Katarina Johnson-Thompson leads the Olympic heptathlon after the first day of competition at Stade de France.

The Liverpudlian got off to an excellent start on Thursday morning and sat top of the pack after the morning session’s 100 metres hurdles and the high jump to place above her main rival Nafissatou Thiam.

The Belgian and Briton briefly swapped places following the evening’s shot put session, but Johnson-Thompson regained her advantage after clocking 23.44 seconds in the 200 metres.

She enters day two with a combined 4055 points, 48 more than Thiam and 99 ahead of the United States’ Anna Hall, Thursday’s third-place finisher.

Thiam briefly took a 50-point lead in the shot put when she  equalled her personal best 15.54 for the best throw of the evening.

Johnson-Thompson’s 14.44 was also a personal best, but only good enough for fifth-furthest.

Laura Muir and Georgia Bell both saw themselves through to Saturday’s 1500m final after securing top six finishes from the first semi-final.

Muir, the Tokyo 2020 silver medallist, was leading the pack with 300m remaining when Kenya’s Faith Kipyegon made her move, extending her lead as she stormed to the finish in 3:58.64.

British champion Bell overtook her team-mate in the last 100m to cross  in 3:59.49 as the second-fastest finisher behind the world record holder.

Paris 2024 Olympic Games – Day Thirteen
Great Britain’s Laura Muir (right) and Georgia Bell  (left)  during their women’s 1500 metres semi-final (Martin Rickett/PA).

Muir was also passed by the United States’ Elle St Pierre and finished fourth in 3:59.83.

Revee Walcott-Nolan had fought back to earn a semi-final spot from the repechage round, but a personal best 3:58.08 was not enough after she finished ninth in heat two.