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Athletics

Heptathlon queen Thiam keeps her cool despite new status

Nafi Thiam admitted the pressure would mount on her after she added the 2017 world heptathlon title to her 2016 Olympic crown. The Belgian conceded she had passed under the radar before her surge to gold in Rio.

Nafi Thiam claimed her first world championship title in London.
Nafi Thiam claimed her first world championship title in London. Reuters/Matthew Childs
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Competing in her first major championship where she was a target had brought new stresses for her to handle, she said.

β€œI think it was a good lesson for me to come to London to compete in those conditions. I know it’s not always going to be a happy ending and that more difficult times are going to come – they come for every athlete. But I will try to enjoy this moment.”

Before her coronation, there was an anxious wait for the 22-year-old Belgian. She came second to last in her heat of the final discipline of the 800m. But her time of 2:21.24 yielded her 804 points for a total of 6,784. Carolin Schafer, who had led the competition after the first three event, ran the 800m in 2:15.34 seconds to garner 888 points.

But they were not enough to wrest the title away and the German took silver with 6,696 points. Anouk Vetter from the Netherlands claimed bronze with 6,636 points.

"The 800m is not my favourite event,” Thiam said. β€œYou want it to be over but then you have two laps to run.”

After consecutive golds in major competitions, Thiam acknowledged the pressure would mount on her and, with his retirement imminent, hailed the sprinter Usain Bolt for consistently producing title winning runs.

β€œI’m going to have get used to performing well,” she said. β€œYet I don’t want to start a competition and think: β€˜I have to go back with the gold because if I don’t everybody is going to be disappointed.’ I don’t want to be stressing about that for the entire weekend of competition.

β€œAthletics is a big part of my life and I make a lot of sacrifices to do it but in the end it is only sports. There is a life outside it and there is a life after it and if I can’t enjoy it when I am competing, then there is really no point to doing it any more.

Β β€œI work hard all year and whatever happens I can be proud. I think that attitude is going to help me cope with the pressure in the coming years but it won’t make me invincible.”

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