Brianne Theisen-Eaton takes silver in heptathlon at worlds
Canadian moves up from 3rd spot to claim 2nd straight silver
Canada's Brianne Theisen-Eaton won the silver medal in the heptathlon Sunday at the track and field world championships in Beijing.
The Humboldt, Sask., native was in third place heading into the closing event, the 800 metres, after an uneven showing over the first six legs.
Needing to make up a daunting six seconds on leader Jessica Ennis-Hill of Great Britain, Theisen-Eaton went out hard in the 800 in a gutsy effort to pressure the Olympic champion. She led for most of the way before Ennis-Hill overtook her down the stretch to win the race and seal her second world title in six years.
Ennis-Hill finished with 6,669 points — 115 more than Theisen-Eaton, who took home her second straight silver at worlds.
Latvia's Laura Ikauniece-Admidina got the bronze with 6,516 points.
Theisen-Eaton considered not even running the 800 because of a painful injury to her groin/abdominal area that she first felt when warming up for the javelin, where she withdrew after only one attempt.
"I was crying these whole two days," she said.
Theisen-Eaton was among the favourites to win gold, but said she was "derailed" by a poor showing in the high jump and hopes to gain from the experience as she looks to next year's Olympics in Rio.
"Maybe this will be more valuable than the gold, maybe I learned something that will help me next year," she said. "I'm trying to think positively, maybe that's the key."
Theisen-Eaton's medal was part of a three-medal day for Canada. Earlier, Ben Thorne won bronze in the men's race walk, setting a Canadian record in the process. Later, Andre De Grasse won a bronze medal in the men's 100 metres.
With files from The Canadian Press