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For most of us, mastering one Olympic sport would be enough. But for Katarina Johnson-Thompson (KJT) and her competitors in this year’s Olympic heptathlon, the mission is to excel across no less than seven. That’s seven events in two days, which run the gamut from sprinting to javelin-throwing.
One talent just doesn't cut it when you're competing to be the sports equivalent of the ultimate multi-hyphenate. We’re out of breath just thinking about it.
The women’s heptathlon started yesterday (August 8), and KJT is leading the pack. Here’s how you can watch her compete for heptathlon gold at Paris 2024 today (August 9).
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When does the heptathlon start?
The women’s programme kicked off on Thursday August 8 at 9.05am and runs (no pun intended) until the evening of Friday August 9, with the last event scheduled for 7.25pm.
Heptathlon schedule and events
There are seven different sports to keep track of here, so pay close attention: Here’s when each heptathlon event will take place.
Thursday August 8
- 09:05 Women’s Heptathlon 100m Hurdles
- 10:05 Women’s Heptathlon High Jump
- 18:35 Women’s Heptathlon Shot Put
- 19:55 Women’s Heptathlon 200m
Friday August 9
- 09:05 Women’s Heptathlon Long Jump
- 10:23 Women’s Heptathlon Javelin Throw - Group A
- 11:32 Women’s Heptathlon Javelin Throw - Group B
- 19:25 Women’s Heptathlon 800m
Team GB and Katarina Johnson-Thompson
Johnson-Thompson is currently the world heptathlon champion, after winning gold at last year’s World Athletics Championship in Budapest. This marks her fourth Olympics competing for Team GB but it could be the first time the athletics star takes home an Olympic medal.
KJT isn’t short on wins, but has been unlucky at the Olympics so far, losing out on a medal at the Tokyo Games after an injury forced her to withdraw.
Joining her on Team GB’s athletics squad are Olympic medallists Keely Hodkingson, Josh Kerr, Holly Bradshaw and Laura Muir. At 17, newcomer Phoebe Gill is Britain's youngest track star to compete at the Olympics in over 40 years.
You can find a full guide of all the Team GB athletics stars to watch here.
How to watch
You can stream heptathlon events for free on the BBC iPlayer Olympics hub. Subscribers to Discovery+ have access to full coverage of all Olympics events. They’re also offering a £3.99 package exclusively for the duration of the games. If you already pay for Sky TV, you can activate a ‘standard plan’ on Discovery+ at no extra charge.
BBC coverage starts at 8am and Discovery+ streams each event in real-time.
Here’s how to watch the Paris 2024 Olympics in the UK for free.
What is a heptathlon?
The Olympic heptathlon combines seven track and field events. The seven disciplines are: 100m hurdles, high jump, shot put, 200m, long jump, javelin throw and 800m. At Paris 2024 the women’s heptathlon will take place over two days.
The order of events in the heptathlon is always the same, with the 100m hurdles, high jump, shot put and 200m on the first day, and the long jump, javelin throw and 800m on the second day.
Athletics at the Olympics so far
Athletics kicked off at this year’s Games last Thursday August 1 and so far, Britain has scooped up three medals. The team took home bronze in the 4x400m relay mixed final and Keely Hodkingson took home her first gold in the 800m sprint on Monday.
Josh Kerr won silver on Tuesday in the men’s 1500m, where he was beaten by Team US’s Cole Hocker, who set a new Olympic record for the race.
The USA is leading the athletics table with 16 medals, followed by Kenya, whose Beatrice Chebet won gold in the women’s 5000m and Jamaica, which has earned four Aahletics medals so far.
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