The 31-year-old from Liverpool enjoyed a brilliant first day at the Stade de France, securing an overnight lead after a solid 200m performance followed a personal best in the shot put.
However, as expected, it is Thiam at the top of the standings heading into the final event, after the Olympic champion in Rio and Tokyo produced a throw of 54.04m in the javelin on Friday morning.
That was nearly nine metres more than Johnson-Thompson could manage, and it means Thiam is in pole position heading into the 800m.
What does Katarina Johnson-Thompson need to win gold medal?
With just the 800m to go in the heptathlon, Thiam holds a lead of 121 points over Johnson-Thompson. Annik Kalin of Switzerland is in third, 109 points off the British athlete, with Noor Vidts five points further back.
If Johnson-Thompson is to win gold in Paris tonight, she must beat Thiam by around eight and a half seconds in the 800m.
The Briton’s personal best over the distance is 2:05.63, set at the World Championships in Hungary last year. Thiam’s best came earlier this summer, when she ran a 2:11.79.
It means if the Belgian is to match her personal best, Johnson-Thompson must take at least two seconds off her best ever time. She will be confident of sealing a place on the podium at the very least, for what would be her first Olympic medal.
Anna Hall currently sits fifth in the overall standings, but is capable of running a very quick 800m and is still firmly in the medal hunt.
Heptathlon standings after six events:
|
Position |
Athlete |
Points |
200m PB |
|
1 |
Nafi Thiam |
5924 |
2:11.79 |
|
2 |
Katarina Johnson-Thompson |
5803 |
2:05.63 |
|
3 |
Annik Kalin |
5694 |
2:13.73 |
|
4 |
Noor Vidts |
5689 |
2:08.50 |
|
5 |
Anna Hall |
5567 |
2:02.97 |