The 12 words that changed Katarina Johnson-Thompson's life: Athlete reflects on huge career moment that led to her Paris Olympics success as she sizzles in racy new shoot

Katarina Johnson-Thompson has reflected on the 12 words that changed her life and eventually led to her huge success at the Paris Olympics .

In a new Interview with Harper's Bazaar , in which she sizzles in a number of racy looks, the athlete, 31, opened up on the moment she pulled out of 2024 European Athletic Championships after sustaining a minor injury in her leg.

At the time, Katarina had been determined to power through the competition, admitting she wanted to continue to not only do well for her team mates, but to prove her doubters wrong .

However, it was her coach Aston Moore who eventually persuaded her that she had to make a choice purely for herself, telling her: 'Has anyone ever told you that you don't have to do this?'

Speaking to the publication, Katarina recalled that it was these words that 'changed everything', with the heptathlete eventually pulling out of the competition.

Katarina revealed how the decision to quit the competition just week before the Paris Olympic games was a transformative moment as she was beginning to feel 'more athlete than person'.

She explained: 'I wanted to do well to prove to people who counted me out that they were wrong. I wanted to do well for my team, because they were telling me good stories about myself when nobody else would. But when he said they just wanted me to be happy, finally I realised I should be doing it for me.'

The beauty went on to take this refreshed mindset into the Paris Olympics, where she went on to win her very first Olympic medal - a silver - with Katarina noting it was the first time she felt 'truly present' out on the field.

Her success at the games follows on from a spate of injuries over the years, with the most heartbreaking being her having to pull out of the delayed 2020 Tokyo games after tearing her calf during the 200m.

At the time, her fellow Team GB heroine Jessica Ennis-Hill remarked of Katarina: 'She's been through every possible scenario'.

Katarina told how she 'loves' that phrase, adding: 'It can go both ways: it can make you scared and paranoid about injury happening again, but it can also remind you that you've come back from it before. That you can do it.'

The sportswoman went on to embrace that shocking injury and call it a 'blue shell moment', referring to power booster in the Mario Kart video games that instantly stops your opponents in their tracks.

Explaining how she's using this mantra through life, she said: 'I'm obsessed with the idea of random events suddenly changing the course of your life. It makes you think, "What's the point if a freak accident can happen twice, even when you've done everything right?" But it also makes you realise there are things you can't predict – anything can happen. That's sort of freeing.'

The Team GB athlete was born to Ricardo Thompson and Tracy Johnson in Liverpool. Her father was a production assistant at the Bahamian broadcaster ZNS-TV, whilst her mother was a professional dancer.

Although Katarina was born in Liverpool she spent the first year of her life in the Bahamas before her family moved back to England, settling in Halewood.

In 2017, the athlete lost her dad, and has been vocal in how her grief has spurred her on to achieve her dream of Olympic glory .

Speaking to the Guardian in 2018, she said: 'I am proud of myself because there have been some hard and difficult times.

'But Dad definitely spurred me on this year. I wanted to start winning things. I wanted my family to see me doing well. And I think I have done that for sure.'

But while she's faced hardships in her life, there's also postives thanks to her relationship with fellow British athlete Andrew Pozzi.

Pozzi is a star in his own right as a hurdling athlete having won gold at both the European and World Indoor Championships. Like Katarina, Andrew has also suffered with injury and has had his career hindered as a result.

The now 32-year-old retired hurdler only completed at one Olympic Games, his home Games in London back in 2012.

The couple have a long-distance relationship because of Katarina's demanding training with Katarina residing in Loughborough while Andrew lives in Cardiff.

Speaking of their long-distance relationship back in 2019, Katarina said:

'Whenever you live away and you have family, friends, loved ones, or relationships in other countries, it requires a better level of organisation. One of the benefits of what we do is that we end up attending a lot of the same competitions and are in the same place for several days.