Katarina Johnson-Thompson will seek to rebuild her career in the USA with Florida-based coach Petros Kyprianou following injury nightmare and split with Bertrand Valcin
- Katarina Johnson-Thompson will train in Florida for the remainder of this year
- She parted company with Bertrand Valcin due to his other commitments
- Cypriot Petros Kyprianou also coaches Maicel Uibo and Kendell Williams
Katarina Johnson-Thompson will rebuild her career in the USA after teaming up with Florida-based coach Petros Kyprianou.
Sportsmail revealed last month the heptathlete had parted company with Bertrand Valcin, the Frenchman who led her to the 2019 world title at the peak of a hugely successful tandem of almost five years.
But Valcin’s commitments with the French Federation mean he can no longer oversee Johnson-Thompson’s day-to-day training in Montpellier.
Katarina Johnson-Thompson has teamed up with Florida-based coach Petros Kyprianou
Cypriot Kyprianou, 43, coaches the world silver medal-winning decathlete Maicel Uibo and the leading US heptathlete Kendell Williams.
It is not yet decided if Johnson-Thompson will be based in the US, but she will train in Florida for the remainder of this year as she overcomes the crushing disappointment of a calf injury during the Tokyo Olympics.
She told Sportsmail: ‘It is sad that the chapter with Bertrand had to come to an end. He was a perfect fit for me at a time when I needed him the most. He is still at the end of the phone and I go forward with someone who has a different personality, a different approach and who can push me in a different way for this cycle.
Heptathlete suffered a calf injury at the Olympics after recovering from a ruptured achilles
‘I think he (Kyprianou) is one of the best combined events coaches there is. There are only a handful I would trust with my career and he is one. He is a specialist jumps coach, which is big for me, and has a big personality which is going to take me through the next couple of years.’
Johnson-Thompson had a devastating season, with a ruptured achilles at the end of 2020 almost keeping her out of Tokyo. Despite the setback she reached medal contention before a calf injury forced her to retire after four events. It required surgery.
Speaking at an event to promote Muller, she added: ‘Tokyo was a bad time, so these changes are a bit reinvigorating. It is about new environment, a challenge, a new voice as I build up again.’
