Johnson-Thompson about how contact lenses fit into her life
Katarina Johnson-Thompson has been participating in competitive athletic events for just over 10 years. She recently experienced a career highlight – winning a gold medal in the heptathlon event at the 2019 World Athletics Championships in Doha, breaking the British record with a score of 6,981 points. ‘It felt very good to win the gold medal,’ she says. ‘It felt like all of the ups and downs that I’ve experienced so far in my career have been worth it. The World Athletics Championships were a really good experience overall, I’m very happy with my result.’
The 26-year-old from Liverpool has competed in multiple World Championships events, winning many medals as well as competing in both the London 2012 and Rio 2016 Olympic Games, finishing closer and closer to first place each time. However, there is one thing she would not be able to compete without – her contact lenses.
She first learned her eyesight was bad enough to need to wear glasses when she was in year three at primary school. ‘We had a visit to the school from an optician, who tested our eyes. They sent a letter home with me detailing how bad my eyes actually were. My mum was mortified that she hadn’t realised and should have known, especially because at home I used to sit close to the TV or lie on the floor to see it.’
Despite being able to see better with glasses, Johnson-Thompson was one of many young children who did not enjoy wearing them. She says: ‘I was mortified and embarrassed about having to wear glasses at school, I hated them. It was always a bit of a trauma for me. My parents used to ask my teachers at parents’ evening how I was getting on with my glasses and they used to say: “what glasses?”’ Johnson-Thompson’s first foray into contact lenses was at secondary school during year eight. A very active child, she started to wear contact lenses for the first time when playing hockey at school and was surprised at how much of a difference it made.
Essential for daily life
As an athlete, Johnson-Thompson frequently trains and competes for long periods of time and needs contact lenses that will keep up with her and not cause any discomfort. The lenses she currently wears are Johnson & Johnson Vision’s Acuvue Oasys daily contact lenses. ‘I have astigmatism and started wearing Acuvue Oasys three years ago. They are by far the best contact lenses I’ve had and are very comfortable to wear. I have very long and busy days quite a lot of the time and my eyes don’t get dry from wearing the contact lenses all day. I don’t have that problem at all, which is good as it means I don’t need any eye drops or anything.’
She explains that her contact lenses are essential in her daily training and activities. ‘I’m wearing my contact lenses from the moment I wake up as I train very early. They enable me to see the bars, hurdles and my coach. I’m able to put them in quite quickly and easily now. My boyfriend initially had issues with me touching my eyes but it’s not so much of a problem anymore.’
To her relief, Johnson-Thompson has never had any issues with her contact lenses interfering or affecting her performance in competitions. ‘My contact lenses support me more now as good vision is essential for me when competing. In the long jump, I’m running up to the board I jump from, which is quite small. If I’m one centimetre over, it’s classed as a no jump, so it’s important to be able to see it properly. That’s why these particular contact lenses are perfect for me and make such a big difference when I’m competing, as I could never compete with glasses.’ The only time she encountered a problem with her lenses was when she hugged someone and they accidentally elbowed her in the eye, dislodging the lens in the process.
Johnson-Thompson started to work with a new coach in 2016 after splitting from her previous coach of eight years. ‘I moved to Montpellier in France to train with another coach to improve my performance for the Rio Olympics and to get to the next level. It’s a bit different to Liverpool. I actually find wearing my contact lenses in Montpellier useful as they provide protection from UV (ultraviolet) radiation – the weather can be quite bright and sunny there. I cannot stress how useful my contact lenses are to my life overall. They’re comfortable and give me clear vision, which is what I need when training and competing.’
Katarina Johnson-Thompson is an ACUVUE Brand Ambassador and is wearing ACUVUE OASYS 1-Day for ASTIGMATISM Contact Lenses.