Nafi Thiam moved into second place in the heptathlon after winning the high jump, the second of the seven events, leaping 1.92 metres at the Paris Olympics on Thursday.
Thiam, who has a personal best of 2.02 metres from 22nd June 2019, started her attempts at 1.80 metres, which she cleared on her first effort. She also cleared her first jumps at 1.86, 1.89 and 1.92 metres before making three unsuccessful attempts at 1.95 metres. Her performance added 1,132 points to her total, the same score as British athlete Katarina Johnson-Thompson, who reached 1.92 metres on her third try.
Meanwhile, Noor Vidts jumped 1.71, 1.74 and 1.77 metres on her first attempts. She needed three attempts for 1.80 metres before clearing 1.83 metres on the first try – 1 cm short of her personal best. Unable to break 1.86 metre, Vidts finished fifth in the event, earning 1,016 points.
Johnson-Thompson leads the standings with 2,197 points, followed by Thiam with 2,173 points and Anna Hall from the USA with 2,164 points. Vidts sits in fourth position with 2,125 points.
Thiam began the heptathlon event with the 16th fastest 100m hurdles time of 13.56 seconds, yielding 1,041 points. Vidts secured a personal best time of 13.10 seconds, earning 1,109 points and a third place finish.
The shot put (19:35) and 200m (20:55) events will continue into the evening. Long jump, javelin, and 800m will take place on Friday. Thiam, 29, is the reigning double Olympic champion, while the 28-year-old Vidts finished fourth at the Tokyo Games in 2021.
