This time it was pure torture. But she underperformed in the shot put, with a throw of just 13.86m.
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She rectified the situation by clocking the fastest time in the 200m, her 23.26 seconds edging out Ennis-Hill’s 23.49secs, but was still left playing catch-up on her team-mate.
Brianne Theisen-Eaton of Canada took bronze with 6,653 points.
Johnson-Thompson’s technique deserted her as she relinquished her grasp in the lead, failing to hit the 12m line as she slumped to sixth. After the javelin, and the long jump, it was revealed that there was a 10-second time difference between herself and Belgium’s Thiam. “I had to control my body and listen to my body very carefully”, said Sumgong.
“I always said I want to have a great career, give as much as I can”.
“I knew she was going to run hard for that gold medal and she wouldn’t let that kind of lead slip”. That’s what I was capable of in this stage in my career on those two days.
JESSICA Ennis-Hill broke down in tears during an emotional interview with BBC Sport at the Rio 2016 Olympics.
“I don’t really know to be honest (about the next chapter)”, said Ennis-Hill, 30. But Thiam, despite nursing an injured shoulder with only one throw in her, emerged to eclipse that with an extraordinary 53.13m to put Ennis-Hill back in the shadows.
The 30-year-old said she had nearly made up her mind over her future, but wanted to take her time over such a “huge decision”.
“I don’t want to cry”.
Thiam’s rise has been rapid and staggering.
Jemima Sumgong made the most of a kick with 6km to run to win Kenya’s first ever Olympic women’s marathon gold on Sunday.
A repeat of London 2012’s “Super Saturday” is on the cards after Greg Rutherford held his nerve to qualify for the long jump final, but the mouth-watering prospect of a titanic tussle for gold between the two British heptathletes, which would have provided one of the highlights of the Games, looks unlikely to materialise.
Ennis-Hill’s teammate Katarina Johnson-Thomspson also leapfrogged up the standings with a long jump best of 6.51m, leaving her just 46pts off her compatriot in the push for the podium.
It was a fully deserved victory for Thiam, who recorded five personal bests from the seven events en route to gold, including the 800m.
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She arrived at Rio 2016 as the favourite to defend her title, not least because she took home gold at the 2015 World Championships, just 13 months on from giving birth to her son. But her gutsy display wasn’t quite enough. Her first effort was just 36.36m, almost six metres below her personal best, while her second was so poor she purposely stepped over the line so it counted as foul. She’s got some strong events and some that don’t work for her. And yet for her brilliant athleticism, success in both events still eludes her.
