Abi Pawlett Follows in Footsteps of British Heptathlon Heroes as She Goes for Glory in Tokyo

In the summer of 2019 a 16-year-old Abi Pawlett broke Katarina Johnson-Thompson’s north west girls’ heptathlon record at the English schools championships. 

In the October of the same year, Johnson-Thompson – by then an accomplished senior international athlete - won heptathlon gold at the World Athletics Championships in Qatar.

Next weekend, Pawlett, now aged 22 and the Welsh heptathlon record holder, will make her debut at the World Athletics Championships. Johnson-Thompson will compete for her third world title.

In a recent Welsh Athletics Beyond the Track podcast, Loughborough-based Pawlett, recalled that record-breaking performance at the English schools.

“That was the year that showed me that if you keep at this, something could come of it,” said Pawlett.

“I think I was doing my GCSEs that year so maybe that thought of uni starting to come to the front of your mind. And to really start to consider what athletics could be.

“To break Kat’s record then, when I did it, my dad was like ‘you need to tweet her. Which I think I did!”

Now, six-years later, the two women are Great Britain team-mates, preparing for the first day of the heptathlon on Friday morning.

Pawlett describes the progress she has made in those intervening years, to now be preparing to compete alongside Johnson-Thompson, as being “surreal”.

The Loughborough University student is one of a generation of British athletes who were inspired by the London 2012 Olympics.

Abi Pawlett celebrating her silver medal at the UK Athletics Championships in Birmingham. Pic. Owen Morgan

Then just nine-years-old, Pawlett was particularly impressed by the gold-medal winning exploits of the poster girl of those games, Jessica Ennis-Hill.

Like Ennis-Hill, Pawlett is a heptathlete who also excels individually as a sprint hurdler.

The multi-eventer said: “London 2012, I was born in 2003, so I was around nine years old when London was on. Watching Jess running the hurdles at London is my first memory of athletics.

“London 2012 has been massive, especially in the heptathlon. We’ve got such a generation now where you can see so clearly that in our age group in general, these kids have been inspired by 2012. We’ve had such a strong few years in hep especially.”

Pawlett is showing all the attributes to become the latest in a long line of outstanding British multi-eventers which also includes the likes of Mary Peters and Denise Lewis as well as Johnson-Thompson and Ennis-Hill.

Abi Pawlett on her way to 60m hurdles gold at the UK Indoor Championships. Pic. Owen Morgan

Ranked sixth on the all-time British heptathlon rankings Pawlett has enjoyed an outstanding season which started indoors in February. 

At the British Universities and Colleges Sport (BUCS) Championships in Sheffield, she claimed the 60m hurdles individual title in a new PB of 8.11. The time also surpassed Kay Morley-Brown’s 33-year-old Welsh record. 

Just a week later, Pawlett reinforced her hurdling credentials when she lowered her PB again to 8.09 as she won gold at the UK Athletics Indoor Championships in Birmingham.

May saw her claim the BUCS outdoor 100m hurdles title in Manchester and excel in the red vest of Wales where he won the 100m hurdles at the Loughborough International against the best of the home nations.

Abi Pawlett competing in the shot put at the UK Indoor Athletics Championships. Pic. Owen Morgan

Pawlett, who has switched allegiance from England to Wales - the country which her uncle represented at swimming - has spoken of the support she has received since making the transition.

The Trafford AC athlete missed the 2022 games due to an injury but is hoping to repay the backing she has received in her adopted country at next year’s Commonwealth Games.

“Ever since I moved to represent Wales, I’ve had nothing but the top support. I’m so grateful I did it, I would never look back,” said Pawlett. 

“To go and perform and hopefully do well, push for a medal at the Commies - just to give back to that team and that support system that’s done so much for me this past few years. That’s what I would want to do it for.”

Pawlett has proved this season that she can compete on the world stage as well as domestically. 

At the end of May, Pawlett finished eighth overall at the hugely prestigious Hypomeeting in Gotzis, Austria, which attracts the world’s top multi-eventers. 

Abi Pawlett in action at the UK Athletics Championships in Birmingham where she claimed a silver medal. Pic. Owen Morgan

In July, she again displayed her huge potential at international level claiming a brilliant silver medal representing Great Britain at the European Under-23 Championships in Bergen, Norway.

The performance also brought a personal best and a new Welsh record with a score of 6,320 – 243 points behind gold medallist Saga Vanninen, who set a new championship record.

There was another championship silver medal for Pawlett in August when she was second in the 100m hurdles at the UK Athletics Championships in Birmingham.

Despite her outstanding season, Pawlett feared selection for the World Championships had passed her by due to the complicated ranking system surrounding heptathlon selection.

However, when the initial GB squad was announced, Pawlett’s name was there, albeit accompanied by an asterisk due to her selection being “subject to confirmation of a qualifying world ranking position”.

A nervous week followed until her selection was finally confirmed on September 1 – less than two weeks before the start of the championships.

The anxious wait will have been worth it on Friday morning at a packed Olympic Stadium in Tokyo.

Six years after breaking reigning world champion’s schools record, Pawlett will line-up alongside Johnson-Thompson and fellow Brit Jade O’Dowda in the 100m hurdles on the first day of the heptathlon at the World Athletics Championships.