Great Britain’s Katarina Johnson-Thompson ended her long wait for an Olympic heptathlon medal but narrowly missed out on gold to history-maker Nafissatou Thiam in a dramatic concluding 800m in Paris.

Two-time world champion Johnson-Thompson set up a captivating finale by ensuring Belgium’s Thiam remained within 121 points – equating to roughly 8.5 seconds – before the decisive seventh event at the end of the two-day competition.

Johnson-Thompson, with a superior lifetime best by six seconds, opened a significant lead on Thiam and crossed the line in a personal best two minutes 04.90 seconds.

That gutsy performance from the 31-year-old meant Thiam took gold at the Stade de France by just 36 points to become the first woman to win three heptathlon titles.

Johnson-Thompson put together a superb competition at her fourth Games, recording the second best points total of an illustrious career which has delivered two global triumphs.

This emotional silver, no matter how close to gold, is one to be celebrated and savoured for Johnson-Thompson – her arduous pursuit of a first Olympic medal now complete after numerous setbacks.

Having earned the opportunity to chase the sport’s ultimate prize over two laps, three years after suffering injury heartbreak in Tokyo, Johnson-Thompson gave everything in the 800m run of her life.

But it was Thiam – the heptathlon great of her generation – who added Paris gold to Olympic triumphs in Rio and Tokyo by finishing in 2:10.62 – with about two seconds to spare.

Thiam finished on 6,880 points – ahead of Johnson-Thompson on 6,844. Thiam’s compatriot Noor Vidts moved above Switzerland’s Annik Kaelin in the final event to take bronze.

Team GB’s Jade O’Dowda finished 10th overall, while Ireland’s Kate O’Connor was 14th.