Katarina Johnson-Thompson has reflected on the 12 words that changed her life and eventually led to her huge success at the Paris Olympics.

In a new Interview with Harper’s Bazaar, in which she sizzles in a number of racy looks, the athlete, 31, opened up on the moment she pulled out of 2024 European Athletic Championships after sustaining a minor injury in her leg.

At the time, Katarina had been determined to power through the compeтιтion, admitting she wanted to continue to not only do well for her team mates, but to prove her doubters wrong

However, it was her coach Aston Moore who eventually persuaded her that she had to make a choice purely for herself, telling her: ‘Has anyone ever told you that you don’t have to do this?’

Speaking to the publication, Katarina recalled that it was these words that ‘changed everything’, with the heptathlete eventually pulling out of the compeтιтion.

Katarina Johnson-Thompson has reflected on the 12 words that changed her life and eventually led to her huge success at the Paris Olympics

In a new Interview with Harper’s Bazaar , in which she sizzles in a number of racy looks, the athlete, 31, opened up on the moment she pulled out of 2024 European Athletic Championships after sustaining a minor injury in her leg

At the time, Katarina had been determined to power through the compeтιтion, admitting she wanted to continue to not only do well for her team mates, but to prove her doubters wrong

However, it was her coach Aston Moore who eventually persuaded her that she had to make a choice purely for herself, telling her: ‘Has anyone ever told you that you don’t have to do this?’

Katarina revealed how the decision to quit the compeтιтion just week before the Paris Olympic games was a transformative moment as she was beginning to feel ‘more athlete than person’