| Venue: Hayward Field, Eugene, Oregon Events: 15.-24. July |
| cover: Watch live on ` TV, ` iPlayer, ` Sport website and mobile app (UK only) |
Britain’s Katarina Johnson-Thompson is sixth after four competitions as she attempts to defend her world heptathlon title in Oregon.
The 29-year-old, who was fit again after multiple injuries, improved with a second place overall in the 200m in the general classification.
She finished the first day of the heptathlon with 3,798 points.
Belgium’s two-time Olympic gold medalist Nafi Thiam, 2019 silver medalist, leads with 4,071 points.
“I just wanted to be competitive and find the form because I’ve struggled a lot over the last year and tried to get the essence that I had in 2018 and 2019,” Johnson-Thompson told ` Sport.
“I’m working on a few things, but I’m just happy to be out here and in one piece.”
2019 Doha champion Johnson-Thompson recovered from a torn Achilles tendon at the Tokyo Olympics last year, only to see her dream of a first Olympic medal end from a calf injury at 200m.
Since then she has completed only one full heptathlon, finishing seventh in Gotzi’s in May.
In Eugene, she opened her competition with fifth place in a 100m hurdles, which Thiam won, 13.55 seconds off her personal best of 13.09.
She jumped 1.83 m in the high jump, 15 cm below her personal best, and threw 12.92 m in the shot put in the morning session.
Anouk Vetter of the Netherlands finished second overall behind Thiam on Sunday while Anna Hall of the USA is third.
Elsewhere for Britain on day three at Hayward Field, Joshua Zeller, competing in his first World Championship, finished fifth in the men’s 110m hurdles final.
Olympic bronze medalist Josh Kerr won his semifinals and advanced to the 1500m final. Teammate Jake Wightman is also in the final, but Neil Gourley missed out.
Matt Hudson-Smith won his run to reach the men’s 400m semifinals on Wednesday, where he will be joined by teammate Alex Haydock-Wilson, while in the women’s 400m Victoria Ohuruogu, Nicole Yeargin and Ama Pipi all advanced .
What else happened on day three?
Earlier, Olympic silver medalist and world record holder Joshua Cheptegei of Uganda defended his 2019 Doha men’s 10,000m title in a time of 27 minutes 27.43 seconds.
Tamirat Tola of Ethiopia took gold in the men’s marathon, finishing by more than a minute in a championship-record time of two hours five minutes thirty-six seconds, while Brooke Andersen of the United States won the women’s hammer throw.
Grant Holloway of the United States retained his 110m hurdles title after compatriot Devon Allen, a rookie in the NFL for the Philadelphia Eagles, was disqualified for a false start and Jamaica’s Olympic gold medalist Hansle Perchment was injured while warming up.
Olympic pole vault champion Katie Nageotte added world gold to her collection with a double in the USA, while Sandi Morris took silver. Both led in the world at 4.85m, but Nageotte took gold after overcoming the height on her first attempt.
American two-time Olympic gold medalist Ryan Crouser, born and raised in Oregon, won the shot put title on home soil with a championship record 22.94 m.
In the men’s 400m hurdles, Brazil’s Alison dos Santos qualified as the fastest for the final, while Norway’s Olympic champion Karsten Warholm finished second overall with a season best of 48.00 seconds.
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