I don't see it as a redemption story - Johnson-Thompson

As far as Katarina Johnson-Thompson is concerned, this is not a redemption mission.

The 32-year-old's previous Tokyo experience was among the lowest moments she has endured.

But she has since recovered to heights which once appeared impossible.

It was in the Japanese capital four years ago, in a soulless stadium without spectators amid the coronavirus pandemic, that Johnson-Thompson's Olympic heptathlon hopes were shattered by injury during the 200m.

Just as she did that day, she has picked herself up and carried on, and returns as a two-time world champion and an Olympic silver medallist.

"Potentially [it will be in my mind], maybe in the 200m, but I don't see it as a redemption story at all," Johnson-Thompson told BBC Sport.

"I see my story as a happy one now. I know I've had a lot of low moments.

"These [competitions] are all freebies for me to take. I want to see the stadium full, I want to see Japan for what it is. I'm really excited to be back."

Amid the elation of an Olympic silver, one which felt as good as gold at her fourth Games in Paris, Johnson-Thompson also expressed her relief.

Ready to quit the sport when left mentally exhausted after Rio 2016, she fulfilled her world-beating potential by winning her first world gold in Doha three years later.

Physically broken in the aftermath of Tokyo, having recovered from a career-threatening Achilles rupture in just eight months to make the start line, she returned to the sport's summit with a second global gold two years ago.

The final piece of the puzzle fell into place as she completed her rollercoaster journey to the Olympic podium - just two seconds from gold in the concluding 800m - yet it left Johnson-Thompson with a feeling she had not anticipated.

"It was strange because every time I'd done the Olympics, I'd come away from it really sad," she said.

"This time I was happy with everything I did, and I had the medal to prove it, but I still had the same feeling of sadness.

"Now, the journey is so important to me. What you do and who you do it with along the way, the memories you create. I think I was just mourning the journey of getting ready for the Paris Olympics because it was such an incredible time.

"Building into it, believing in something and seeing it come to fruition is something I was so happy about. But now it's over and it's like 'what are we going to do next?'

"That sadness I had after was something I didn't realise would happen if it went well. It's not just the medals, it's the sense of purpose."

Ready to contest her seventh World Championships - which she says is her lucky number - Johnson-Thompson does not currently feel her sense of purpose in the sport wavering.

She will once again go head-to-head with Belgium's three-time Olympic champion Nafi Thiam for global gold, with both athletes chasing a third world crown.

American Anna Hall is also among the gold medal contenders. The 24-year-old recorded the joint-second highest total of all time with 7,032 points in Gotzis in June, behind only compatriot Jackie Joyner-Kersee.

"Athletics has always been my life so it's hard for me to see anything else," Johnson-Thompson said.

"If I'm competitive I will carry on for as long as I can. If I'm not, that's probably when I won't enjoy it and I will probably say 'it's time to go'.

"At no point [after the Olympics] I was like 'I should retire' - even though by the end of my 800m sessions I would say to my coach 'this is the last time you'll see me, I'm never doing this again'.

"But I know deep down that this is what I want to do."

For Johnson-Thompson, who is coached by Aston Moore, it has "not been the best year" in terms of her Tokyo preparations, with encouraging periods of training interrupted by minor injuries.

Rival Thiam, meanwhile, took 12 months to make her return to action post-Olympics in August - but Johnson-Thompson insisted: "You can't write Nafi off at any point, ever."

"It's going to be a fierce competition and it's exciting that the heptathlon is heating up that way, she added.

The heptathlon schedule in Tokyo has been a talking point among the athletes, with Johnson-Thompson identifying potential pinch points between the high jump, shot put and 200m in an intense three-hour period following the curtain-raising 100m hurdles on Friday evening.

But she believes those demands will feel comfortingly familiar - in more ways than one.

"It feels kind of like back to grassroots, when I used to be running around for Liverpool Harriers switching spikes between events.

"It's a bit like [the schedule at the World Championships in] Doha, as well.

"I wish they'd have given us a lie-in on day two, though."