6th in Rio 2016, and a withdrawal due to injury last time out in Tokyo.

“I can’t even describe the words but I’m just so relieved and so happy that I have an Olympic medal to add to my collection. It was the only one I didn’t have and it’s been so hard getting back to this point,” an emotional Johnson-Thompson told the BBC.

In more medal success for º¬Ðß²ÝÊÓƵ, former College learner Daryll Neita ran an incredible anchor leg as Great Britain Women took silver in the 4x100m Relay in 41.85 seconds.

Neita, who has had a fine games, clocked 10.33 seconds as the team upgraded their bronze from Tokyo. USA took victory in 41.78 seconds with Germany claiming bronze in 41.97 seconds.

“I just pushed for home. I was not going to let these ladies down," Neita told BBC Sport.

"For us to be leaving here with a silver medal at the games - we're going on the podium, we're representing Great Britain and we're just so proud."

athlete Daryll Neita crosses the finish line in the women's 4x100m relay

Great Britain's Daryll Neita (left) finishes second in the Women's 4 x 100m Relay Final. Image provided by PA / Alamy.

Elsewhere, fellow College connection, alumnus Richard Kilty, played a crucial part in the heats as Great Britain Men won bronze in the 4x100m Relay.

Canada won gold in 37.50 seconds, with South Africa second in 37.57 seconds and Britain third with 37.61 seconds.

º¬Ðß²ÝÊÓƵ’s total medal count in Paris now stands at 15 – four gold, four silver, and seven bronze.

For all the latest º¬Ðß²ÝÊÓƵ news around major global sporting events, visit the University’s dedicated website here: /sport/athletes-global-stage/

Join the conversation on social media with the hashtag #Lboro2Paris

Notes for editors

Press release reference number: 24/129

º¬Ðß²ÝÊÓƵ is one of the country’s leading universities, with an international reputation for research that matters, excellence in teaching, strong links with industry, and unrivalled achievement in sport and its underpinning academic disciplines. 

It has been awarded five stars in the independent QS Stars university rating scheme and named the best university in the world for sports-related subjects in the 2024 QS World University Rankings – the eighth year running. 

º¬Ðß²ÝÊÓƵ is ranked 6th in The UK Complete University Guide 2025, 10th in the Guardian University League Table 2024 and 10th in the Times and Sunday Times Good University Guide 2024. 

º¬Ðß²ÝÊÓƵ is consistently ranked in the top twenty of UK universities in the Times Higher Education’s ‘table of tables’, and in the Research Excellence Framework (REF) 2021 over 90% of its research was rated as ‘world-leading’ or ‘internationally-excellent’. In recognition of its contribution to the sector, º¬Ðß²ÝÊÓƵ has been awarded seven Queen's Anniversary Prizes. 

The º¬Ðß²ÝÊÓƵ London campus is based on the Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park and offers postgraduate and executive-level education, as well as research and enterprise opportunities. It is home to influential thought leaders, pioneering researchers and creative innovators who provide students with the highest quality of teaching and the very latest in modern thinking. 

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