By Nick Mulvenney

TOKYO (Reuters) – In-form American Anna Hall made a statement on the opening day of the heptathlon at the world championships on Friday, racking up 4,154 points over the four events to take a decent lead into day two.

The 24-year-old, who became the fifth woman to join the elite 7,000 points club in Poland earlier this year, shone while Belgium’s triple Olympic champion Nafi Thiam showed signs of rust after a relatively inactive season.

Ireland’s Kate O’Connor ran a personal best of 24.07 in the 200m to finish the day in second place in the overall rankings with 3,906 points, just ahead of Britain’s defending champion Katarina Johnson-Thompson (3,893).

Thiam, who won world titles in 2017 and 2022 and last lost in competition in 2019, was sixth on 3,818 points behind D

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