Withdrawing early from the European Championships appeared to be a wise choice for Johnson-Thompson who holds the British heptathlon record, as she was back in action fit and healthy at the England Athletics Combined Events Championships just before heading to Paris at the end of July.

At the event, she ran the 100m hurdles in 13.54 seconds (2.1) and cleared 1.81m in the high jump with a shortened run-up. Her personal bests are 13.09 in the hurdles and 1.98m in the high jump.

Every athlete knows your tendons play up and then settle down but at the minute it seems to be behaving itself, says Johnson-Thompson.

Ive spent so many years competing at the Combined Events Championships when I was young and I started my career there. I needed the hurdles because I wanted to give myself enough time to get the training to make some changes to my start.

It was really about giving myself that time to get the hurdles in because the last one I did was in Rome, and I practiced the high jump off the short approach.

Since Tokyo, Johnson-Thompson has had her eye focused on her first Olympic medal as she lives her life off of Olympic cycles. However, this Olympic Games will be unlike her previous three experiences. This time, the heptathlon is scheduled towards the end of the athletics session rather than the beginning.

The reason for the change is unclear, but it is speculated that it was to highlight Frances decathlon medal hopeful, Kevin Mayer, and to start the athletics with a bang. However, Mayer withdrew due to injury just before the Olympics began.

As a result, Johnson-Thompson has been training in Paris for the past few weeks, making the most of the extended build-up to her event and experiencing the Olympics in a new way, despite feeling gutted about the shift.

I see each Olympic cycle as a different era, says Johnson-Thompson. I do live my life off of Olympic cycles, it is the nature of track and field. Its always an Olympic cycle and this has been one of the shortest ones, given that the last one was one of the longest ones.

This cycle has felt short, but its felt really refined and its all been leading into this competition. Im just ready for it now I think.

Im a bit gutted Im on at the end, so I dont really know what to do with myself in this time.

Normally Im on at the start and then I can go and watch, or get tickets to watch the rest of the Olympics. I will definitely be watching it on the TV.

I dont think that I will get the chance to go and watch other sports before my own event. Ive got two days after my event, which will be the relays and also the womens marathon so I think I am definitely going to try and squeeze in as much as possible on that.

For the first time since 2012, Johnson-Thompson will be joined alongside a Team GB teammate in the heptathlon. Jade ODowda, from Kidlington, will make her Olympic debut after going sixth on the UK all-time list after her seventh place finish at the European Championships.

The 24-year-olds performance in Rome was secured alongside a personal best in the final 800m of 2:11.30. She also secured a bronze medal for Team England at the 2022 Commonwealth Games and joined Johnson-Thompson on the podium.

Her rise in sport is hardly surprising as it quite literally is in her blood. Her brother, Callum ODowda plays football for Cardiff City and Republic of Ireland.

With the exception of Rome and the Commonwealth Games, I havent been on a British team with someone else in the heptathlon, says Johnson-Thompson.

So its going to be really cool to have somebody representing Team GB with me and just to have someone to talk to. She [ODowda] has had an amazing season so Im really excited to see what she gets up to.

I think we just need to make sure that the momentum in our sport builds. I think after 2012 I certainly felt that momentum. Since then, Rio was a different time zone, Tokyo was a Covid Olympics and a completely different time zone, so I think that this will feel the closest to London that we have felt and that I have experienced.