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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Given that impressive 2025 she had, the pressure was on O’Connor to at least win a medal in Glasgow and it only ramped up after Katerina Johnson-Thompson, who had won gold ahead of her in 2022, pulled out.
The Englishwoman’s withdrawal paved the way for a good shot at that coveted gold, but she still had to go out and deliver.
O’Connor ended on 6,569 points, 291 ahead of her nearest challenger, England’s Jade O’Dowda, but it wasn’t all straightforward.
Resilience is a key trait for any sportsperson, but particularly a heptathlete.
Fortunes can fluctuate across the seven events so it is needed in ample supply to come out on top at the end of two days of competition.
It was particularly pertinent for O’Connor in a rain-soaked second session of the event on Tuesday evening.
After a good start in the morning, that brought a third-place finish in the 100m hurdles and a season’s best 1.82m in the high jump, O’Connor struggled in the shot put and dipped well below her high standards by throwing just 12.85m as the torrential rain hammered down.
She said trying to grip the shot put in that rain was akin to trying to lift a bar of soap and that she was “gutted” as she “made it a lot easier for the rest of them to beat me”.
Her resilience was shown in abundance in the 200m that followed as she defied the elements to easily win her heat in a time of 24.14.
The Newry-born athlete added she had to “work really hard” on Wednesday and that she did, finishing with a flourish.
First came a big leap of 6.37m in the long jump, then another season’s best, this time in the javelin, of 52.85m that far exceeded those around her.
It will be particularly satisfying as that was an event she had worked hard at improving heading into 2026.
All that was left was to hold her nerve in the 800m and she did that and more, cruising to victory in a time of 2:10.46 just as the sun broke through for the celebrations at Scotstoun.
“I came here expecting a lot from myself and I really wanted to score like 6,600 or 6,700 and open up my season because that’s the shape I felt I was in,” she added.
“After day one I had to raincheck myself a bit, it’s not always about getting huge big scores but competing and getting the best out of yourself with the elements and challenges.
“I tried to navigate it as best as I could. The shot put didn’t go to plan, it needs work in those conditions, but I’m happy overall with how I did.
“There’s a lot of positives to take from it. I’ve got a gold medal round my neck so I can’t say much more.”
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.