No stranger to close finishes, Johnson-Thompson was just 36 points away from gold at last summer’s Olympics – equating to roughly a two-second difference in the 800m.
Following a relative underperformance in the javelin, where her best of 41.91m ranked 16th overall, she was aware her fortunes would once again come down to the finest margins in the two-lap finale.
With O’Connor’s superb javelin personal best of 53.06m ensuring the silver was hers to lose behind runaway leader Hall, Brooks became Johnson-Thompson’s priority – aware she had the superior personal best by 8.5 seconds.
Although she succeeded in distancing her rival in the closing stages, clocking two minutes 07.38 seconds, Brooks set up a tense wait after holding on to cross the line 5.39 seconds later.
And so while Hall and O’Connor could begin their celebrations, Brooks and Johnson-Thompson were initially left shrugging their shoulders – before both were eventually awarded the prize they ultimately sought.
“It’s been physically and mentally exhausting. It’s hard to get yourself up for the fight again knowing how hard it is,” Johnson-Thompson said.
“I said last year, as long as I’m competitive I’ll be here. In 2016, I remember I said ‘this is the last time you’ll see me’.
“I say this when I win and I say it when I lose, give me a month off and I’ll be asking when training is.”
Four-time global heptathlon champion Jessica Ennis-Hill said on TV: “You can see the emotions have kicked in. I don’t think I’ve ever seen it where the scores are the same. The relief she must feel must be so huge.
“We all knew she would come and fight in the 800m. She will always push herself out of her comfort zone. She fought and that’s what you want, you want every athlete to come out here and perform and that’s what Katarina always does.”
Hall topped the standings with 6,888 points, ahead of O’Connor who won Ireland’s first global outdoor medal in the multi-events with 6,714.
Britain’s Jade O’Dowda finished eighth with 6,391 points but team-mate Abigail Pawlett withdrew before the penultimate javelin event, having suffered a nasty fall during Friday’s opening 100m hurdles.
