Recently-crowned European indoor pentathlon champion set to contest the 200m hurdles and long jump in Manchester in May

Katarina Johnson-Thompson will aim to do a 200m hurdles and long jump double in Manchester in May as she makes her Great CityGames debut.

The 22-year-old, who broke the British pentathlon record on her way to winning gold at the European Indoor Championships in Prague on Friday, will use the event as part of her preparations for the defence of her Gotzis Hypo Meeting heptathlon title at the end of May.

“I haven t taken part in either of the Great CityGames events before so I’m really looking forward to making my debut in Manchester in May,” commented Johnson-Thompson, who became just the second female athlete to record 5000 points or more in the pentathlon last week when she narrowly missed Nataliya Dobrynska’s world record in the Czech capital.

“I’ve seen the events on television before and love the idea of competing so close to the public. I can’t wait to experience it first-hand for the first time.”

The Liverpool Harrier added: “It will also be great to compete on home soil in front of a British crowd – all the more being so close to home in the North-West.

“My main aim this summer is the World Championships in Beijing in August and competing in the two events in the Great CityGames Manchester will be great preparation for my first heptathlon of the year at Gotzis at the end of May.”

The street athletics event on May 9 will see the 200m hurdles take place on a purpose-built temporary track that runs down the middle of Deansgate, while the long jump is held in a specially-constructed field arena in Albert Square.

The event is part of a weekend of athletics, with Europe’s biggest 10km, the Morrisons Great Manchester Run, held the following day.

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