Nafissatou Thiam became the first women ever to win the gold medal in heptathlon three Olympics in a row.

Reining world champion Katarina Johnson-Thompson was looking to win her first Olympic medal, after finishing off the podium in the past three editions.

Other medal contenders were double world indoor champion Noor Vidts, who finished fourth in the previous edition, returning Olympic silver medalist Anouk Vetter and multiple world-medalists Anna Hall.

The top 3 was rounded out by American Taliyah Brooks and Noor Vidts, the latter also running a personal best.

Thiam extended her winning streak, recording a season's best of 15.54 m, almost half a meter clear of second place finisher Vetter.

Vidts finished in third, with a distance of 14.57 m. Emma Oosterwegel, in fourth, and Johnson-Thompson, in fifth, both recorded personal bests.

Vetter's teammate Oosterwegel and Irish athlete Kate O'Connor rounded out the top 3.

Thiam had fallen further to the back, meanwhile Hungarian Xénia Krizsán had joined Johnson-Thompson and Vidts in the chasing group.

Johnson-Thompson finished right behind her in second, after distancing herself from the rest of the chasing group in the home stretch.

Due to the fast-paced races, 9 out of the 10 first finishers recorded personal bests, with event winner Hall being the sole exception.

After the scores of the final event were calculated and added up, Thiam emerged victorious, with a total of 6880 points.

Prior to the competition, the existing world, Olympic, and area records were as follows: For the women's heptathlon event, the qualification period is between 1 July 2023 and 30 June 2024.