Ireland’s Kate O’Connor speaks after winning gold in the women’s heptathlon at the European Athletics Championships, just weeks after winning the same event at the Commonwealth Games.
READ MORE: O’Connor secures European gold in heptathlon
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Johnson-Thompson achieved the sixth global podium of her career at last year’s World Championships – and her third in as many years since recovering from a devastating Achilles rupture.
But she withdrew from the Commonwealth Games last month to focus on being in shape for the Europeans after battling to be fit following an unspecified injury.
“We would always expect with Kat to be coming in, especially with the Europeans, to try and win it,” former Olympic long jump champion Greg Rutherford said on BBC TV.
“This sport is brutal and you are never allowed to enjoy the championships if you are not winning. That’s how it is always put to us, so you never have those moments where you can go in front of a home crowd and just enjoy doing the sport.
“I feel like that’s what she is doing at the moment. It’s not about her coming here to win medals.
“She’s enjoying it rather than stressing herself for medals and that is a big change.”
Former Olympic heptathlon champion Jessica Ennis-Hill added: “She’s at the stage where there is probably going to be very few times that she comes out and is feeling great and has no niggles.
“So you have to make that decision – do I go out and compete anyway or do I step back and potentially miss a load of championships because I am not feeling 100%?”
The heptathletes will return to Alexander Stadium for the long jump on Saturday morning with Sulek-Schubert leading the way on 3,968 points.
Sofie Dokter of the Netherlands sits second on 3,944 points, while Ireland’s Kate O’Connor, who won Commonwealth gold this month, is a further 18 points behind in third with the long jump, javelin and 800m remaining.
Kate O’Connor has won Northern Ireland’s first gold medal at the Commonwealth Games in the heptathlon at Scotstoun Stadium.
O’Connor, a World indoor and outdoor silver medal, finished top of the standings with 6569points and is the first new heptathlon champion at the Games in eight years.
England’s Jade O’Dowda claimed silver while Australia’s Tori West won the battle for bronze.
It is O’Connor’s first senior outdoor gold and her first gold at her third Games after she finished eighth in 2018 and claimed silver in 2022.
The 25-year-old becomes NI’s 12th medal winner in Glasgow, claiming the country’s first gold at the Games in athletics since 1986.
O’Connor was favourite heading into the event after the late withdrawal of England’s Katrina Johnson-Thompson, who beat her to gold in 2022 and she certainly lived up to the billing.
The Newry-born athlete led after the first two events on Tuesday. She ran the 100m hurdles in 13.54 seconds and produced a season’s best 1.82m in the high jump.
In a rain-soaked evening session, she dipped in the shot put, throwing just 12.85 in difficult conditions.
While she said she was “gutted” with that performance, she rallied and she bounced back well to run the 200m in a season’s best time of 24.14, which was just 0.07 off her personal best as she strolled to victory in her heat.
She earned 3731 points across the four events to top the standings heading into Wednesday’s second day of the competition and, with a 49-point advantage over O’Dowda, looked to be in pole position for gold.
O’Connor further increased that lead on Wednesday morning as she recorded a leap of 1.82m in the long jump and a season’s best 52.85m in the javelin to move 258 points ahead.
In the 800m, she finished first as she ran 2:10.45 to take home NI’s first multi-class gold medal since Dame Mary Peters won the pentathlon in 1974.
NI team-mate Anna McCauley finished eighth in the standings despite being second-fastest in the 800m behind O’Connor.
O’Connor will receive her gold medal on Thursday evening at 18:30 BST.