Ennis-Hill tipping KJT to finally land Olympic gold after 'incredible' show

JESSICA ENNIS-HILL has backed Katarina Johnson-Thompson to end her Olympic curse and strike gold in Paris this summer.

- Matt Majendie

Johnson-Thompson effectively has her dress rehearsal for the Games at the European Athletics Championships --which begin tomorrow - as she plots her course for a first Olympic medal.

The Briton made her Olympic debut at London 2012 as Ennis-Hill won gold. She arrived at the next Games, in Rio de Janeiro, after an injury-ravaged two years to finish sixth. A ruptured Achilles threatened to halt her from competing at the Tokyo Games, and then she suffered a torn calf during the 200metres.

But despite the Olympic heartache, Ennis-Hill predicted her former teammate and rival would use Rome as a stepping stone to come good in the French capital a year on from being crowned world champion for the second time in her career in Budapest.

"She's in the gold mix," said EnnisHill. "She blew me away in Budapest. I thought she'd win a medal, but I did not expect her to win gold. That was an incredible performance by her.

"She was just so consistent and just not fazed by anything going on around her. If she can bring that into the Olympics, then she's a dangerous threat. Kat's got a really, really good shout.