Rio Olympics 2016: Long jump demons plague Katarina Johnson-Thompson again just weeks before Games in Brazil

KATARINA JOHNSON-THOMPSON suffered more long jump misery last night after she was forced to pull out of a Rio warm-up competition just weeks before the Olympics.

The 23 year-old heptathlon star was due to compete at the LEAP meeting at Loughborough University as she bids to banish the jump demons which have plagued her since last summer.

She clocked 13.85secs in the opening 100m hurdles event – well off the 13.37secs personal best she equalled in May.

And she then WITHDREW from the long jump and headed back home to Liverpool after concern she had felt something wrong with her leg.

She messed up at last summer’s World Championships in Beijing when having been among the favourites for heptathlon gold she suffered three fouls in the long jump – usually her best event.

Instead it was left to reigning Olympic champion and fellow Brit Jessica Ennis-Hill to snatch the title after giving her rival a consoling hug in the in-field.

Johnson-Thompson only got the qualifying mark for Rio in May when she bagged 6304 points – just above the 6200pts needed for the Olympics – at the prestigious Hypomeeting in Austria.

But even then she could only manage 6.17m with her third long jump attempt. This from an athlete who has a personal best of 6.93m and won an individual world indoor silver in the long jump two years ago.

She was expected to be challenge Ennis-Hill for the top honours in Rio next month but the defending Olympic and world champion leapt a personal best of 6.63m last month – smashing the 6.41m she posted en route to gold at London 2012.

It helped her to 6733points in a heptathlon in Ratingen, Germany – the second highest score in the world this year.

Johnson-Thompson, who had a knee operation last October, is due to face Ennis-Hill in the long jump at the Muller Anniversary Games at the Olympic Stadium in London on Saturday in her final outing before Rio.