British multi-event champions discuss the challenges of being a champion, then and now, training while working and Tokyo hopes
Two of Britain’s greatest athletes are sharing anecdotes about their triumphs and tribulations, laughing like old friends despite having only recently met, when Mary Peters tells a story that makes Katarina Johnson‑Thompson gasp.
In the months before the 1972 Munich Olympics, Peters was desperate to win a pentathlon gold medal to cap off her career. But there was no track near where she lived in Belfast. So at the height of the Troubles she would get two buses across the city to use a run‑down facility, carrying her starter’s blocks and a heavy shot to practise her putting, while also holding down a job. Sometimes she would hear bombs go off while she trained.
Written by Sean Ingle
This news first appeared on https://www.theguardian.com/sport/2020/mar/07/katarina-johnson-thompson-mary-peters under the title “Mary Peters and Katarina Johnson-Thompson: ‘Over 47 years on I’m still partying’”. Bolchha Nepal is not responsible or affiliated towards the opinion expressed in this news article.
