Injured Katarina Johnson-Thompson Refuses Help And Finishes Race Anyway

Ron Dicker
·1 min read

Reigning world champ heptathlete Katarina Johnson-Thompson won over fans with her persistence after sustaining an injury on Wednesday ― and that’s all she will win in Tokyo.

Johnson-Thompson pulled up in the heptathlon 200 meters and crumpled to the track, prompting medics to bring out a wheelchair for her. But the British star rejected the assistance, got to her feet, hobbled for a bit and jogged across the finish line.

One announcer called the move “a gesture of toughness and resilience ― refusal to be defeated by the injury in this particular discipline.”

Johnson-Thompson was disqualified for running out of her lane and has withdrawn from the competition, the BBC noted.

She entered the games after recovering from an Achilles rupture, but it was a calf injury on a different leg that caused the issue, British Athletics said.

Many people on Twitter praised her for finishing the race.

“Tough As Nails!” one fan said, while another wrote, “Much respect.”

Other people expressed concern for Johnson-Thompson’s injury, with one tweeter pointing out that the “working through the pain mentality” can be harmful to athletes.

This article originally appeared on HuffPost and has been updated.

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