• Athlete broke British record to win world heptathlon gold • ‘I’ve had a lot of bad years, I’m just so happy I came out in front’

Katarina Johnson-Thompson admitted that the twin joys of beating Jessica Ennis-Hill’s British record and winning her first world championship heptathlon gold was “like a dream”.

“These whole two days have gone so fast,” she said after scoring 6,981 points to eclipse Ennis-Hill’s record by 26 points. “It’s been at night, there are all the lights, it has felt like a dream. I cannot believe this result. I am so happy.” Few expected Johnson-Thompson to beat Nafi Thiam, who had not lost since May 2016, but she produced four personal bests to take a stunning gold. And afterwards she credited a move to France in January 2017 for changing her career around.

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“Everyone’s got their journey,” she said. “It’s not been very straightforward for me. It’s not been easy for me. I had to move coach. I had to move country, I had to learn a new language and settle in. I tore everything up and started again and it’s worked.

“The last two world championships have been heartbreaking for my mum and I. Mid-heptathlon, I’ve gone back to my hotel and cried and cried for hours when things have gone badly. It was after the high jump in London in 2017 and after the long jump in 2015 in Beijing. Those were the low points of my career. Rio Olympics, as well. I’ve had a lot of bad years. I’m just so happy that I came out in front for a change.”

Meanwhile Ennis-Hill hailed Johnson-Thompson’s achievements and said she believed the 26-year-old could break the 7,000-points barrier. “To come back and deliver in this way with all these personal bests is incredible,” Ennis-Hill said. “You have to get to the lowest point, the breaking point.

“She got to that and she made big changes and decisions and they are the reason she has gone on to improve and become the world champion now.”

“She was so fixated on winning and breaking 7,000 points that it took away from her performance. Now she has put it to one side it will happen naturally.”