12 words that changed Katarina Johnson-Thompson’s life: The athlete reflects on the career moment that led to her success at the Paris Olympics as she sizzles in a racy new photo shoot

Katarina Johnson-Thompson reflected on the 12 words that changed her life and ultimately led to her huge success at the Paris Olympics.

In a new interview with Harpers Bazaarin which she showcases a range of racy looks, the 31-year-old opened up as she pulled out of the 2024 European Athletics Championships after suffering a minor leg injury.

At the time, Katarina was determined to win the competition, admitting that she wanted to continue to not only do well for her teammates, but also to prove her doubters wrong.

However, it was her coach Aston Moore who eventually convinced her that she had to make a choice entirely for herself, telling her: “Has anyone ever told you that you don’t have to do this?”

In a conversation with the publication, Katarina recalled that it was these words that “changed everything,” and the heptathlete eventually withdrew from the competition.

Katarina said the decision to quit competing just a week before the Paris Olympics was a transformative moment as she began to feel “more of an athlete than a person.”

She explained: “I wanted to do well to prove the people who counted me out that they were wrong. I wanted to succeed for my team because they told me good stories about me when no one else did. But when he said they just wanted me to be happy, I finally realized I owe it to myself to do this.”

The beauty took this renewed thinking to the Paris Olympics, where she won her first Olympic medal – silver – with Katarina noting that she felt “truly present” on the field for the first time.

Her success at the Games has come as a result of a number of injuries over the years, the most heartbreaking of which was having to withdraw from the postponed Tokyo 2020 Games after tearing her calf in the 200m.

At the time, her Team GB colleague Jessica Ennis-Hill remarked about Katarina: “She’s been through every possible scenario.”

Katarina described how she “loves” the phrase, adding: “It can go both ways: it can make you fearful and paranoid about repeating the trauma, but it can also remind you that you’ve been back to it before. That you can do it.

The athlete embraced the shocking injury and called it a “blue shell moment,” referring to the power booster in the Mario Kart video games that instantly stops your opponents.

Explaining how she uses this mantra in her life, she said: “I am obsessed with the idea that random events suddenly change the course of your life. It makes you wonder, “What’s the point if a terrible accident can happen twice, even if you did everything right?” But it also makes you realize that there are things you can’t predict – anything can happen. It’s kind of liberating.”

The GB international was born to Ricardo Thompson and Tracy Johnson in Liverpool. Her father was a production assistant at the Bahamian television station ZNS-TV, and her mother was a professional dancer.

Although Katarina was born in Liverpool, she spent the first year of her life in the Bahamas before her family returned to England and settled in Halewood.

The athlete lost her father in 2017 and said her grief pushed her to pursue her dreams of Olympic glory.

Speaking to the Guardian in 2018, she said: “I’m proud of myself because there have been difficult and challenging times.

“But my dad definitely pushed me this year. I wanted to start winning. I wanted my family to see that I was doing well. And I think I definitely did.”

But while her life has had its challenges, there have also been positives thanks to her relationship with fellow British athlete Andrew Pozzi.

Pozzi is a star in his own right as a steeplechaser, having won gold at the European and World Indoor Championships. Like Katarina, Andrew also suffered an injury that derailed his career.

The now 32-year-old retired hurdler has finished in just one Olympic Games, his home games in London in 2012.

The couple have a long-distance relationship due to Katarina’s demanding training, with Katarina living in Loughborough and Andrew living in Cardiff.

Speaking about their long distance relationship in 2019, Katarina said:

“Whenever you live outside the country and have family, friends, loved ones or relatives in other countries, it requires a higher level of organization. One of the benefits of what we do is that we go to a lot of the same competitions and are in the same place for multiple days.