05 December 2019

Katarina Johnson-Thompson on her Jurgen Klopp 'moment' and her rivalry with good friend Jessica Ennis-Hill

British heptathlete Katarina Johnson-Thompson has spoken of her rivalry with Jessica Ennis-Hill and her magic moment courtesy of Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp

Johnson-Thompson first competed against Ennis-Hill at the London 2012 Olympics but says the rivalry was ramped up after her good friend returned to the sport after having a baby.

She said: “When Jess fell pregnant, everyone said, ‘It’s your turn to win now,’ so I had to grow up quickly in a lot of my life. Sometimes when I wasn’t ready for it.

“When Jess came back everyone built up the rivalry, so it was even more pressure on me. It was a lot to take when you’re just trying to figure out your sport and yourself,” she told the Financial Times.

The 26-year-old has definitely figured out her sport since then, winning gold in the heptathlon at the Doha World Championships in October, breaking the British record for the total number of points - 6,981.

The day after her golden win Liverpool manager Klopp congratulated the avid Reds fan on her achievement.

He said: "I am a big supporter of these kind of sports anyway, so I will say congratulations, brilliant. I knew about her relationship with Liverpool before, but I didn't watch it last night, I saw it in the newspapers this morning. Well, well done."

The star said it was 'surreal' for her to see Klopp talking about her.

“When I woke up and saw him answering questions on me, I was like, ‘What the hell . . . ?’ It was just surreal.

“He’s such a legend. I’m so glad that the fans have had patience with him.”

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